“It feels realistic to aim to break into the top ten. Then a medal is a dream goal,” says Gustav Nordström about the World Championships.

Gustav Nordström took silver and bronze at the Junior World Championships in ski orienteering. But since then, he has had cross-country skiing as his primary competitive sport, and he made his World Cup debut in 2013 in Liberec, making a total of fifteen starts in the World Cup. His best placement was twelfth place in Planica in 2016.

After that, he focused on Ski Classics, but unfortunately, he injured his shoulder before the season:

“It was a bit naive to think that I could do such long races with only poling when I couldn’t do so much strength training and poling. But it was fun to try, and even after this, I have started some local long-distance races, and it is absolutely no disadvantage to have run long-distance races here now,” says Nordström, who on Tuesday will make his World Championships debut in ski orienteering.

Since he reduced his focus on cross-country skiing, he chose to run more orienteering in the summer and ski orienteering in the winter.

Before Christmas, he ran the Swedish World Championships tests in Arvidsjaur, and he did so well that he earned a place at the World Championships in Ramsau, Austria.

“I think my form is okay. I have done my best to get in shape, and it feels good. I would say that my strength is that I am all-round and usually do not make any big mistakes in orienteering, then it is a big championship, which means that a lot is about keeping a cool head in crucial situations,” says Nordström to Langd.se.

What is your goal for the World Championships?

“It feels realistic to be able to get one or two races in the top ten. I think I have the capacity for that if I do a good race. A dream goal is to take a medal,” says Nordström.

You can follow the World Ski Orienteering Championships via SC Play (with English commentary).

Read More: Follow the medal chase at the World Ski Orienteering Championships Live on SC Play

Here are the program and broadcast times with links to SC Play

• Tuesday, January 23 – Sprint 11:30 – 14:10 CET
• Wednesday, January 24 – Pursuit – 11:50 – 14:20 CET
• Friday, January 26 – Middle distance – 13:00 – ~16:00 CET
• Saturday, January 27 – Mixed relay – 13:00 – ~13:50 CET

Is ski orienteering a new sport for you? Here’s everything you need to know:

Ski orienteering is very similar to summertime orienteering. But there are some differences. One of these is, of course, that the athlete is skiing. Free technique is allowed on all distances, and skiers carry the map in a map holder on their chest.

The aim is to take the checkpoints in numerical order as quickly as possible, and one of the challenges in ski orienteering is to make course decisions at high speed and also to make judgments about the fastest route between each checkpoint.

The competitions are held in areas where, in addition to the already existing track system, “extra tracks” are laid by snowmobiles in order to create more options for the skier.

On the map, the tracks have different widths depending on how wide the track is. A wide track (corresponding to traditional skate width) has a thick green line as a symbol, while a narrow track has a dashed green color. On the latter, it is not possible to ski “traditional skating” but is about getting around with more focus on the double poling.

Athletes from several different countries are expected to compete for medals. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, and Bulgaria are the main favorites.

In parallel with the World Championships, the Junior World Championships and the European Youth Championships will also be held.

Stay tuned for more information at ProXCskiing.com