Meet the favourites: Top contenders for the title
The battle for the most prestigious title in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series will take place on 9 November at the Zénith Toulouse Metropole Arena. There are numerous competitors among the best individual athletes in the world who have a chance of winning. Although athletes from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA traditionally compete for the title, last year two Europeans - Emil Hansson (SWE) and Danny Martin (GER) - stood on the winners' podium alongside Australian Jim Head.
There will be no title defence this year, as new challengers have qualified for the World Championships.
Once again, the New Zealander has the chance to not only win the World Trophy, but also the Individual World Championship. Only his late compatriot and TIMBERSPORTS® icon Jason Wynyard has managed to triumph in both competitions at the same time. Jordan has shown he is on top form this year, most recently on the international stage of the World Trophy, where he won the Trophy format title for the third year running and set a new world record to boot. Last year, Jordan finished seventh in the World Championship.
Australia is sending a new champion to the World Championships: Kody Steers became Australian champion and denied Jim Head the opportunity to defend his title by qualifying. Steers proved that he is in top form with six new personal best times during the national championships in September. Kody Steers comes from the island of Tasmania and started chopping wood when he was eight.
Nate Hodges has been a member of the U.S. team at the World Championships several times. In 2022, he won the silver medal with the team. Hodges has often placed among the top athletes at the U.S. Pro Championships, but now he has managed to win the title of U.S. Champion for the first time - thanks in part to a new personal best time on the Hot Saw. The man from California is therefore competing in the individual competition for the first time.
The Canadian champion is out to make amends. Last year, he was eliminated in the first round due to a disqualification on the Stock Saw and mediocre performances in the other disciplines in the individual competition, finishing in tenth place. For a top athlete like Ben Cumberland, whose nickname is “The Captain”, this is certainly not enough.
Cumberland proved that he is in good form this year with two personal best times at the Standing Block Chop and in the Trophy format. Ben Cumberland has held the world record on the Single Buck for a year now, which he set during his title win at the 2023 Canadian Pro Championships.
Cumberland comes from a family of woodchoppers. His younger brother Nathan is also active in the sport and will compete alongside Ben in the team competition in Toulouse.
The 28-year-old already has several successes to his name: Ferry Svan came second at the European Trophy and holds several national records: on the Hot Saw, the Springboard and the Single Buck. The young Swede has been a hot candidate to win some international Pro titles for several years now, but the 2017 Rookie World Champion has often not been able to make the final winning shot at the decisive moment. With his victory at the Nordic Championships over the silver medal winner from 2023 - his compatriot Emil Hansson - Ferry Svan qualified for the Individual Championships for the first time after 2021. He enters the competition as the leader of the European Pro ranking.
Sport is particularly important in the Svan family: Ferry's father is the former cross-country skier and Olympic champion Gunde Svan, while his mother and sister are also successful cross-country skiers.
At last year's home World Championships in Stuttgart, Danny Martin ended a 12-year period without a medal for the Germans. After winning bronze in 2023, the five-time German champion wants to get back on the podium in Toulouse. The 36-year-old is particularly strong in the sawing disciplines: he holds the national records in all three sawing disciplines: Hot Saw, Single Buck and Stock Saw.
Wherever Dubicki competes, you have to expect him to be in the fight for the podium. The 43-year-old only proved at the end of September that he is also a serious medal candidate for Toulouse. In the sweat-inducing Trophy format, he prevailed against numerous young opponents and won the European Trophy in Switzerland. Dubicki is the current Polish champion and national record holder in three disciplines.
The Benelux champion from the Netherlands is always good for a surprise. However, after winning the European Trophy last year, the current runner-up in the European rankings has yet to win at international level this year. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old proved that he is in good form at his national title fights when he won four out of six disciplines and set a new national record on the Single Buck.
