209, 219, 227. No, these are not numbers to play on the lottery wheel. And even if they appeared in your dreams, they would hardly help you replenish your finances. But in the world of orienteering, these figures carry a lot of weight, perhaps the most impressive ever seen at the start of a competition in Italy. And, apart from the great Nordic relays, it is no exaggeration to say that few competitions in the international history of this sport can boast similar numbers.
What do they represent? Very simple: they are the number of gold, silver and bronze medals won at the World Championships (WOC), European Championships (EOC), Junior World Championships (JWOC) and World Cup events by the athletes who will compete in Pietra Ligure and Albenga on the weekend that officially opens the final rush towards the World Orienteering Championship in Genoa in July 2026.
Some joker said: ‘Well... just have Tove Alexandersson at the start and those numbers are easily achieved’. No. Tove will not be at the start of the race, perhaps the only - or one of the very few - big stars missing from the line-up. Otherwise, all the big names are there. They really must be all there, given that 67 of the top 100 athletes in the world rankings as of 10 March 2026 will be present at the Ligurian races, along with 59 of the top 100 female athletes in the same rankings.
From Norway, please let Kasper Fosser enter the stage, with teammates Eirik Langedal Breivik and others ready to challenge his supremacy even before leaving their hotel rooms. Switzerland? Almost the entire team will be present: from Simona Aebersold to Natalia Gemperle to the Hubmann brothers (and Daniel, it must be said, has made a significant contribution to achieving those numbers). They will be joined by Rancan, Polsini and many others. Sweden? The men's team is very strong, with Gustafsson and Mollén at the forefront; the women's team is almost frightening, with Lundberg and Fast. Finland could not miss out and will be represented by all its champions, both male and female (ah! and that's not counting the medals won by their coach, Thierry Gueorgiou).
France also has a strong presence, with European sprint champion Mathias Barros Vallet, and the rising start Maelle Beauvir – the only notable absence being European knockout sprint champion Cecile Calandry. Belgium and Germany are also present with full teams, while the Czech Republic arrives with the men's trio Chaloupky, Glonek and Krivda and the extraordinary athletes who won medals at the 2024 and 2025 JWOC. Many other European countries are also present, with Greece returning to the starting line.
And that's not all. Athletes from Canada, Colombia, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Australia will be at the starting line. With them, at least as long as the world map remains as we know it, all continents will be represented: just like on the Olympic flag.
And then there is Italy.
Italy will give it its all, ready to carve out a leading role, as we have seen so many times in Italian sport – most recently with the athletes at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics – often in the role of underdog (any reference to the Six Nations match between Italy and England is purely intentional). Even in recent years, sport has shown that Italy can compete with anyone on any terrain.
If young athletes such as Corona, Pellegrino Tecco, Scopel, De Biasi, Acler, Amadesi, Angeli, Di Stefano, Lambertini and Gaio are eager to cross their compasses with the most accredited rivals, there is also Francesco Mariani, who is waiting for the opportunity to transform his desire for revenge into competitive energy after the disqualification that took away his fifth place at the World Cup in Genoa two years ago.
In the women's competition, the experience of Dallera, Lucchetta, De Biasi and Zaffanella will be tested by the new stars of the national Elite category, starting with the Rigoni sisters and Elis Angeli.
So many names. So many numbers. One thing is certain: the weekend in Pietra Ligure and Albenga – the first and second rounds of the 2026 Italian Cup – promises to be second to no other individual orienteering competition held in recent years.
If history will be written in July 2026 at the World Championships in Genoa, the first pages of the story are about to be written right here. And they begin in a few hours.
