Judith Wyder (born 25 June 1988) is a Swiss

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

and ski orienteering competitor and runner. Her achievements include gold medals at the

World Orienteering Championships The World Orienteering Championships (often abbreviated as WOC) is an international orienteering competition which has been organized by the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) since 1966. The World Orienteering Championships is considere ...

and the European Orienteering Championships, both individually and with the Swiss relay team.

Biography

As a junior, Wyder won World Championship medals in both orienteering and ski orienteering. She won a bronze medal in the middle distance at the 2011

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...

, a gold medal in the relay at the 2012

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and a bronze medal in the relay at the 2013

in Vuokatti. Wyder had a very strong start to the 2014 season, becoming the dominant Swiss female orienteer after the retirement of Simone Niggli. She dominated the European Orienteering Championships in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

where she won gold in both the sprint and in the long distance. She also won the World Cup sprint race ahead of WOC in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

– a very technical sprint in Imatra,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. After that she achieved three gold medals and a bronze medal in the 2014

Asiago Asiago (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German language, German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) with the title of ciin the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' o ...

- Lavarone showing her incredible talent. In 2017, she took a break from competing in Orienteering in order to have her first child. In 2018, Wyder won a bronze medal in the sprint distance and a silver medal in the sprint relay at the 2018 World Orienteering Championship in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. Wyder began to focus on

trail running Trail running is a type of running that takes place on outdoor trails, often in mountainous terrain, and often includes significant ascents and descents. It is similar to both mountain running, mountain and fell running (also known as hill r ...

and skyrunning in 2019. She set a new course record at the DoloMyths Run, finished second at Sierre-Zinal and won the Ring of Steall Skyrace, also in a course record. She then won the Annapurna Trail Marathon which gave her the overall women's victory in the Golden Trail World Series. Following the 2019 season, pregnant with her second child, Wyder suffered a stroke on Christmas Day following severe headaches. Wyder returned to training following the birth of her second child in June 2020, but has a permanent spot on her right eye where she is unable to see, which has affected her map-reading for orienteering, and has memory problems which were not previously present. She won silver (individual and team) in the ''Trail Short'' during the IAU Trail World Championships 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyder, Judith 1988 births Living people Swiss female orienteers Swiss foot orienteers Ski-orienteers Swiss female long-distance runners World Orienteering Championships medalists World Games gold medalists for Switzerland World Games medalists in orienteering Junior World Orienteering Championships medalists Medalists at the 2013 World Games 21st-century Swiss sportswomen