He describes his own vision as swimming in murky water or constantly walking through a heavy fog. When Jan was 14 years old, he contracted Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), which can quickly cause a severe visual impairment in the central field of vision.
"I went to bed on December 12 and woke up on Lucia and couldn't see," he says.
"Inspiring"
Although he only has two percent visual capacity, he will participate in O-Ringen in Åre this year. This is thanks to Vägvisaren, a project run by Örebro County Parasport Federation with funds from the Swedish Inheritance Fund. To give children, adolescents and adults with visual impairments the opportunity to practice sport orienteering.
– It is inspiring and above all with someone who really wants to and is fearless, says Tomas Yngström, project manager for Vägvisaren.
The map he reads is just like a regular orientation map, only that it is on a larger scale. In total, Jan will do three stages at O-Ringen, even though the plan from the beginning was to carry out two.
"While we're up there and the training is going pretty well, we decided to do three," says Jan Thorin.
Watch Jan orient in the clip above.