On the night of October 29, a closing ceremony lowered the curtain of the “Hello 5G” Orienteering World Cup Final 2019 & Guangdong Historical Road Orienteering Championship ‘Surfing 4K IPTV’ Cup #5.

The Swedish team had a resounding win this season, collecting all the overall champions in Women’s, Men’s and team relay. As to the final of the sprint, the home team made an unprecedented achievement. Hao Shuangyan won in the Women’s while Li Zhuoyan finished third in the Men’s.

During the competitions, athletes from 37 countries and regions ran and competed on the Guangdong Historical Road, where they, at the same time, experienced Chinese culture. It was a tremendous success winning attention and praises from all over the world.

Elites runners presented fierce and exciting competitions,Home team celebrated the first-ever World Cup victory

The event was constituted of three typical orienteering competitions, namely the sprint, the sprint relay and the middle distance. Altogether 262 athletes took part in the Orienteering World Cup Final 2019 and the number of runners in the Guangdong Historical Road Orienteering Championship #5 was 840.

The sprint was held on October 29. The Chinese athlete Hao Shuangyan won the first place in the Women’s and Yannick Michiels from Belgium won in the Men’s. Another Chinese athlete Li Zhuoye also had an impressive performance and ranked third in the Men’s.

Hao Shuangyan said she felt exceptionally proud to achieve the first-ever victory in the World Cup for Team China.

Li Zhuoye was also overjoyed by his achievement. He made many other contributions to the sport of orienteering as he is also a physical education teacher and a coach of orienteering in a university, as well as a referee and a mapper.

The Sweden Gustav Bergman and Tove Alexandersson were the two winners in the middle distance held on October 26.

As to the sprint relay held on October 27, the Swiss team won with a time at 55:14 and the home team China ranked 12 with its time at 57:06.

It has been four years since the first Guangdong Historical Road Orienteering Championship. It used to attract mostly university students. But after promotion through the years, much more runners from primary and middle schools, and young people from various walks of life including the enthusiasts of outdoor activities take part in orienteering.

Athletes and participants from home and abroad gave a Thumb-up to the event

Many foreign athletes said the races and terrains were more challenging. But they felt more impressed by the organizers and their peers.

The Swedish Chinese Lucy who had been dedicated to the exchanges of orienteering said she was deeply amazed with the achievements that China had made through these years. Tomas, an athlete from the Czech Republic, had joined the Championship in Guangdong for three times. He said he was delighted to witness the development of orienteering in China.

On the opening ceremony, Leho Haldna, President of the International Orienteering Federation, congratulated Chinese orienteering on this achievement. He said, “the Guangdong Historical Road Orienteering Championships is a good example of a project that supports the IOF values”.

Cultural activities showcased the uniqueness of Lingnan and China

A series of cultural activities were also held during the event. On October 25, a concert of traditional Chinese music was put on. On October 26, athletes and participants were invited to watch a local movie “Starry Road” about an inspirational story. On the rest day on October 28, a half-day tour was organized and the athletes had a great time visiting the historical quarry in Shiyan Cave on Xiqiao Mountain, one of the venues of the competitions.

Guangdong Telecom and Guangdong Sports Lottery Center showed great support to the event

Guangdong Telecom, the strategic partner of the Guangdong Historical Road Orienteering Championship, was the web service provider of the event and had been trying its utmost to support the event with stable stream.

The pamphlets of Outdoor Safety edited and printed by Guangdong Outdoor Sports Association were distributed to audience at the venue.  Generous support was also received from the Guangdong Sports Lottery Center.

(Photo by Xiong Canjian, Zhou Wenjuan and Jiang Jianmin and from the Organizing Committee)