Simone Niggli-Luder

Simone Niggli-Luder (born 9 January 1978) is a Swiss orienteering athlete who has twice won (in 2003 and 2005) all four women's competitions at the world championships. She is widely seen as one of the greatest orienteers of all time.

Simone Niggli-Luder
An image of Simone in 2006.
Simone Niggli-Luder in 2006.
Personal information
NationalitySwiss
Born (1978-01-09) 9 January 1978
Burgdorf
Alma materUniversity of Bern
Years active1988 - 2013
Sport
SportOrienteering
ClubOLV Hindelbank
Medal record
Women's orienteering
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Tampere Long
Gold medal – first place 2003 Rapperswil-Jona Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2003 Rapperswil-Jona Middle
Gold medal – first place 2003 Rapperswil-Jona Long
Gold medal – first place 2003 Rapperswil-Jona Relay
Gold medal – first place 2004 Västerås Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2005 Aichi Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2005 Aichi Middle
Gold medal – first place 2005 Aichi Long
Gold medal – first place 2005 Aichi Relay
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aarhus Middle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aarhus Long
Gold medal – first place 2007 Kyiv Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2007 Kyiv Middle
Gold medal – first place 2009 Miskolc Long
Gold medal – first place 2010 Trondheim Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2010 Trondheim Long
Gold medal – first place 2012 Lausanne Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2012 Lausanne Long
Gold medal – first place 2012 Lausanne Relay
Gold medal – first place 2013 Vuokatti Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2013 Vuokatti Middle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Vuokatti Long
Silver medal – second place 2006 Aarhus Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2010 Trondheim Middle
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Tampere Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Aarhus Relay
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Kyiv Long
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Miskolc Middle
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Miskolc Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Vuokatti Relay
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2005 Duisburg Middle
Gold medal – first place 2005 Duisburg Relay
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2002 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2004 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2005 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2006 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2007 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2009 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2010 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2012 WC Overall
Gold medal – first place 2013 WC Overall
Silver medal – second place 2000 WC Overall
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2002 Sümeg Classic
Gold medal – first place 2004 Roskilde Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2004 Roskilde Long
Gold medal – first place 2006 Otepää Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2006 Otepää Long
Gold medal – first place 2010 Primorsko Middle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Primorsko Long
Gold medal – first place 2012 Falun Sprint
Gold medal – first place 2012 Falun Middle
Gold medal – first place 2012 Falun Long
Silver medal – second place 2000 Truskavets Short
Silver medal – second place 2002 Sümeg Relay
Silver medal – second place 2006 Otepää Relay
Silver medal – second place 2010 Primorsko Sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Primorsko Relay
Nordic Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Bornholm Middle
Gold medal – first place 2007 Bornholm Long
Silver medal – second place 2001 Mikkeli Classic
Silver medal – second place 2005 Notodden Sprint
Silver medal – second place 2005 Notodden Middle
Silver medal – second place 2005 Notodden Long
Silver medal – second place 2007 Bornholm Relay
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Notodden Relay
Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1997 Leopoldsburg Classic
Silver medal – second place 1996 Govora Relay
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Leopoldsburg Relay
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Reims Relay

Personal life

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.

Orienteering achievements

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 23 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 Birgitte Wolf and Vroni König-Salmi the relay). She managed to repeat this extraordinary feat two years later at the world championships in Aichi, Japan.

Simone Niggli-Luder and Marianne Andersen at World Orienteering Championships 2007
Simone Niggli-Luder and Frenchman Thierry Gueorgiou, middle distance gold medalists, World Orienteering Championships 2007

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 Kyiv, 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.

Niggli-Luder took time off from competitive orienteering in 2008 to give birth to her first child and again in 2011, twins. 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. At the World Championships 2013 at Vuokatti, Finland, she won all three single competitions (sprint, middle, and long distance) and finished third in the team relay event (together with Sara Luescher and Judith Wyder).

In 2001, she spent one year in Finland, running for the Finnish club Turun Suunnistajat, and won the Finnish championship. She ran for the Swedish club Ulricehamns OK after July 2003. In September 2013, Niggli-Luder announced that she was retiring from elite orienteering at the end of the year, after the last World Cup race in New Zealand. Niggli holds over 60 World Cup race victories.

World Championship results

Year
Age Long Middle Sprint Relay Sprint
Relay
19992115
200123Gold4Bronze4
200325GoldGoldGoldGold
20042646Gold4
200527GoldGoldGoldGold
200628GoldGoldSilver3
200729BronzeGoldGold4
200830
200931GoldBronzeBronze4
201032GoldSilverGold4
201133
201234Gold5GoldGold
201335GoldGoldGoldBronze
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