After the first week came to a close, the PWT Italia team has moved to the north of Sardinia: it is in the area around Alghero that the second week of competitions for Five+Five Sardinia 2025 will take place.
The week began with a strong focus on science: this morning, at the Porto Conte Ricerche center in Alghero, a scientific conference was held in collaboration with Sardegna Ricerche, exploring the theme of orienteering as a tool to promote physical and cognitive health, particularly in the contexts of active aging and sports tourism.
Among the speakers were several former world orienteering champions, including Bernt Bjornsgaard, as well as academic experts such as Prof. Filippo Tocco, Scientific Director of the SLAM Laboratory of Sardegna Ricerche (University of Cagliari), Prof. Andrea Manca (University of Sassari), and researcher Martina Palumbo (University of Verona).
Also in attendance were the General Manager of SOGEAAL, the company managing Alghero Airport, Dr. Giuseppe Serra representing Sardegna Ricerche, and Gabriele Viale, PWT Italia Team Manager.
The conference was followed by the orienteering race, featuring over 300 international participants from Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Finland, Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic, and many other countries.
On the overall podium, several top names in the international orienteering scene stood out: Sweden’s August Mollén, newly crowned European Champion, continued his winning streak from last week to take victory, followed by national teammate Max Peter Bejmer, this year’s overall World Cup winner, and Switzerland’s Daniel Hubmann, a multiple world medalist.
In the women’s race, victory went to Vilma von Krusenstierna (multiple European and World Cup podiums), followed by teammate Karolin Ohlsson, World Champion and multiple world medalist. Third place went to Anja Probst from the Czech Republic.
In the photo: the elite men’s and women’s podiums, alongside Dario Carbini, representing the Orienteering for Research project team of Sardegna Ricerche.
See you tomorrow for Day 2, featuring two stages: one in the morning at Lago Baratz, and one in the afternoon at Maria Pia, near Alghero — an exclusive stage dedicated to Mattia Debertolis, on the last map he surveyed before his passing last July.