WMOC 2026 Silver Medal

Silver for Woo

Poland / UKS Azymut Debow
Date: 12 August 2026

Our own Woo Allen delivered an outstanding performance at the World Masters Orienteering Championships (WMOC) 2026 in Poland, earning a silver medal in yesterday's Middle Final competition. The result places Woo among the world's best masters orienteers after a strong run on the technically demanding forest course near Rzeszów.

Competing against an international field of experienced athletes, Woo combined speed and precise navigation to secure second place and a place on the podium. The Middle Final is widely regarded as one of the most technically challenging WMOC events, testing competitors' ability to make rapid route-choice decisions while maintaining race pace through complex terrain.

Leader of the Pack

JWOC early leader on women middle race

This week sees the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) 2026, taking place in Karlskrona, Sweden, from 29 June to 4 July. The championship programme includes the Sprint, Sprint Relay, Long Distance, Middle Distance and Relay races.

Among the athletes representing Great Britain is our own SN runner, Jocie Hilton, who was one of six women selected for the GB team.

Today (3 July) features the Middle Distance race, held in Bussevik on the Torhamn Peninsula. The terrain consists of pine, oak and beech forest interspersed with open rock surfaces that offer fast running and demanding route-choice decisions. With generally high runnability and a largely flat landscape, the courses place a premium on technical precision, concentration, and smooth navigation.

Jocie had an early start at 9:03 a.m. local time and immediately set the pace in the fast, technically challenging terrain. It appears that all her recent training, dedication and the support of her coach paid off, as she crossed the finish line in the fastest time of the day. This earned her the honour of taking the leader's chair and the attention of the television cameras (which if only for a short time, so early in the day, is a place many athletes never get to experience) leaving the rest of the field to chase her time. Well done Jocie for eventually being in the top half of the field at the end of the day.