Tove Alexandersson historical champion – five golds in the same WC

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Tove Alexandersson is once again historic. After a new gold in today’s long distance, she is the first orienteer to take five gold medals in the same World Cup.

Nine straight golds, that is the result for the orienteering star Tove Alexandersson. The World Cup in the Czech Republic has been a success for the Swede, which is now once again historic. No other orienteer has won five golds in the same championship before.

Alexandersson led the long distance from start to finish and won the race with 2.58 ahead of Natalia Gemperle and another 19 seconds ahead of Simona Aebersold.

Normally, the sprint has its own championship and Simone Niggli, the legend from Switzerland, has managed with the feat to take four golds at the same World Cup. Since the sprint normally has its own WC (after 2018), Alexandersson’s new record is difficult to beat.

Hard to beat was also the word on Alexandersson’s performance in today’s race. The 28-year-old started as strong as usual, but chose to take the safe before the unsafe and avoided taking too heavy climbs.

In the second half, Alexandersson’s lead was up for 1 minute and 57 seconds. At the seventeenth check, she was three and a half minutes ahead of the nearest competitor. A few small misses came at the end, but the gold was never in danger. At 17:32, she finished as world champion with just under three minutes to spare.

Lisa Risby was also stumbling close to a podium place but finished together with Andrine Benjaminsen in fourth place. Sara Hagström finished sixth and Johanna Öberg eight.

Already after the initial sprint last Saturday, Alexandersson had become historic as the first orienteer to win World Cup gold in all disciplines. Now she has also succeeded with the piece of art to do it in one and the same championship. The Swede now has a total of 15 World Cup golds, seven fewer than the aforementioned Niggli.

Sweden also wins the medal league by far with eight medals so far, of which seven gold and consolidates its place as the world’s most victorious orienteering nation.

Finland’s orienteers did not win a medal.

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