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 2 ...
were held in the village of
Fiskars
Fiskars Group (also known as Fiskars Oyj Abp or Fiskars Corporation, and until 1998 as Fiskars Oy Ab) is a Finnish group company. The company has its roots in the village of Fiskars (in the town of Raseborg, about west of Helsinki), where it ...
, Finland, 1–2 October 1966.
Participants from eleven nations competed in the championships: Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The medals were distributed between Sweden (3 gold, 1 bronze), Finland (3 silver, 1 bronze), Norway (1 gold, 2 bronze) and Switzerland (1 silver medal).
The men's individual course had 11
control
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controllin ...
s over 14.1 kilometres, while the women's individual course had 10 controls over 8.1 kilometres.
The first individual world champions in orienteering came from Norway and Sweden. Winner of the men's competition was
Åge Hadler
Åge Hadler (born 14 August 1944) is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, winner of the 1966 and 1972 individual World Orienteering Championships, relay champion from 1970, and individual bronze medalist from 1968.
Early life and career
Hadler ...
from Norway. Hadler regarded the eighth
control
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controllin ...
, which was located in thick forest, as the most difficult, where the last part of the leg required meticulous map reading and frequent checking of the compass.
Ulla Lindkvist
Ulla Lindkvist (30 August 1939 – 6 August 2015) was a Swedish orienteering competitor, and the first individual female world champion in this sport. She won the 1966 and 1968 Individual World Orienteering Championships,President of Finland,
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister ...
, who was present at the finishing area.Berglia (1987): p. 228