Simone Niggli-Luder
Encyclopedia
Simone Niggli-Luder (born January 9, 1978) is a Swiss
orienteering
athlete who has twice won (in 2003 and 2005) all four women's competitions at the world championships
.
Born as Simone Luder, she grew up in Burgdorf in the Canton of Bern. She studied biology
at the University of Bern, where she graduated in 2003. That same year, she married Matthias Niggli, also a Swiss orienteering athlete. They currently live in Münsingen
near Bern and in Ulricehamn
, Sweden
.
She began competing in orienteering early on, joining the Swiss club OLV Hindelbank
; at the age of ten, she participated in her first competition. Since then, her palmarès
has been impressive: she won a gold medal at the junior world championships in 1997, has been 20 times Swiss champion, won the Finnish
championships once and the Swedish championships nine times, has won the world cup five times, and won seven gold medals at European championships and a total of 17 gold medals at world championships. In 2003, she won all four women's competitions of the world championships held at Rapperswil
in Switzerland (sprint, middle, and long distance, and— together with Lea Müller and Vroni König-Salmi— the relay). She managed to repeat this extraordinary feat two years later at the world championships in Aichi, Japan
.
At the European Championships in 2006 in Otepää
, Estonia
, she won gold in the sprint and long distance competitions, and finished fifth in the middle distance competition. The Swiss team finished second in the relay, beaten only by the Finnish team. At the world championships 2007 in Kiev
, Ukraine
, she again won gold on the middle and sprint distances and finished third on the long distance, behind two Finnish athletes who shared first place.
Simone took time off from competitive orienteering in 2008 to give birth to her daughter Malin. She made a successful return to the international orienteering scene in 2009 by winning bronze medals in the middle and sprint distances at the World Orienteering Championships in Miskolc
, Hungary
, and the gold medal in the long distance.
In 2001, she spent one year in Finland, running for the Finnish club Turun Suunnistajat, and won the Finnish championship. Since July 2003, she starts for the Swedish club Ulricehamns OK.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
athlete who has twice won (in 2003 and 2005) all four women's competitions at the world championships
World Orienteering Championships
The World Orienteering Championships were first held in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2003 . Since 2003, competitions have been held annually....
.
Born as Simone Luder, she grew up in Burgdorf in the Canton of Bern. She studied biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
at the University of Bern, where she graduated in 2003. That same year, she married Matthias Niggli, also a Swiss orienteering athlete. They currently live in Münsingen
Münsingen
Münsingen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.The village lies on the River Aar between the cities of Bern and Thun.-Geography:...
near Bern and in Ulricehamn
Ulricehamn
Ulricehamn is a locality and the seat of Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, with 9,250 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Ulricehamn, originally known as Bogesund has been populated at least since the Middle Ages. The town has had city privileges since at least the 15th century...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
She began competing in orienteering early on, joining the Swiss club OLV Hindelbank
Hindelbank
Hindelbank is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-History:Hindelbank is first mentioned in 1275 as Hundelwanc.-Geography:...
; at the age of ten, she participated in her first competition. Since then, her palmarès
Palmares
Palmares may refer to:*Palmares, Pernambuco, a municipality in the state of Pernambuco in Brazil*Palmares Paulista*Palmares Canton, a canton in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica...
has been impressive: she won a gold medal at the junior world championships in 1997, has been 20 times Swiss champion, won the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
championships once and the Swedish championships nine times, has won the world cup five times, and won seven gold medals at European championships and a total of 17 gold medals at world championships. In 2003, she won all four women's competitions of the world championships held at Rapperswil
Rapperswil
Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, the municipality includes Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.-Today:On...
in Switzerland (sprint, middle, and long distance, and— together with Lea Müller and Vroni König-Salmi— the relay). She managed to repeat this extraordinary feat two years later at the world championships in Aichi, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Otepää
Otepää is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it's the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Town has a population of 2,189 . Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, she won gold in the sprint and long distance competitions, and finished fifth in the middle distance competition. The Swiss team finished second in the relay, beaten only by the Finnish team. At the world championships 2007 in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, she again won gold on the middle and sprint distances and finished third on the long distance, behind two Finnish athletes who shared first place.
Simone took time off from competitive orienteering in 2008 to give birth to her daughter Malin. She made a successful return to the international orienteering scene in 2009 by winning bronze medals in the middle and sprint distances at the World Orienteering Championships in Miskolc
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and the gold medal in the long distance.
In 2001, she spent one year in Finland, running for the Finnish club Turun Suunnistajat, and won the Finnish championship. Since July 2003, she starts for the Swedish club Ulricehamns OK.