Yannick Michiels (born 29 July 1991) is a Belgian

orienteer Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a ...

. He is the first Belgian orienteer to receive a medal at the

World Orienteering Championships The World Orienteering Championships (or WOC for short) is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 20 ...

, receiving a bronze medal in the sprint discipline at the 2022 World Orienteering Championships in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Orienteering

He represented Belgium at the

2017 World Games The 2017 World Games ( pl, Igrzyska Światowe 2017), commonly known as Wrocław 2017 (german: Breslau 2017; sli, Brassel 2017), was the tenth World Games, a major international multi-sport event, meant for sports, or disciplines or events withi ...

in Poland, where he won a silver medal in the sprint distance. Michiels competed at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

(7th in sprint),

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

(5th in sprint) and

2017 World Orienteering Championships The 34th World Orienteering Championships were held in Tartu, Estonia in June/July 2017. The official name of the event is Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships 2017 after the title sponsor Nokian Tyres Nokian Tyres plc ( fi, Nokian Re ...

. In 2021, he became the first Belgian to receive a medal in the

European Orienteering Championships The European Orienteering Championships were first held in 1962. They have been held biennially since 2000. From 2020, the European Orienteering Championships will be held annually, with sprint events and forest events in alternate years. Format T ...

. In 2022, Michiels won Belgium's first medal at the

. In the sprint final, held in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...

, Michiels won the bronze medal, coming behind Kasper Harlem Fosser and

Gustav Bergman Gustav C. Bergman (1872–1962) was the first elected mayor of Beverly, Alberta after Beverly was incorporated as a town in 1914. Biography Carl Gustaf Bergman was born to Swedish American parents in Paxton, Illinois. His mother was killed in a ...

. Originally, Michiels placed fourth, but the runner who finished in third place (

Kris Jones Kristian Jones or Kris Jones (born 3 April 1991) is a competitor in orienteering and athletics, competing for Great Britain. He also competes for Lillomarka OK in Norway, Forth Valley orienteers and Wales. Orienteering Jones has had most suc ...

) was disqualified, giving Michiels the bronze medal.

Athletics

Michiels has also competed for Belgium in

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

, taking 59th place at the

2015 European Cross Country Championships The 2015 European Cross Country Championships was the 22nd edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes. It was hosted in Hyères, France. The 2014 runner-up Ali Kaya (athlete), Ali Kaya took the men's senior title, ret ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Personal life

Michiels is from

Mol, Belgium Mol () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Mol. In 2021, Mol had a total population of 37,021 inhabitants. The total area is 114.19 km2. Mol is a popular holiday resort, wi ...

References

External links

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Yannick Michiels
at World of O
Yannick Michiels
at the

International World Games Association The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Ga ...

1991 births Living people Belgian orienteers Foot orienteers World Games silver medalists Competitors at the 2017 World Games World Games medalists in orienteering 20th-century Belgian people 21st-century Belgian people Competitors at the 2022 World Games {{Belgium-sport-bio-stub