Orienteering at the 2025 World Games
| Orienteering at the 2025 World Games | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Eastern New Area Orienteering Venue |
| Dates | 8–11 August 2025 |
| No. of events | 5 |
| Competitors | 80 from 24 nations |
The orienteering competition at the 2025 World Games took place from 8 to 11 August 2025 at the Eastern New Area Orienteering Venue in Chengdu, China.[1][2] The discipline had seven events, three for men, three for women, and one mixed.
Qualification
A total of 80 athletes (40 men and 40 women) qualified for each event. Qualification was based on a point system, taking in consideration both the Orienteering World Ranking and the results from the 2024 World Orienteering Championships.[3]
Summary
The events started with a Middle Distance on 8 August 2025 in Gaota Village, with the terrain consisting mainly of orange groves and dense bushes.[4] The race was noted for its heat and humidity, with a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius recorded on the course.[5] The winners were Riccardo Rancan and Simona Aebersold, both from Switzerland. Vegard Jarvis Westergård attained Canada's first ever medal in any senior international orienteering competition with a Bronze, and Tereza Šmelíková won Slovakia's first ever international orienteering medal as well with her Silver in the Women's competition.[4] During the Middle Distance competition, Italian runner Mattia Debertolis collapsed on the course and was admitted to hospital. Debertolis died four days later, receiving international attention.[6][7]
Participating nations
- Australia (4)
- Austria (4)
- Belgium (2)
- Brazil (4)
- China (4)
- Chinese Taipei (1)
- Czech Republic (4)
- Germany (4)
- Great Britain (4)
- Hong Kong (2)
- Hungary (4)
- Italy (4)
- Japan (4)
- Kazakhstan (2)
- Latvia (4)
- New Zealand (4)
- Portugal (1)
- Poland (4)
- Romania (1)
- Slovakia (2)
- Spain (4)
- Switzerland (4)
- Sweden (4)
- Ukraine (2)
Medal table
* Host nation (China)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 5 | Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hungary | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Spain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (9 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | |
Medalists
Men
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint |
Yannick Michiels Belgium |
Tomáš Křivda Czech Republic |
Zoltán Bujdosó Hungary |
| Middle distance |
Riccardo Rancan Switzerland |
Francesco Mariani Italy |
Vegard Westergard Canada |
Women
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint |
Simona Aebersold Switzerland |
Natalia Gemperle Switzerland |
María Prieto Spain |
| Middle distance |
Simona Aebersold Switzerland |
Tereza Šmelíková Slovakia |
Alva Sonesson Sweden |
Mixed
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint relay |
Switzerland Natalia Gemperle Riccardo Rancan Tino Polsini Simona Aebersold |
Sweden Emma Bjessmo Jonatan Gustafsson August Mollén Alva Sonesson |
Czech Republic Denisa Králová Jakub Glonek Tomáš Křivda Tereza Rauturier |
References
- ^ "Qualifications for TWG 2025 by sport, Chengdu (CHN)". theworldgames. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Venues World Games 2025". theworldgames. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ "The World Games 2025 Qualification Rules for the Orienteering competitions". Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Slovensko má prvú medailu zo Svetových hier. Tereza Šmelíková získala historické striebro v orientačnom behu | TVNOVINY.sk". tvnoviny.sk (in Slovak). 8 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ "Úspech v nečakanej disciplíne. Slovensko získalo na Svetových hrách prvú medailu". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ "Mattia Debertolis: Italian athlete dies after collapse at World Games". BBC Sport. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ Morse, Ben (12 August 2025). "Italian athlete Mattia Debertolis dies aged 29 after collapsing at World Games". CNN. Retrieved 12 August 2025.