Andalucia O' Meeting 2014 (Punta Umbría)
Sprint WRE (Day 1)
It was my start at the competition
season. After a few weeks without running at all, due to injuries, I
was eager to know how my shape was. I was very happy with the 3rd
place on the Middle Distance, nearly without mistakes. The terrain
was nice, once you were in the flow, you should keep it till the end.
I hoped for a somehow more difficult
Sprint, but it was also good to see where I'm standing physically in
that kind of race, obviously more or less as usually. Well, the Long
Distance didn't went so well from the beginning. I didn't manage to
find the right competition mood, heard it should be easy, what it
actually wasn't to me. However, the atmosphere was good as always on
the Iberian Peninsula. I can't complain about anything in the
organisation, well done guys. Thanks for a comfortable season
opening!
Gernot Kerschbaumer
OK Pan Kristianstad
I focussed quite a lot on running
training the last four months and this was only my second
(orienteering) training camp of the winter (after five days in Alto
Alentejo, Portugal, in January). This means that I did many trainings
the week before AOM, both fast sessions and some longer trainings. I
really like the South of Europe for training in the winter, because
the maps and terrains are always of an high standard quality. For me
it was mostly important to get the feeling with the map back after
many running trainings.
During AOM, I took both WRE races
really seriously. It's good to see where you're with your
orienteering at this moment of the season and how your shape is,
compared to the others. In the Middle Distance WRE I lost too much
time, mostly because my speed was too high for the orienteering. The
result (13th place) was okay, but it should have been better. The
Sprint WRE was the most important race for me, because I'm focussing
on the Sprint Distance and there were many good names in the
startlist. I could run very fast in the Sprint, even after a pretty
tough week, which shows that my shape is good at the moment and I'm
doing the right trainings (thanks to my coach).
Overall I liked the Andalucia O'
Meeting, because of the relaxed atmosphere, the good maps and courses
and the quality in the elite classes. This is what most orienteers
search for, in the winter, and I think Sun-O offered this really
well.
Yannick Michiels
OK Ravinen – Nacka
My short visit at AOM is over, just
“dropping by” to have some intense technical o-training, to go
home and evaluate before the first round of World Cup in Turkey. I
arrived during the night to Saturday and leaving Tuesday morning, but
if not counting the lost bag everything was fine!
Of course I'm not satisfied with my
result at the Long Distance, but perhaps it was a good signal for me
and I know what to work with before the season really starts. I do
see lots of improvement in my technical, mental and physical skills
and I look forward to continue working with the whole “o-picture”
this year. I enjoyed the weather, the fast terrain and the
atmosphere. I do feel that this type of orienteering/terrain is more
fun to go high speed than slow, so it fulfilled my purpose with a
short but intense trip.
Lena Eliasson
Domnarvets GoIF
I am really satisfied with my results.
It shows me that my winter-training is going well, and I feel really
confident to continue in the same way for the rest of my preparation
for the season. The competitions were nice. I liked the high speed
terrain although it didn't create a great technical challenge. It was
more about keeping focus and trying to stay as close the line as
possible. I think that is pretty much the same thing that will count
at EOC in April, which is my next main target. So, I guess it was a
really good training for that!
Albin Ridefelt
OK Linné
I really enjoyed my stay in Punta
Umbría. For me, the competitions were important because I needed
some orienteering races that would help me to escape from my slow
winter trainings. Also, as the first World Cup stage is already in
the end of February, AOM was perfect for getting ready for the
upcoming season. The organization was very good. I liked the maps and
the Prologue and Middle Distance's terrains. Although for the Sprint,
I was hoping for an old town with a lot of narrow streets. But I
enjoyed running it, anyway. It was a fun weekend and it was a pity
that I couldn't run the Long Distance!
Ausrine Kutkaite
IFK Lidingo SOK
AOM 2014 has probably been the WRE
event in Spain with the greatest international impact ever, with more
than 500 international athletes, many notorious names and 500 Spanish
athletes, overcoming one thousand participants. We believe that the
appeal of the Punta Umbría and Huelva coast, its fast and technical
terrains, the fact of organizing two WRE on the same day (Middle
Distance and Sprint) and the experience of Sun-O club in organizing
events, have made possible such a successful participation. On the
other hand, in this fifth edition, we have been able to provide
logistical details and infrastructure that are usually difficult to
offer in our sport. The fact that we could locate the finish and the
arenas in urban areas enabled to offer to the public a more modern
face of our sport, all thanks to the support of the municipality of
Punta Umbría and its location, by integrating the forest in the
city. We hope that participants enjoyed and we look forward to the
AOM 2015 in Punta Umbría, with new terrains and new challenges!
After the fifth edition, we can say
that the AOM is consolidated in the international calendar of winter.
To the Sun-O team is a great satisfaction and therefore we want to
continue working in this line of progress of our sport.
Pedro Pasión Rodríguez
Event Director
Joaquim Margarido
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