New Zealand produced one of its strongest ever sprint campaigns at the 2026 World Orienteering Championships in Italy. Across six days of racing in the streets, stairways and hills of Genoa, the team demonstrated speed and tactical excellence against the world’s best, finishing the championships with growing confidence for future international campaigns.

Sprint qualification opening event
The championships began in warm conditions in the historic district of Sestri Ponente, Genoa. A river bisecting the map, steep urban streets and numerous bridge crossings created intricate route choices from the opening race.

New Zealand qualified two men and one woman for the Sprint Final. Tim Robertson and Joseph Lynch both progressed comfortably, while Felix Hunt narrowly missed qualification by just two places. Penelope Salmon came heartbreakingly close in the women’s race, finishing only three seconds outside the qualifying positions, leaving Laura Robertson as New Zealand’s sole female runner.

SPRINT QUAL RESULTS: 
Men
Heat 1: 12th Tim Robertson  15:31 (+1:06)
Heat 2: 18th Felix Hunt  15:46 (+1:29)
Heat 2: 28th Jakob Knoef   17:09 (+2:52)
Heat 3: 15th Joseph Lynch  15:12 (+1:27)
Women
Heat 1: 16th Penelope Salmon   13:55 (+1:14)
Heat 2: 13th Laura Robertson  14:01 (+1:13)
Heat 3: 18th Zara Stewart  13:52 (+1:37)

Top-25 Sprint final 
The Sprint Final area partially overlapped the qualification terrain, with demanding similar concentration required. Every leg required rapid route-choice decisions while negotiating staircases, blind corners and narrow alleyways . 

Laura Robertson produced an efficient race to finish 28th, while Joseph Lynch and Tim Robertson both placed inside the world’s top 25 after clean, fast performances.
Australia also impressed with Henry McNulty seventh and Aston Key ninth, while Norway’s Kasper Fosser and Switzerland’s Simona Aebersold claimed the world titles. Fosser’s victory was a reminder that even world champions make mistakes—they simply recover faster than everyone else.

SPRINT FINAL RESULTS: 
17th Joseph Lynch 17:32 (+1:20)
23rd Tim Robertson 17:52 (+1:41)
28th Laura Robertson  19:38 (+3:39)

Three advance in Knockout sprint
The Knockout Sprint qualification introduced yet more demanding challenges. Although the course goverall descended, athletes still faced constant climbs, staircases, multiple levels and twisting alleyways.

Joseph Lynch demonstrated his commitment to maintaining speed by vaulting barriers where others chose safer options. Laura Robertson came agonisingly close to qualification, missing the top 12 by just one second, while Penelope Salmon and Zara Töes both added to their valuable racing experience.
All three New Zealand men progressed to the knockout rounds, highlighting the depth of the squad. Jakob Knoef may not have advanced, but became a crowd favourite, with enthusiastic Italian commentators repeatedly cheering “my friend Jakob” as he approached the finish.

Australia also enjoyed strong performances, with Cooper Horley finishing third in his heat, Henry McNulty qualifying comfortably and Nea Shingler advancing to the women’s finals.

KNOCKOUT QUAL RESULTS: 
Men
Heat 1: 8th Tim Robertson  10:37 (+0:28)
Heat 2: 10th Felix Hunt  11:06 (+1:05)
Heat 3: 6th Joseph Lynch  10:43 (+0:15)
Heat 3: 25th Jakob Knoef   13:41 (+3:13)
Women
Heat 1: 13th Laura Robertson 11:28 (+1:23)
Heat 2: 28th Zara Töes 15:02 (+4:43)
Heat 3: 22nd Penelope Salmon 12:29 (+2:00)

From three in quarter finals to two in semi-finals
The quarter-finals featured three butterfly loops packed into a compact urban area, producing fast, tactical racing. Tim Robertson delivered an outstanding performance in Quarter-final 2, finishing second just ahead of Australia’s Cooper Horley to secure his semi-final place. In Quarter-final 3, Joseph Lynch advanced after Jonatan Gustafsson mispunched, finishing third. Felix Hunt fought hard in Quarter-final 4, finishing sixth.

QUARTER FINAL RESULTS:
QF2: 2nd Tim Robertson 7:00.2
QF3: 3rd Joseph Lynch 7:09.0
QF4: 6th Felix Hunt 7:23.0

Mind-boggling semi-finals
The semi-finals proved to be some of the week’s most technically challenging races. A critical route-choice puzzle between controls four and five determined much of the outcome, although Tim mentions control 1 as a decisive control in his run. In Semi-final 1, Guilhem Verove broke clear early with Australia’s Cooper Horley following, while Tim Robertson selected a different option. Tim finished third, narrowly missing qualification, as only the first two progress to the final. Afterwards Tim described the race on camera as “tricky” and “a real shame” not to reach the final.

Semi-final 2 produced similar confusion. Joseph Lynch lost valuable seconds on a similar section while Kasper Fosser controlled much of the race despite some mistakes. The finish became increasingly dramatic as Fabian Aebersold was disqualified after entering an out-of-bounds area, Zoltan Bujdoso mispunched, and Fosser himself missed the finish chute before recovering. Finland’s Akseli Ruohola and Switzerland’s Timo Suter advanced to the final.

SEMI FINAL RESULTS
SF1: 3rd Tim Robertson 11:10.1
SF2: 4th Joseph Lynch 10:21.3

Sprint relay 
Heading into the final race, confidence within the New Zealand team was high. Joseph Lynch described the knockout sprint as “really fun” and said he had loved competing in the challenging Italian terrain. The team produced clean navigation from the opening relay eg, handing over in 13th before steadily climbing the rankings. The men’s legs tackled demanding climbs while maintaining impressive speed in the heat, and Joseph Lynch produced decisive route choices through the narrow alleyways. On the final leg Penelope Salmon had a composed and fast run, eventually shaking off Austria in a sprint to the finish for eighth place. 

RESULT
8th NZL: Laura Robertson, Tim Robertson, Joseph Lynch, Penelope Salmon  1:06:49.80   (+3:35.10)

Finishing 8th is a fitting conclusion and on the NZ record as one of our strongest sprint relays in the world orienteering championships to date. This is on top of three men qualifying for the knockout rounds, with two reaching the semi-finals. The team demonstrated strength and exciting potential for the future.

A huge thank you goes to the New Zealand manager Magnus Bengtsson, and the team officials Sarah Stewart and Emma Bjessmo Robertson, as well as the NZ support team in Genoa. Magnus says “Once again I have to say how incredibly proud I am of the everyone in the team, showing dedication, ambitions and resilience. I feel truly humbled and grateful for being a part of a team that is putting on one hell of a show.” WOC 2026 was an amazing performance by the team and a championship for us all to remember.