JAMIE Stevenson, from Edinburgh, anchored Britain to their first ever Orienteering World Relay title yesterday at Olomouc in the Czech Republic. Britain finished in 2hr 18min 17sec, which brought them home 41 seconds clear of Russia, with Switzerland third, almost three further minutes behind.

Graham Gristwood was fourth fastest on the opening leg with 43:45, and Aberdeen-born Jon Duncan was fourth fastest on the second, with 45:04. By then they led the French by just 24 seconds, but their anchor man, five times world middle distance champion Gueorgiou Thierry, was stung in the throat by a bee, and was helicoptered to hospital with an allergic reaction.

The 33-year-old Stevenson, who had finished tenth in the individual long race the previous day, brought in the victory with the second quickest time of the day, 49:28 in a dramatic finale after slipping back to third.

Former world sprint champion (2003), Stevenson has twice won world bronze: in the relay, with Duncan in 2003, and in the individual middle distance race, in Denmark two years ago.

He moved to Sweden in 1999 to improve his orienteering, working as a teacher. He now lives and works in Denmark where he teaches English. His Danish wife is expecting their first child in the autumn, and he has hinted that this may be his last world championship.

The British sprint champion, 21-year-old Scott Fraser, from Dalkeith, was 21st in the long race, and now heads for the World Cup in Oringen. The Swedish meeting is the largest event in the world, with 20,000 starters on each of five days.

A further encouragement for Scotland was that Brian Porteous, former director of leisure and recreation for Glasgow, was elected vice president of the federation at their general assembly.