The World Orienteering Championships are to be held from 10 to 20 August at the Savoie Grand Revard resort at the heart of the Bauges nature park. For the first time, out of the 72 member countries of the International Orienteering Federation, at least 50 national teams from the 5 continents will take part.

Thierry Gueorgiou, seven times world champion and ranked number one in the world, will lead the French men’s team which now challenges the Nordic countries and Switzerland, the masters of the sport.

In the French team, we also have François Gonon, one of the world’s top long distance specialists and Frédéric Tranchant who was the bronze medallist in the sprint at the last World Championships in Norway. The relay team will once again be one of the favourites in 2011.

The French women’s team is among the top 10 in the world, having obtained a notable seventh place in the relay at the 2010 World Championships. This young and progressing team with high ambitions is led by Céline Dodin.

As for the other nations, the team that has been the most successful in the past years in both the men’s and women’s classes, is that of Switzerland led by 17 times World Champion, Simone Niggli-Luder. This year she is expecting a happy event and will leave the stage open for other competitors.

The logical favourites among the women are Minna Kaupi, who was elected 2010 sporting personality of the year in Finland, Marianne Andersen from Norway and Helena Jansson from Sweden, but there are other serious rivals, in particular from the Czech Republic and Denmark.

For the men, competition will be fierce between the French, Norwegians and Swiss but the Russians should by no means be underestimated. All these teams have a number of athletes who can hope to win a world title. The Czechs, Swedes and Finns, however, have outsiders who may spring surprises. The competitions should be very exciting.

For these World Championships the Organising Committee has initiated an International Project supported by the French Ministry for Sport. 19 newer orienteering countries have been invited to make a first appearance at World Championships. This initiative is very much appreciated by the International Orienteering Federation who will organise a clinic for these teams just prior to the beginning of the championships.