Home runners taking on the World Orienteering Championships in Edinburgh
It wasn’t only the fantastic organising team and volunteers doing Scotland proud at the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) this year, we had several home athletes for the crowds to cheer on as well.
Grace Molloy (Forth Valley Orienteers) was the star of the show, demonstrating that 2 winters out in the US on a track scholarship have moved her on to the next level physically. As audiences in Edinburgh and watching at home on TV could see, she was able to mix it with the best in the world, and came away with a fantastic 6th place in the individual Sprint race. She also ran a great first leg in the GB Sprint Relay team, changing over in 2nd place (the team went on to finish 7th), and made it to the Quarterfinals of the Knock Out Sprint. She had this to say about the experience – “It was special having a home WOC, especially one as close to home as Edinburgh. I was delighted to finish 6th in the Sprint after a fantastic course through the old town. The results in the other races were a bit disappointing but I was happy with my races and the whole week was an incredible experience. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!”
Freddie Carcas (Interlopers) also made a fantastic WOC debut, coming into the Sprint Relay team which was defending a silver medal from 2 years ago, and performed well running a strong 2nd leg to keep the team firmly in contention for a medal. He was delighted with the experience, although was complaining afterwards that he had had a stitch the whole way round!
Fiona Bunn (Edinburgh University Orienteering Club) has been living and studying in Edinburgh for a number of years, and took a very respectable 31st place in the Sprint race – “I raced the individual sprint at WOC this year and it felt incredibly special to have my senior debut at a home World Champs. There has been a long build-up to the event, with the embargo in place since before I moved to Edinburgh in 2020, and a similarly long journey for me to finally make a senior WOC start line, so I wanted to remember to enjoy the experience. Luckily that wasn’t too hard, the courses were fantastic (technically challenging and accessing new parts of the city) and the support from spectators, friends and family was just awesome. Thanks to everyone involved in making the event happen.”
There was disappointment though for Peter Molloy (Forth Valley Orienteers), also making his WOC debut, as he missed out a control in the Sprint Qualification race – ending his championships prematurely. He has promised to learn from the experience and is already looking ahead to future opportunities and competitions.
