After making its debut at Krasnoyarsk 2019, ski orienteering is back in the FISU World University Games spotlight for the second time at Torino 2025.
The women’s and men’s sprint finals were held on Sunday, 19 January, while the mixed sprint relay is set to take place on Tuesday.
Ski orienteering is a sport that combines navigation skills and endurance. The athletes only receive the map 15 seconds before the start. This means hardly any time to prepare for where exactly the first step should go. To ensure competitors do not receive any location-related information beforehand, they sit in quarantine for up to 1.5 hours before race time. And mobile phones are forbidden, of course.
Nordic countries dominate
In Sunday’s individual competition, on the men’s side, Norwegian Teodor Mo Hjelseth won in 12 minutes 52 seconds, just ahead of the pre-race favourite, Sweden’s Jonatan Stahl (12:54), and third-place finisher Josef Nagy from the Czechia (13:03).
The newly crowned champion Teodor Mo Hjelseth made history with this victory as the first Norwegian to stand atop the podium in a ski orienteering sprint at the FISU Games. “I am really happy about my performance today. I tried to ski fast and following the fastest path on the map. And it worked out pretty well.
“Jonatan has beaten me 10 out of 10 times this year, so to come out on top today feels incredible,” added the current leader in the Under-23 World Cup rankings. Not to mention the fact he had to change quite a lot in his summer training due to a torn ACL last February.

When asked whether he already has a special place for the ToTag mascot he received on the podium, Hjelseth smiled and offered, “He comes to bed with me. With him, I have the best preparation for the upcoming competitions.”
In the women’s race, Amanda Yli-Futka of Finland (12:39) topped the field, a week after winning double gold at the U23 World Championships. Norway’s Idunn Strand (13:15) came second ahead of Switzerland’s Delia Giezendanner (13:22).

Fixed in the calendar
Ski orienteering will be permanently included in the FISU Games programme starting in 2027. A huge step for the sport and the athletes.

“It is definitely a good thing for the sport. We are getting more attention from the media which helps to get sponsors and hopefully also more people attending at the competitions. I am really looking forward to it,” said Amanda Yli-Futka. “You can really tell the difference between competing here at the FISU World University Games and somewhere in the forest in Finland. The interest in our sport is much greater and that’s fun.”
“Ski orienteering is a very niche sport which makes it even more special that we have now been included in the fixed calendar. One year ago we didn’t even expect to compete here in Pragelato,” added Switzerland’s Corsin Boss, who just missed out on the men’s medals in fourth place. However, he also admitted that the best competitions for him are those that take place in a deserted forest somewhere in the north. “That’s ski orienteering for me.”
The Torino 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.
Written by Elena Häfliger, FISU Young Reporter, Switzerland
The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

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