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World Orienteering Championships: A show of full speed

Udgivet af:
Thomas Schultz
01. July 2022

Over the past week, orienteering runners from around the world have competed for World- titles in the sprint in the Triangle Area, Vejle, Fredericia, and Kolding. In their footsteps, recreational runners had the honor and experience of a World Class set-up in the heart of the Danish cities.

Well, but I have to run - I'm going to town! This very ordinary, everyday sentence took on a whole new meaning this week. Orienteering, runners from all over the world had competed in the first pure World Cup in the sprint. Social media has overflowed with mood reports from participants, teams, partners, spectators, citizens, and media - local, regional, national and international. The significant pink banners on the barricades and all the many, many volunteers have sat in the memory of this World Cup.

"We are proud to have shown orienteering excitingly and presently in some fantastic settings. There have been many who were not orienteering runners, and it is our impression that they had an epic experience. The intensity, the speed, and the runners. "The ability to find your way at high speed have fascinated many who do not know about orienteering. We, naturally, hope it will promote orienteering and more people will try a sport where the brain and heart must work equally hard to succeed," says Poul Kristian Mouritsen, president of the Danish Orienteering Federation.

The three host cities are also very satisfied with the staging:

"In Kolding's city center, we are used to it being crowded with people. But I must say that these were completely different scenes. It was an extraordinary opportunity to use the pedestrian street and Kolding city as the course for a World Championship. I hope that the runners have had good memories to take home from Kolding, where the three municipalities together have lifted the role of a host," says the mayor of Kolding, Knud Erik Langhoff. His colleague in Fredericia adds:

"It has been fantastic that Fredericia has been able to set the stage for the first world championship in the discipline Knock Out Sprint. A big thank you to Sport Event Denmark and all the players involved in Fredericia. The collaboration between the municipalities of Fredericia, Kolding, and Vejle and the Triangle Region of Denmark shows why the Triangle Region now and in the future has the optimal framework for major sporting events, " says Steen Wrist, Mayor of Fredericia.

"It has been extraordinary to finish the World Championship final here in the heart of Vejle. The runners have given everyone a great experience when running around in backyards and past curious kindergartens and schools. At the same time, we are extremely proud that our local Ida Agervig Kristiansson from Vejle has done so well both in the qualification and in the final tonight," says Dan Arnløv Jørgensen, Deputy Mayor of Vejle Municipality.

Sport Event Denmark, which has contributed in the bidding process, contributed to the planning and also participated in staging the event, agrees:

"There is no doubt that we have experienced a perfect match. Vejle, Kolding, and Fredericia delivered beautiful and challenging World Championships courses, and the recreational runners also had a fantastic experience. And, I noticed that the many volunteers were well dressed for the tasks and got to put faces on Denmark as host," says Lars Lundov, director of Sport Event Denmark, before he too must admit that it is time to run.

Sport Event Denmark is also a partner in the Tour de France start, which starts tomorrow, Friday, with a Time Trial and in the coming weekend passes, among other things, the Triangle Region starting the 3rd stage in Vejle, which has been dressed in both orienteering WC pink and Tour de France's yellow.

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