Fosser Wins Long, Middle Gold and World Cup

Kasper Harlem Fosser defended his Long distance title and added a first European Middle gold before sealing the overall World Cup with 667 points at the 2026 European Championships in Lithuania.

Grit in the green

The Long distance in the Petroškos forest punished the field with thick vegetation and fallen trees. Fosser led from the third control but reached the first drinks station already in trouble. "My stomach was a bit upset, so I had to run the rest of the race without taking any nutrition," he told orientering.no.

Viktor Svensk briefly levelled at control eight, and Fabian Aebersold closed to within three seconds at control 17. The Norwegian rebuilt his advantage on the route-choice leg to control 19 and pulled clear to win by 69 seconds on the 17-kilometre course.

One middle, four globes

Two days later Fosser took the Middle distance by 94 seconds over Anton Johansson. He was only thirteenth at the first control but led from control four onward, posting the fastest split on seven legs without ever losing more than twelve seconds to any split.

The Middle gold was his first at a championship, after silver in Hungary two years earlier.

His two EOC wins confirmed a fourth career World Cup globe after victories in half the season's eight races.