Hanny proved her class in spectacular fashion and confirmed her status amongst the world’s top orienteering athletes with her win in the Sprint, defeating Swiss super-star Simone Niggli-Luder by 5.8sec.

At the post-race press conference Hanny was asked how big was this Gold?

Tasmanians Hanny(World Champion) and Grace present a boomerang to Danish Crown Prince Frederik.

“It’s pretty big,” she replied. “It’s a really big achievement in my orienteering life. Gold at JWOC was really exciting but this is the big highlight. When I first came to Denmark my first thoughts were that the terrain was very like Australia so I am able to read the terrain well. For this race I was relaxed and confident that I could run well. But winning is just incredible.”

Simone Niggli-Luder said she had not had a perfect race, making small mistakes in the early stages. This is her first Silver medal so she is quite happy, she said.

Men’s Champion, Emil Wingstedt of Sweden, said “Still being on top in the Sprint is great – this Gold is the best one.” He is always aware of younger challengers coming up but will try to stay ahead of them for some time yet.

One of those challengers is the Swiss Daniel Hubmann. He said he made some small mistakes on the long leg and near the end so winning Silver was a very good feeling for him.

Hanny’s Gold medal has set a landmark in Orienteering by being the first ever won by an orienteer from outside Europe. It is also believed to be the first time a JWOC gold medallist has won a senior Title in the same year.

And Hanny being a Tasmanian had special significance for Crown Prince Frederik who we all know has a special link with Tasmanians.