What are your feelings after the two
days of competition at NAOM?
Olha Panchenko (O. P.) - I've
had a really nice experience here. The Middle Distance of the second
day was more technical, more interesting than the one of the first
day. I did some small mistakes but I'm satisfied with my performances
overall. I felt, maybe, a little bit more tired on the second day,
which is natural. The training camp in Spain, the week before, was
hard and saturday's Sprint in Marvão broke my legs. Any way, I can't
say that I felt fresher than the day before but I really enjoyed the
last stage of NAOM.
How important are these moments on
your preparation?
O. P. - They are quite important
because I can have an idea about how I am dealing with the winter
training, the things that I must improve in my planning, how do I
feel after a hard training. But I must say that this week showed that
I'm on the right way, with two nice results here. I need to work a
lot my physical shape and also the technical part. These are the most
important things in Orienteering.
And the mental part?
O. P. - I don't know if I can
say that it is the most important in Orienteering. But I think that
I'm mentally well. I can remain concentrated during all the courses
and I was able to understand that this weekend. I need to be
physically stronger and I also need to improve my technical skills.
The mental strength will come as a result of improving both physical
and technical aspects. I'll have some more training camps and
important races as well before the World Championships, so I'll have
enough time to reach the state of self confidence I need.
You've mentioned the World
Championships and I believe that your big goals for the season are in
Scotland. What would be a good result for you in the World
Championships?
O. P. - I don't know, we'll see
(laughs). I dream about a medal, of course, an individual one. But
I'll be very happy if the medal is achieved in the Relay. I believe
in my team and in myself, individually. We'll see...
Do you have a favourite distance?
O. P. - I prefer the Middle
Distance and, maybe, the Sprint. I'm not sure about the Long
Distance. I think I'll skip that.
And the Mixed Sprint Relay? Ukraine,
with you in the team, got an impressive 5th place last year...
O. P. - It was an amazing
experience. I ran the first leg and it was a wonderful feeling in an
absolutely incredible atmosphere in Trento. And the final 5th
place... I can't describe the happiness we felt. To improve the fifth
place in the next World Championships is, also, a big goal. I believe
that the most important thing to the Ukrainian team is to keep the
concentration on our orienteering, from the beginning until the end.
And then we'll see about our result.
Have you planned some intermediate
goals until the World Championships?
O. P. - The big ones are Tiomila
and Jukola, two big relays that I really like. And we also have the
World Cup in Norway and Sweden. These are the four most important
competitions for me before the World Championships.
What's happening with Orienteering
in Ukraine right now?
O. P. - Well, I live in Sweden
but I follow the present moment of Orienteering in my country. The
situation is very difficult and it's really hard to keep concentrated
in what you would like to. There are a lot of people who work
continuously, showing that we are a strong nation. What we want, most
of all, is to have peace in our country.
Even when are we going to see you
doing Orienteering?
O. P. - (Laughs) I don't know.
Orienteering is my life and I think that I'll do it until my last
days, when I'll be really, really, really old. But, as a
professional, I want to run a couple of years more. Maybe in five or
six years I'll give birth to a child and I'll face the possibility of
leaving the high competition but, for the moment, I want to keep it
this way. We have a good national team, we have good results and we
want to show that we can be even better.
Will you continue to come to
Portugal in that occasion, when you are really, really, really old?
O. P. - Yes, I think so. For an
athlete, Portugal is the perfect place for the winter training. And
the people seem to be very happy and really helpful. If you come to
some place and you need help, everybody has a smile and tries to help
you, even if they don't speak english.
And what about our food?
O. P. - Well, that is something
very special about which I don't have an opinion because we cook for
ourselves. To us is important to know what we eat. But I promise that
I'll return and, when I'm really, really, really old, without
concerns about my physical shape, I'll try your national food.
I would like to ask you one wish to
all the orienteers all over the world.
O. P. - Enjoy Orienteering. It's
really the best sport there is.
Joaquim Margarido
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