Swiss orienteers were the big winners at the Sprint final of the World Orienteering Championships in Trondheim, picking up Mens gold and silver medals and Womens gold.
In a close final where only eight seconds separated the first seven placings, Swiss Matthias Mueller picked up his first World Championships gold medal with a near-perfect run, edging out his team-mate Fabian Hertner by two seconds.
Frédéric Tranchand from France was a surprise bronze medallist, ahead of Norwegian Øystein Kvaal Østerbø who had hoped to win the World Championships in his home-town of Trondheim.
New Zealander Chris Forne had a strong run for 25th while fellow finalist Ross Morrison was disappointed with his run after a navigational mistake between the TV control and the finish.
Forne was also in the spotlight at the opening ceremony that day, as the athlete chosen to read out the Oath on behalf of all competitors.
A fighting finish gave Simone Niggli her 16th gold medal at World Championships level, with the roar of the large crowd over the final metres spurring her to a 0.7 second victory over Swede Helen Jansson.
Host country Norway were able to collect just one medal for the final, a bronze for Marianne Anderson.
New Zealand's top woman, Lizzie Ingham will sit out the World Championships with a severely bruised ankle joint and a possible hairline fracture.
"I'm devastated to not be running" said Ingham after the MRI scans confirmed her injury concerns.
Middle and Long distance qualification races will be held over Monday and Tuesday, followed by finals on Thursday and Saturday and the Relay on Sunday.
Results: Orienteering World Champs Sprint Race
Men
1 Mueller, Matthias SUI 16:10,9 + 00:00,0
2 Hertner, Fabian SUI 16:13,2 + 00:02,3
3 Tranchand, Frédéric FRA 16:13,3 + 00:02,4
4 Østerbø, Øystein Kvaal NOR 16:14,1 + 00:03,2
5 Johansson, Martin SWE 16:15,3 + 00:04,4
6 Wingstedt, Emil SWE 16:15,4 + 00:04,5
7 Hubmann, Daniel SUI 16:18,2 + 00:07,3
8 Khramov, Andrey RUS 16:25,5 + 00:14,6
9 Weltzien, Audun NOR 16:27,3 + 00:16,4
10 Föhr, Tero FIN 16:41,1 + 00:30,2
...
25 Forne, Chris NZL 17:24,2 + 01:13,3
44 Morrison, Ross NZL19:3 4,9 + 03:24,0
Women
1 Niggli, Simone SUI 16:06,2 + 00:00,0
2 Jansson, Helena SWE 16:06,9 + 00:00,7
3 Andersen, Marianne NOR 16:12,1 + 00:05,9
4 Kauppi, Minna FIN 16:32,9 + 00:26,7
5 Egseth, Elise NOR 16:35,1 + 00:28,9
6 Jurenikova, Eva CZE 16:56,5 + 00:50,3
7 Gustafsson, Linnea SWE 16:57,9 + 00:51,7
8 Fincke, Anni-Maija FIN 17:02,4 + 00:56,2
9 Alm, Maja DEN 17:02,6 + 00:56,4
10 Nilsen, Betty Ann Bjerkreim NOR 17:04,2 + 00:58,0
