“We both want to be the best in the world together”: Aebersold and Fosser are the orienteering dream couple

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Orienteering is an individual sport. Also, when there are relay races, the athletes stand alone in the woods with the card. But there is a couple who want more than just collecting medals: the Swiss-Norwegian orienteering couple Simona Aebersold (25) and Kasper Fosser (24).

Aebersold, the Swiss, is the reigning European champion in the middle distance. Fosser, the Norwegian, is a two-time world champion (long and sprint distance). The ambitions go beyond the individual titles. “What we want is to become the best orienteering runner in the world together – Kasper is,” Aebersold tells Blick.

The last step is not far

Aebersold has stood on the World Cup podium eight times, but she has yet to win a gold medal. “The goal is that I can climb the last step. We are already the best orienteering couple, but we both want to be at the top of the world.” She has been working for years on the golden dream at the World Cup at home. She starts in all disciplines: both long distance and relay.

Her boyfriend firmly believes in her. Fosser tells Blick, “I have no doubt that one day she will be the best. She already has it in her. It’s just a small step.” He has been in Switzerland since June to prepare for the World Cup. “It’s my second or third home,” says the Norwegian, who is currently studying in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Matchmaking was a team effort

Aebersold studies sports science at the University of Bern. How did the international dream couple find each other? It soon becomes clear that orienteering is not an individual sport in this respect either – the Swiss team helped with the pairing.

“I was always the one in the Swiss team who didn’t have a boyfriend yet. Then they discovered that Kasper would really be something for me,” says Aebersold. It then became concrete during the Corona period in the Czech Republic: “It was not an official training camp, only a few Swiss athletes and I were there”, Fosser looks back. The Norwegian team also helped with the pairing. You know each other in the orientation scene.

“Swiss are much more clocked”

When her boyfriend takes on the Swiss, Aebersold faces a dilemma. “Last fall in Davos, the Swiss were already at the top of the relay. Of course I wanted them to take home the win. But when Kasper crossed the finish line, of course I also cheered.”

In some cases, the two may also train as guests in their partner’s national team. You encounter different mentalities. “While the Norwegian training camps are much more open, the Swiss are much more planned. But both work,” says Aebersold. The best proof of that would be if suddenly they were both the best active orienteers in the world.

Source : Blick