Thierry Gueorgiou needs no
introduction. He is, “only”, the best orienteer ever, confirming
that in the recent World Orienteering Championships WOC 2015, where
he won his 13th world title, the fourth in Long Distance. But the
expectations of the “king” were other...
How was your training time? Did you
feel well prepared for the WOC? What goals have you drawn?
Thierry Gueorgiou (T. G.) -
Well, there has been lot of ups and downs in my preparation this
year, the lowest point being reached with a big toe fracture in
January. I struggled also with minor injuries resulting from this one
later on. But I spent quite much time on relevant terrains (50 days
in Scotland) to be well enough prepared, even though I had to give up
the Relay to allow me more time to recover before the Long Distance.
This decision was taken a couple of
weeks before World Championships with the team. The main reason was a
sub-optimal preparation, but I also had in mind this French saying
“the perfect is the enemy of the good” and I keep remembering the
last seasons of two legends of our sport, Emil Wingstedt, running all
the races for his last WOC in Trondheim (2010), ending with a 6th
place as best, and Bjørnar Valstad, running two distances (long and
relay) at the WOC in Västerås (2004) and ending his career with two
new gold medals. On top of that, I realized last year, I had
contributed to create a huge emotional baggage associated with my own
expectations for the middle distance, and 24 extra hours to empty my
head before the long distance would surely make a difference.
Would you like to talk about your
amazing gold Medal in the Long Distance? Did you expect it?
T. G. - My main focus at this
World Championship was the middle distance, even though the results
of the last years have shown that my biggest chance was probably in
the long distance. But to be fully honest, after the huge
disappointment of the middle distance, the Long Distance felt more
like a redemption than anything else. During the whole race, I tried
to use my frustration as a source of energy. That was probably why my
technical performance was far from perfect that day (too much will,
too little control), but I felt released after the race and was
pleased to avoid another serious headache for the rest of the summer…
And what about the 7th place in the
Middle Distance? You talked about disappointment and frustration
earlier…
T. G. - This race is terribly
difficult to analyse without criticising the map quality on the
penultimate control. But it is not the first time in history that
there has been mapping mistakes here and there, and it is worth
mentioning that the map has always been the same for everyone. It is
an important skill to manage to keep the risk as low as possible
whatever the circumstances. Do I have this skill? It is, may be,
where I should put my focus on at the moment instead of blaming the
whole world for my failures in middle distance.
Are these results a motivation for
the future or is it time to stop now?
T. G. - It's really hard to
tell, actually. Some morning, I wake up thinking it is the right time
to say good-bye. Some other morning, I wake up with hundreds of ideas
to change my training to still be competitive. The reality is, deep
inside, I still love orienteering, and also love racing against the
very best, but I see this as fun only if I am able to maintain a good
enough level.
What about the French men's team?
Overall, what results do you highlight?
T. G. - As a team, and if we
take aside the WOC 2011 in France, which was special, it was our best
WOC ever. Lucas and Fredo showed this last week they already belong
to la crème de la crème! And I am afraid it is just the beginning
for them. From what I see in training camps, they can definitively
reach some even higher heights. I was especially proud of Vincent as
well, as he has been training for many years in a very professional
way, but never managed to really show his full potential. We gave him
a chance at the relay, he stood firm under the pressure and
delivered. I can´t forget to mention Philippe, who couldn't compete
for his last WOC due to a back injury, but over those last years he
has brought so much of his spirit to the team, that part of those
medals belong to him as well, and his cooking skills during the WOC
week made a difference too...
How do you rate the WOC 2015 from a
technical and organizational point of view?
T. G. - Well, if I am
remembering right the welcome words of the Event director in the
bulletin, he said that athletes will leave Scotland saying it was the
“best WOC ever”. For the reason mentioned earlier, for me, it
sound now a bit too cocky, even though I have enjoyed the atmosphere
at the arena very much. And it is fair to mention that having no
arena passage for the forest distances has contributed to increase
the course quality a lot. Let's hope the future organizers got
inspired.
If I asked you a moment - the great
achievement of the Championships -, what would your choice be?
T. G. - Well, maybe, maybe,
Annika Billstam from Sweden?! ;)
The season is approaching an end.
What are the goals for what remains of the season? (World Cup and
World Ranking)
T. G. - Not much, really. I just
want to keep training well and answer all the questions I have in
mind at the moment.
[Photo: World of O /
facebook.com/WorldofO]
Joaquim Margarido
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