Stora Tuna Chasing a Seventh Consecutive Jukola Victory

Stora Tuna OK has dominated orienteering’s midsummer highlight in an exceptional fashion from 2019 to 2025, winning the Jukola relay six times in a row. Will the Swedish team’s winning streak continue in the Finnish forests when the 77th Jukola dawns in Kotka?

Jukola 2016 winner and world champion Lakanen believes that the success of Finnish teams at 10Mila has shifted the balance ahead of the Kotka Jukola.

– You don’t usually see Finnish teams’ anchors battling for the win like that. Kalevan Rasti and Helsingin Suunnistajat have gone from challengers to being considered outright favourites.

Lakanen also names Nydalens SK among the favourites, after several runners joined the team from last year’s winning 10Mila lineup.

–They were already expected to fight for the lead at 10Mila, but they were missing top names Eirik Langedal Breivik and Håvard Sandstad Eidsmo. If both are in form for Jukola, Nydalen will be a serious contender.

Despite this, Lakanen says the overall starting picture hasn’t completely changed.

Behind Stora Tuna OK’s years of success lies an exceptionally stable core. Henrik Johannesson and Olle Kalered have been part of the team for every win, as have the Svensk brothers—Jesper, Joakim, Viktor, and Emil Svensk. Viktor and Emil Svensk have run the decisive legs throughout this dominant era. Emil Svensk has anchored the team in five of their six consecutive victories.

Head coach of Stora Tuna’s men’s team, Staffan Eriksson, says that the success of both the men’s and women’s squads has been built above all on a long-term training environment and a stable club culture.

– Many of the runners have grown up in the club from a young age, and a large part of the group still lives in the Borlänge area and trains together frequently.

Eriksson also emphasizes continuity in leadership and coaching. The club has worked consistently and patiently to create conditions that allow athletes to succeed at the highest level.

According to him, success is rooted in the entire environment: an open atmosphere, strong team spirit, and trust that the club is doing the right things.

Staffan Eriksson expresses strong confidence in his team. The spring has gone well, and the team believes it will once again be in the fight for victory.

– We’ve won several relays during the spring. At 10Mila, we were very close to a perfect performance, but we didn’t quite manage to finish it off. We’re heading to Kotka with a sense of revenge. Our goal is to deliver seven consistently strong performances—if we do that, it should be enough to contend for the win, Eriksson says.