Ruslan Gritsan (born 7 December 1978, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) is a Russian

competitor Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

and multiple world champion in both ski-orienteering and

mountain bike orienteering Mountain bike orienteering (MTB-O or MTBO) is an orienteering endurance racing sport on a mountain bike where navigation is done along trails and tracks. Compared with foot orienteering, competitors usually are not permitted to leave the trail ...

Ski orienteering career

At the 1998

Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships The Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships (or Ski-JWOC) were first held in 1994. Since 1998, competitions have been held annually. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF). Host Towns/Citi ...

Grislan won gold medals in both the classic distance and the short distance. He won a gold medal in the short distance at the 2005

World Ski Orienteering Championships The World Ski Orienteering Championships (Ski-WOC) is the official event to award the titles of World Champions in ski orienteering. The World Championships is organized every odd year. The programme includes Sprint, Middle and Long Distance compe ...

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...

, shared with Andrei Gruzdev. He won gold medals in the relay with the Russian team in 2002, 2004 and 2005. In 2002 the Russian team consisted of Andrei Gruzdev, Gristan, Viktor Korchagin and

Eduard Khrennikov Eduard Alexandrovich Khrennikov (russian: Эдуард Александрович Хренников; born 19 May 1973 in Usolye-Sibirskoye) is a Russian ski-orienteering competitor and world champion, and three ti ...

, and the team won gold ahead of Finland. The 2004 team consisted of Vasily Glukharev, Andrei Gruzdev, Gritsan and Eduard Khrennikov, winning ahead of the Norwegian team. In 2005 Gruzdev, Gritsan and Khrennikov won the relay ahead of Finland.

Mountain bike orienteering career

At the 2004

World MTB Orienteering Championships The World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships is the official event for awarding World Champion titles in mountain bike orienteering Mountain bike orienteering (MTB-O or MTBO) is an orienteering endurance racing sport on a mountain bike ...

in Ballarat Gritslan placed tenth in the middle, 32nd in the long, and sixth in the relay. At the 2005 World Championships in

Banska Bystrica The Banska ( bg, Банска) is a river in Haskovo Province, southeastern Bulgaria. The river is long. The Banska springs out from Sofidzhik Peak in the Eastern Rhodopes. It passes through the villages of Tatarevo, Garvanovo, Klokotnitsa ...

he won a gold medal in the middle distance, a gold medal in the long distance, and placed fourth with the Russian relay team. At the 2006 Championships in

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. The ...

he won a bronze medal in the middle distance, a silver medal in the long distance, and a silver medal in the relay with the Russian team, behind Finland. At the 2007 World MTB Orienteering Championships in

Nove Mesto na Morave Nove is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza in the region of Veneto, north-eastern Italy, with just over 5,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Brenta river, near Marostica and Bassano del Grappa. The town is home of a local netwo ...

he won a gold medal in the long distance, placed fourth in the sprint, 57th in the middle distance, and fourth in the relay. At the 2008

in Ostróda, he won a gold medal in the long distance and a silver medal in the relay. In

Ben Shemen Ben Shemen ( he, בֶּן שֶׁמֶן, ''lit.'' very fruitful) is a moshav in central Israel. Located around four kilometres east of Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymolog ...

in 2009 he won a silver medal in the long distance, a bronze medal in the sprint, and a gold medal in the relay. At the 2010 World Championships in

Montalegre Montalegre () is a municipality in northern Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real, along the border with Spain. The population in 2011 was 10,537, in an area of 805.46 km². History Early construction in Montalegre date back 3500� ...

he won a gold medal with the Russian relay team, together with Valeriy Gluhov and Anton Foliforov. He placed fourth in the middle distance, and tenth in the long distance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gritsan, Ruslan 1978 births Living people Russian orienteers Male orienteers Mountain bike orienteers Ski-orienteers 21st-century Russian people