Thierry Gueorgiou

Thierry Gueorgiou (French pronunciation: ​[tjɛʁi ʒɔʁʒu];[1] born 30 March 1979)[2] is a French orienteer who has won more than 20 gold medals in international competitions, including the World Orienteering Championships (WOC) middle distance event eight times: 2003–2005, 2007–2009, 2011 and 2017. In November 2016 it was announced he will become the Swedish national team head coach following the 2017 World Championships. [3]

Thierry Gueorgiou

Gueorgiou at the World Cup event in Norway 2007
Personal information
Born	(1979-03-30) 30 March 1979
Sport
Sport	Orienteering
Club	Kalevan Rasti NO St-Etienne
Medal record Men's orienteering Representing  France World Championships 2003 Rapperswil/Jona Middle 2004 Västerås Middle 2005 Aichi Middle 2007 Kiev Middle 2007 Kiev Sprint 2008 Olomouc Middle 2009 Miskolc Middle 2011 Savoie Middle 2011 Savoie Long 2011 Savoie Relay 2013 Vuokatti Long 2014 Asiago-Lavarone Long 2015 Inverness Long 2017 Tartu Middle 2005 Aichi Relay 2009 Miskolc Long 2016 Stromstad Long 2017 Tartu Relay 2003 Rapperswil/Jona Sprint 2010 Trondheim Middle 2010 Trondheim Long World Games 2005 Duisburg Middle World Cup 2006 WC Overall 2007 WC Overall 2005 WC Overall 2008 WC Overall 2009 WC Overall 2011 WC Overall 2010 WC Overall European Championships 2004 Roskilde Middle 2006 Otepää Middle 2008 Ventspils Middle 2010 Primorsko Relay World University Championships 2000 Roanne Short 2000 Roanne Long 2000 Roanne Relay 2002 Varna Short 2002 Varna Relay Junior World Championships 1998 Reims Long 1999 Varna Relay 1998 Reims Relay 1999 Varna Short

Clubs

Gueorgiou runs for two orienteering clubs, the French NO St-Etienne[4] and the Finnish Kalevan Rasti.[2] With Kalevan Rasti he has won the Jukola Relay five times (2004, 2005, 2007, 2013 and 2014).

Running for Fédération Française de Course d'Orientation, he made his senior international debut at WOC 1997 in Grimstad, Norway, at the age of 18.

World Orienteering Championships

Thierry Gueorgiou and Simone Niggli-Luder, WOC 2007 middle distance champions

After his Debut in 1997, it took Gueorgiou 6 years to achieve his first medal. Gueorgiou has said that this was his hardest period in orienteering. in 2001 Gueorgiou came 19th in the Short distance after a near perfect run, which led him to make changes to his technique that would eventually lead him to multiple world championship victories.[5]

His breakthrough season came in 2003, where he won his first gold medal in the Middle Distance. Gueorgiou has since won all 3 individual disciplines, winning the Sprint Distance for the first time in Kiev in 2007 and the Long Distance for the first time in 2011. Gueorgiou won his most recent Long Distance gold medal in 2015, winning the gold in the Long Distance at Glen Affric ahead of Daniel Hubmann and Olav Lundanes. Thierry has won 14 gold medals at world championships.

Gueorgiou announced his retirement from international competition after the 2017 World Orienteering Championships in Estonia, where he won his final gold medal in the Middle Distance.[6]

Gueorgiou was a member of the French relay team at WOC 2008 in Olomouc, Czech Republic. While running in a clear lead on the third leg, he suffered a bee sting on the back of his tongue. He left the course to go directly to the finish, where he collapsed, barely able to breathe. He was transported by helicopter to a hospital.[7][8]

Martin Johansson 2009 WOC injury

At WOC 2009 in Miskolc, Hungary, during the last leg of the relay race Gueorgiou, Anders Nordberg (Norway), and Michal Smola (Czech Republic) were close behind the lead runner, Martin Johansson (Sweden), when Johansson suffered a 12 cm deep penetrating trauma from a stick in his right thigh. While Nordberg ran for help, Gueorgiou and Smola stayed with Johansson. Gueorgiou pulled out the stick, then applied compression to the wound using his own shirt and GPS tracking harness. Gueorgiou and Smola then carried Johansson to a road. Nordberg brought a physician there.[9][10]

World Championship results

Year
	Age	Long	Middle	Sprint	Relay	Sprint Relay
1997	18	—	50	N/A	12	N/A
1999	20	—	24	N/A	12	N/A
2001	22	—	18	12	11	N/A
2003	24	—	1	3	14	N/A
2004	25	—	1	5	7	N/A
2005	26	7	1	—	2	N/A
2006	27	8	4	—	11	N/A
2007	28	—	1	1	6	N/A
2008	29	—	1	5	DSQ	N/A
2009	30	2	1	—	25	N/A
2010	31	3	3	—	8	N/A
2011	32	1	1	—	1	N/A
2012	33	—	4	—	5	N/A
2013	34	1	2	—	8	N/A
2014	35	1	DSQ	—	3	—
2015	36	1	7	—	—	—
2016	37	2	4	—	6	—
2017	38	—	1	—	2	—

Style of Orienteering

Gueorgiou has stated in interviews that his style is "Full speed, no mistakes".[5] Gueorgiou is noted for his incredible map- reading, and is frequently named as "The King of Middle Distance" for his multiple victories at world championships. Alongside his victories in Classic foot orienteering, Gueorgiou was the 2006 European champion in trail orienteering.[2]

Personal life

Gueorgiou's nickname is Tero and he is commonly known as Tero Kettunen in Finland and Terje Gundersen in Norway.[9] He was born in St. Étienne, and currently lives in Uppsala, Sweden with his partner elite orienteer Annika Billstam.

References

1. How Thierry Gueorgiou pronounces his name
2. "Profile: Thierry Gueorgiou". runners.worldofo.com. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
3. Sara Stylbäck Vesa (25 November 2016). "Drömvärvning av orienteringslandslaget" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
4. "Thierry Gueorgiou". tero1.free.fr. Archived from the original on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
5. http://news.worldofo.com/2007/12/10/gueorgious-story-part-ii/
6. http://woc2017.ee/
7. John McCullough (2008-07-28). "High drama at the WOC Relay". The Irish Orienteer. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
8. "Cruel bee sting costs French world orienteering title". CzechNews. 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
9. Thierry Gueorgiou (2009-08-27). "25th in WOC relay…". Thierry Gueorgiou. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
10. Martin Johansson (2009-08-26). "The WOC-relay and the days after". Archived from the original on 2009-08-29. Retrieved 2009-09-08.

External links

• Nordberg, Smola and Gueorgiou are jogging to the finish of the 2009 relay in Miskolc. Gueorgiou lost his shirt to harness the wound of Johansson
• Official website