World Orienteering Championships 2021 awarded to the Czech Republic

At today’s IOF Presidents’ Conference, the organisers of several IOF Major Events were announced. Most notably, the Czech Republic will host both the World Orienteering Championships in 2021 and the World MTB Orienteering Championships in 2020.

The World Orienteering Championships 2021 will be in the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia for the fourth time (1972 Czechoslovakia, 1991 Czechoslovakia, 2008 Czech Republic). In 2021, the city of Mladá Boleslav will host the championships. The World MTB Orienteering Championships 2020 will be hosted by the city of Jeseník, Czech Republic.

World championships

World Orienteering Championships 2021 Czech Republic

World MTB Orienteering Championships 2020 Czech Republic

Junior World Orienteering Championships 2020 Turkey

World Masters Orienteering Championships 2020 Slovakia

World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2019 Germany

Regional championships

Asian Orienteering Championships 2018 Hong Kong

European Youth Orienteering Championships 2019 Belarus

[Press Release from the International Orienteering Federation 2017-07-05]

Hana Hancikova: "It’s really difficult to say something about my expectations"

Injured and unable to prepare the big events of the season, Hana Hancikova reviews her career so far. As for the year that starts now, it's best to wait and see.

I would start by asking you to introduce yourself. Who is Hana Hancikova?

Hana Hancikova (H. H.) - I am a happy 28 years old girl who loves fun and people. I was born in Zlín, Emil Zatopek's home town. I attended the High School in Nove Mesto na Morave Ski Centrum to develop my skiing skills. I studied Physical Education and taught at the University of Masaryk, in Brno. I've been living in Falun, Sweden, for three years with my boyfriend. I've been working as a teacher and a coach but, from this New Year on, I'll be working as a masseuse. As for my hobbies, I really like to cook but I don’t like to wash the dishes.

When did you first strap on a pair of skis?

H. H. - My dad use to say that I was born with the skis on... Seriously, my parents took me and my sister, in the childhood, to take part in many different sports like gymnastics, tennis, ballet, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, and orienteering as well. I liked skiing so, the high school in the Ski Centrum Nove Mesto was the right choice.

What does skiing mean to you?

H. H. - I'm not good at running, my biking skills aren't good enough and skiing is fun. But, most of all, it couldn't be fun if you don't have so amazing people around you. I have chosen ski orienteering because I felt I was part of a huge family and to be closer to my boyfriend as well. The older I get the more I understand how little value have medals and what value have friendship and health.

How demanding is this discipline? How do you prepare mentally for a big competition?

H. H. - Well, this discipline is demanding in combination of good skiing skills with good map reading skills, which make this discipline unique. Unfortunately it’s more addicted on snow conditions than other snow sports. I don't like to train, but I love to compete. So I'm preparing precisely for the races. I usually write down my goal and plan on how to reach it.

Can you point the two or three best memories in your SkiO career so far?

H. H. - Well, I met many interesting people, travel all around the World and met my boyfriend on a Ski orienteering event.

What is your favourite place to ski?

H. H. - I love the Alps! Especially Ramsau, Austria, and Livigno, Italy. It’s perfect to skiing/roller skiing, both in Summer and Winter. But the most beautiful ski orienteering places are in Lapland.

Looking back to the last season, which were the best and the worst parts?

H. H. - The best part was that I managed to top my shape for the last European Championships. I was better prepared than ever. I found the right balance in my training and I had a really good preparing season. Unfortunately, I had some health problems which affected my results, experiences and memories from the event.

Do you feel “comfortable” with your 8th place in the World Cup overall standings?

H. H. - I would be more comfortable with a top 6 place (laughs).

We have a new season coming up now. How did you prepare it?

H. H. - I had a good training period in the Summer, with running and roller ski sessions, but then some more health complications came and I didn’t train for three months in the Autumn, so I started to train slowly again in November, on snow, with some map trainings. Unfortunately [in the middle of December], I fractured my right fibula. I will have my leg in plaster/cast for four weeks more, so my training and competition plans are moved for now.

I believe that your main goal still lies on the World Championships. What challenges are you looking for in Krasnoyarsk?

H. H. - If you ask me in the Spring I'll know the answer. Right now, it’s really difficult to say something about my expectations, because I have lost quite a big period of trainings and I will lose some more now with my injury. This year's ESOC and WSOC are in the stars.

I'm curious about the topic “MTBO versus SkiO in the Czech Republic”? Why are you so strong in MTBO and the same doesn't happen with the SkiO?

H. H. - It's actually quite easy to answer to this question. Shortly: you can bike everywhere in the Czech Republic the whole year but if you want to ski, you need to travel a lot and still it’s not sure that you get good conditions to do it. The National Parks' administrations are making it even more complicated. In the mountains where used to be snow, it’s prohibited to drive scooters in the forest. I actually start to train ski o after moving to Sweden. I was just skiing before and doing some foot orienteering in the Summer. It was enough in the Junior category but not enough in Elite. If you get the snow you'll be happy, even if you don't get special ski orienteering technique. Combining study or work in the Czech Republic with an Elite level sport is not that easy and flexible as in Sweden. So many athletes finished their careers when starting on university or working (you can't work just 50% or 30% to combine it with the sport).

Biking is really a big business in the Czech Republic - more than two million bikers and hobby bikers are registered and there are many marathons every week. There are many tracks, roads, paths in forests and beautiful terrains. Even students or working people in Prague or other places have good possibilities to train.

What would you say to someone who wants to get into Ski Orienteering?

H. H. - Come and try, its really fun!

Would you like to share your biggest wish?

H. H. - I would like to be healthy and I wish the same to all my friends!

[Photo courtesy of Sven Åke Nordenmark / Nordenmark Adventure / facebook.com/NordenmarkAdventure/]

Joaquim Margarido

  

IOF Athlete of the Month: Veronika Kubínová

Four gold medals out of four possible was the outstanding result for Veronika Kubínová after the Junior World MTBO Championships this summer in Portugal. Raised into the sport is no disadvantage but behind the clean sweep is a special talent, an incredible amount of training hours – and a home-assembled bike.

Name: Veronika Kubínová
Date of Birth: 29th April 1997
Living place: Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic
Study: University of West Bohemia – Physical Education and Sport for Education (Pilsen)
Coach: Honza Novák
Club: TJ Slovan Karlovy Vary
Highlights: 7 JWMTBOC gold medals: 2014: Sprint and Relay, 2015: Sprint, 2016: Sprint, Middle, Long and Relay.
IOF MTBO World Ranking: 32nd

Four medals in four races at JWMTBOC was the culmination of the season of a junior career that still has one year left. In Veronika Kubínová’s summary of the week, the word dream recurs:

– The hardest race was the first one – the sprint. It was a big achievement for me to make a hat trick in Sprint [she won gold at JWMTBO Sprint in both 2014 and 2015] and do it in 35 degrees. I really hate heat! I focused on the race and I tried to forget about the uncomfortable weather. After the first victory at the championships, I felt so confident. At every race, I used all my powers and I still had enough speed on the Relay. I was unstoppable this week. I usually have weird and impossible dreams but the week in Portugal was more than the weirdest dream I have ever had, she says.

No surprise

The results Veronika Kubínová delivered at JWMTBOC 2016 were amazing but they did not come from nowhere. At the age of 16, she won a bronze medal in the Sprint in her debut at a JWMTBOC. She had previously competed in the European Youth MTBO Championships, but JWMTBOC was her first big challenge:

– I regard JWMTBOC in Estonia in 2013 as my first major event. I remember every single day, especially the day when I achieved my first medal. I found new friends, gained valuable experience and had an amazing week, she says.

The following years she proved that it was not just a lucky sprint race she did in Estonia in 2013. In both 2014 and 2015, she won the Sprint distance still being among the youngest in the field. In 2014, she also got a second position in Middle, third in Long and was a part of the winning Czech relay team. Those years made the foundation for the great achievement in 2016:

– JWMTBO in both 2014 and 2015 developed my mental preparation towards events. At the sprint race in Poland in 2014, I had to be third or better to improve from 2013. I was nervous, as I had never been before. My dad and my coach helped me really much but the last minutes before the start were only my fight. I made it – both in 2014 and 2015. Achieving a gold medal on the Sprint distance taught me how to keep calm before start, she says.

Talent, training and luck

The way into MTBO was not that complicated for Veronika Kubínová. Her father was a part of the Czech MTBO national team 13 years ago and together with her sister and mother, the family has often spent part of their holidays orienteering:

– My father introduced MTBO to the family but he did not push me into the sport. I started to do a few MTBO races but for a long time I just did MTBO together with my family on holidays. It is perfect that I can share the joy of orienteering with some of the people I have closest, she says.

Even though you have been riding MTBO since your childhood, winning a medal at JWMTBOC in the age of 16 and every year since is not usual. Veronika admits that she might be especially talented:

– Talent is not everything but I agree that it is important. I think I am kind of talented for endurance sports and for working with a map. However, my success is built on training. On the other side, you also need a little bit of luck. You race on a bike so there are many risks of something breaking, she says.

As well as talent and a huge amount of training, an important part in Veronika Kubínová’s success is placed in the Czech MTBO community. The Czech Republic has managed to build up a strong groups of juniors which is described in a separate article here.

A bike from a box

For many mountain bikers a bike is not just a bike. Veronika Kubínová would not say she is that nerdy with equipment for her bike, but it is definitely not random which one she rides:

– Gear and equipment do not mean that much to me. But of course, I have had a vision of my dream bike. Dreams come true and since August, I have had a new bike from Thömus. I liked that bike since the first touch. I customized it on my own. And the best thing is that I built it on my own. Step by step pieces in a box grew to my beautiful bike, she says.

From 2017, Veronika Kubínová and her beloved bike will get the opportunity to compete in a new format with the addition of a mass-start to the programme for major MTBO events. Personally, she is not that much into mass-starts but thinks it will be good for the sport:

– Honestly, I do not like mass-starts no matter what kind of sport it is. From a spectators and media’ point of view I can see it being attractive so I think it is a good idea for the sport. For athletes it will be a new challenge. It will be hard to race five times in a week but it will no problem in the junior class. I like all types of distances so I do not want to skip any, she says.

Junior with large ambitions

2017 will be Veronika Kubínová’s last year as junior, although she has already been racing in the women’s elite class, most recently at the final World Cup round in 2016 in Lithuania. She raced both Sprint, Middle and Long, with her best performance in the Long an 11th position as best Czech female rider – beating world champion on the Long distance from 2015 Martina Tichovska.

The senior class provides more challenges with stronger rivals and longer distances and Veronika aims to get more experience in the senior class. However, next year will still be with focus on the junior class. With the mass start added to the programme, a fifth medal is within reach for Veronika Kubínová.

You have won everything possible to win as junior. You still have one year left. What motivates you to JWMTBOC next year in Lithuania?

– Achieve 5 gold medals! No seriously, I would like to prove that my success in Portugal was not by chance. It is not hard to achieve a title; the hard thing is to defend it. I do not lack motivation. I love this sport, Veronika Kubínová says.

Text: Henrik Rindom Knudsen
Photos: Joaquim Margarido and Veronika Kubínová

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/athlete-of-the-month-november-2016/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

WTOC 2016: Czech Republic

One of the biggest names in the World of TrailO and frequent presence in the international podiums in recent years, the Czech Republic headed Strömstad with its main Paralympic team and with the newest star in the Open Class, the current European Champion, Pavel Kurfürst. The absence of Tomáš Leštínský was particularly noted in the TempO course, with the Czechs to put two athletes in the Final but finishing with Jirí Kalousek's 19th place as its best. Kalousek would also be the best Czech athlete in PreO, in the Open Class, while in the Paralympic Class Jana Kostová reached the 4th place, which was her third presence in a world podium in the last four years. As for the all-new TrailO Relay format, the Czechs were behind the expectations in both classes, finishing in 5th place in the Paralympic class and 9th in the Open Class.

+ Jana Kostová's 4th place is unquestionably an excellent result, although the athlete's ambitions could be higher than a diploma. But Jana's results overall could be much more valued with a better performance in the TrailO Relay.

-  After winning the European title in TempO, Pavel Kurfürst was “far” from this Championships. A good performance in the TrailO Relay wasn't enough to lead the team to the podium.

Results

TempO

Qual Blue

8. Pavel Kurfürst 261 seconds

14. Jirí Kalousek 305 seconds

Qual Red

21. Jana Kostova 344,5 seconds

29. Magdalena Kurfurstova 414,5 seconds

Final

19. Jirí Kalousek 380,5 seconds

26. Pavel Kurfürst 395,5 seconds

PreO

Open

21. Jirí Kalousek 44 points / 47 seconds

37. Pavel Kurfürst 42 points / 104 seconds

42. Petr Dudík 41 points / 83,5 seconds

Para

4. Jana Kostová 44 points / 66 seconds

13. Bohuslav Hulka 37 points / 73,5 seconds

21. Pavel Dudík 36 points / 66 seconds

TrailO Relay

Open

9. Czech Republic 344 seconds

Petr Dudík (6 points / 89,5 seconds)

Jirí Kalousek (6 points / 63,5 seconds)

Pavel Kurfürst (7 points / 71 seconds)

Para

5. Czech Republic 503,5 seconds

Pavel Dudík (6 points / 78 seconds)

Bohuslav Hulka (6 points / 47,5 seconds)

Jana Kostová (4 points / 78 seconds)

Joaquim Margarido

ETOC 2016: Analyzing the TempO

“TempO is about balancing the speed and the risk of a wrong answer”, says Antti Rusanen, the current World Champion. And so it was, once more, in the Czech Republic, during the European Trail orienteering Championships. In a really tough Final, a few did right. All the others, didn't!

Now that the European Trail Orienteering Championships ETOC 2016 came to an end, still time to look on the event. Today, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog analyzes the TempO competition, looking on the detail that makes the difference.

The competition took place on wednesday, 25th May, with two Qualifying Heats in the first part of the day and the Final in the afternoon. 87 competitors entered to the Qualifying stage, with the 18 best in each Heat reaching the Final. Comparing the Qualifying Heats' results to those registered in the last World Trail Orienteering Championships, in Croatia, one can notice that 16 competitors repeated a presence in the Final. Bronze medalist in Zagreb, the Norwegian Sondre Ruud Braten was the big absent, but Edgar Domingues, Portugal, Emil Kacin, Slovenia and Dmitry Dokuchaev, Russia, also missed the Final. Out of the big decision by 3,5 seconds, Dokuchaev deserves the “unlucky guy” prize. With seven competitors in the Final, the Swedish team was the most represented one, followed by Finland with five competitors, Italy, the Czech Republic, Norway, Slovakia and Portugal with three competitors each, Latvia, Great Britain and Hungary with two competitors each and Ukraine, Denmark and Russia with one competitor each.

Cluster 1

The first Cluster turned out to be the most difficult. It was here that the competitors showed more difficulties to solve the four tasks, with an average time of 44 seconds and more than 50% wrong answers. Only three competitors did a clean cluster, with the Norwegian Martin Waaler joining speed and accuracy, assuming the lead. Martin Fredholm, Sweden, and Krešo Keresteš, Slovenia, were the two other competitors answering fully right. Erik Lundkvist, Sweden, Anna Jacobson, Finland and João Pedro Valente, Portugal, missed all the four tasks, which proved to be fatal for the rest of the course. The Slovakian Ján Furucz missed three tasks. The Portuguese Inês Domingues did two wrong answers, as much as Marit Wiksell, Sweden and the 13 y.o. Czech Daniel Locker.

Cluster 2

Easier than the precedent, the Cluster 2 registered 31 seconds of average time in giving the four answers and 19 overall wrong answers out of 144 (13% of wrong answers). Zoltán Miháczi, Hungary, and Erik Stålnacke, Sweden, were the fastest and the most accurate, with 18 seconds total time. The slowest was Tom Dobra, Great-Britain, with 59 seconds, and the less accurate, with two wrong answers, were Martin Waaler, Alessio Tenani, Italy, Dušan Furucz, Slovakia, Johanne Biering, Denmark, Magdalena Kurfürstova, Czech Republic and Jari Turto, Finland. Martin Fredholm, Sweden, reached the lead in a table were eight competitors could keep a top10 position. New in the standings, we find now Zoltán Miháczi and Inês Domingues.

Cluster 3

The third Cluster was definitely the easiest. The competitors answered here more quickly than the other six, with an average time of 26 seconds, and also the average of wrong answers was the lowest, staying in the 10%. Lauri Kontkanen, Finland, and Sigurd Dæhli, Norway, were the fastest, with 17 seconds, while the slowest was again Tom Dobra, with 45 seconds. Dušan Furucz was, once more, the less accurate, missing three tasks, with Daniel Locker being the one in the top10 missing one task. So, Locker stayed out of the top10 standings, and so Martin Waaler, changing places with Remo Madella, Italy, and Stig Gerdtman, Sweden. Martin Fredholm was about 20 seconds slower than the top competitors and lost the first place, which was occupied now by the Norwegian Martin Jullum.

Cluster 4

With the fourth Cluster, the competitors reached the competitions' middle. From now on, every Cluster will prove to be more difficult than the precedent, not just because of their technical challenge, but also because of the psychological part. Every second is now more than just one second and a wrong answer would mean a step back towards the top places. In this Cluster, the average time increased to 31 seconds and the average of wrong answers was 15%. The Russian Dmitry Kucherenko was the slowest with 50 seconds and the Ukrainian Vitaliy Kyrychenko and Magdalena Kurfürstova missed three tasks, being the less accurate. Zoltán Miháczi and Krešo Keresteš were the only missing one task. Being the fastest, Martin Jullum confirmed the leadership. The Czech Pavel Kurfürst was, along with Martin Waaler, the second fastest, reaching the third position overall. Kontkanen is now second, between Jullum and Kurfürst. Fredholm, Domingues, Madella and Mihaczi follow the leaders. After a sensational recovery, Ján Furucz joined the top10 list for the first time. He is the World Vice-Champion and still has a word to say!

Cluster 5

The Cluster 5 proved to be terrible to Lauri Kontkanen, missing here two tasks. This was a Cluster with also 31 seconds of average time, but with the average of wrong answers increasing to 19,5%. Ján Furucz was unstoppable and got the fastest time with 17,5 seconds. He's now the fourth placed after Martin Jullum, Martin Fredholm and Pavel Kurfürst. Domingues and Madella keep their relative positions, being fifth and sixth, respectively. In the eight position, Pinja Mäkinen, Finland, is a novelty in the top standings. In this Cluster, the slowest was again Dmitry Kucherenko. With three wrong answers, Anna Jacobson and Magdalena Kurfúrstova were the less accurate.

Cluster 6

Sixth and penultimate Cluster. The tension is hot, hot, hot and the third problem to solve shows to be a real jigsaw puzzle. Just seven out of thirty six competitors were able to solve it correctly and Lauri Kontkanen was one of them. Other was Pavel Kurfürst. Jullum keeps the first place, but the difference for the second placed – which is now Kurfürst – was reduced to 20 seconds. Martin Fredholm is still in the medals and Furucz keeps the fourth place, 21 seconds behind Fredholm. Kontkanen has the same seconds as Furucz and Inês Domingues is now sixth, 23,5 seconds far from a medal. The average time in this Cluster was 32 seconds and there was 26% of wrong answers. The less accurate was Martin Waaler, missing three tasks, and the slowest was João Pedro Valente, with 57 seconds.  

Cluster 7

Looking on the precent leading table, one understand that anything can happen. The seventh Cluster has the particularity of being a spectator one, increasing even more the pressure. The competitors need nerves of steel to reach their goals and everyone knows that missing one single task would mean an irreparable failure. This Cluster would prove to be the second more difficult, with 41 seconds of average time and 30% of wrong answers. In the particular fight between Kurfürst and Jullum, the Czech won. Jullum missed the third task... and the gold medal! The third place would be closely contested, but Martin Fredholm missed two tasks (he'd just missed one task until now), falling to the final eight place. Inês Domingues also missed two tasks, staying out of top10 – she was the only top competitor answering wrong to the last task. 

Ján Furucz finished third and Zoltán Miháczi – the fastest along with Daniel Locker – was fourth. Michele Cera and Pinja Mäkinen also did a clean Cluster, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Remo Madella's missing in the third task meant the seventh place, instead of the fourth one. This time, the slowest was Dmitry Kucherenko, with 76 seconds and was also the less accurate, along with Johanne Biering and Magdalena Kurfürstova, with three wrong answers. Overall, Michele Cera and Pavel Kurfürst were the most accurate, with two wrong answers. With three wrong answers there was three athletes: Martin Jullum, Pinja Mäkinen, Martin Fredholm and... Tom Dobra. But Dobra was also the slowest overall, with 376 seconds, which explains his 23rd final position.

Full results and further information at http://www.etoc2016.cz/.

Joaquim Margarido

EOC 2016: Switzerland and Finland win the Relay

Switzerland and Finland won the Relay gold, ending the best way its presence in the European Orienteering Championships EOC 2016. Both teams scored amazing recoveries, achieving really close wins.


The European Orienteering Championships EOC 2016 came to an end. For the last day of the competition program was reserved the Relay race, a moment always awaited with special emotion and seen by all athletes as a real party in which the gold has a truly special flavor. The men's race saw the first note of sensation given by the teams of the Czech Republic and Switzerland, finishing the first leg ex-æquo with just 2 and 11 seconds ahead of Poland and Estonia, respectively. In the second leg, the Swedish Johan Runesson managed to erase the one minute disadvantage brought from the first leg, giving the testimony to his team mate, Martin Regborn, in the first position, one second before the Czech Republic and six seconds ahead of Poland. In the third leg, however, it would be the turn of Martin Hubmann being faster, offering to Switzerland a fantastic victory in 1:46:07, the third gold in the last four EOC's editions. With more 8 seconds than Switzwerland, in the second place, finished Norway, while the Czech Republic was ranked third, 13 seconds after the winners. European Champion in 2014, Sweden concluded in the 4th position with 1:02 more than the Swiss team. The Portuguese Relay didn't start in the last day of competitions.

The Women Relay also had a rather lively outcome, with Finland getting the win ten years after the golden journey of Otepää, Estonia. Julia Gross, Switzerland, started better than the concurrency, giving to the defending title, Switzerland, the primacy in the first leg with a lead of one second on the first team of Russia and 12 seconds on the second Russian team. In the second leg Russia kept fighting hard and Natalia Vinogradova recorded the best time, while Sweden followed for the decisive leg in the second place, with a delay of 1:07 in relation to Russia. In the third leg, Svetlana Mironova made a big mistake in the first part of the map, losing the lead for Switzerland. But Judith Wyder "had a bad fall in the stony area", which would eventually launch Finland and Sweden for a titanic struggle till the end. Merja Rantanen and Tove Alexandersson ran almost the entire race side by side, but Alexandersson would give up in the last meters, ending the Finnish to celebrate the victory in 1:42:57 and a four seconds lead on Sweden. Russia finished its race fifteen seconds later than the Finnish team, while Switzerland would be fourth, 21 seconds after the winners.

Results

Men

1. Switzerland (Florian Howald, Baptiste Rollier, Martin Hubmann) 1:46:07 (+ 00:00)

2. Norway (Carl Godager Kaas, Eskil Kinneberg, Magne Dæhli) 1:46:15 (+ 00:08)

3. Czech Republic (Jan Petržela, Jan Šedivý, Vojtěch Král) 1:46:20 (+ 00:13)

4. Sweden (Jonas Leandersson, Johan Runesson, Martin Regborn) 1:47:09 (+ 01:02)

5. Russia (Andrey Khramov, Dmitrii Tsvetkov, Valentin Novikov) 1:48:01 (+ 01:54)

6. Austria (Helmut Gremmel, Gernot Kerschbaumer, Robert Merl) 1:51:02 (+ 04:55)

Women

1. Finland (Sari Anttonen, Marika Teini, Merja Rantanen) 1:42:57 (+ 00:00)

2. Sweden (Lina Strand, Emma Johansson, Tove Alexandersson) 1:43:01 (+ 00:04)

3. Russia (Anastasia Rudnaia, Natalia Vinogradova, Svetlana Mironova) 1:43:12 (+ 00:15)

4. Switzerland (Julia Gross, Sabine Hauswirth, Judith Wyder) 1:43:18 (+ 00:21)

5. Czech Republic (Denisa Kosová, Dana Šafka Brožková, Jana Knapová) 1:47:44 (+ 04:47)
6. Denmark (Signe Klinting, Ida Bobach, Maja Alm) 1:49:31 (+ 06:34)

Full results and further information at http://www.eoc2016.cz/en/.

Joaquim Margarido

ETOC 2016: Jansson and Gerdtman got the PreO gold

Sweden was the great winner of PreO competition that ended the European Trail Orienteering Championships ETOC 2016. In the final stage, Stig Gerdtman and Ola Jansson confirmed the first day's excellent performances, getting the gold.

With victories of the Swedish Stig Gerdtman and Ola Jansson, in the Open Class and Paralympic Class, respectively, came to the end the European Trail Orienteering Championships ETOC 2016. Today, the 127 competitors assembled in Vápenná for a course divided into two parts, with a total of 24 tasks and a timed station with two extra challenges. Achieving a clean race on the first day of competition, Stig Gerdtman and the Finnish Jari Turto faced an intense fight. But, as the controls were being overcome, the doubts were gone fading thanks to Jari Turto's performance much lower than expected, while Gerdtman was able to maintain a consistent presence and saving the first place with two wrong answers - 45 points out of 47 in the two days. Along with the Croatian Zdenko Horjan, the Hungarian Ferenc Fehér, the Slovak Dušan Furucz and the Italian Alessio Tenani, Martin Jullum was the most accurate, with only one wrong answer, which would worth the Norwegian getting the silver medal, after being second place, already, in the TempO Final.

The Swedish Jens Andersson saved the third position with a total of 44 points, the same as Zdenko Horjan, 4th placed. With 43 points, the Italian Remo Madella got the 5th position, and the 6th place belonged to the Lithuanian Robertas Stankevič, whose presence on the podium does not cease to be a pleasant surprise. Penalizing one point for exceeding the time limit for 6 seconds, the Slovenian Krešo Keresteš thus lost the 5th place, falling to 7th place with the same points of Stankevič. Also in the range of 42 points, one can find the Italian Michele Cera, World Champion currently, that finished 8th, the British Charles Bromley Gardner, 9th ranked and Jari Turto, which closed the top10. João Pedro Valente, Portugal, eventually missed a "unthinkable" point (of the 39 ranked in the standings' top part, just him was able to miss the control No. 20), thus losing the opportunity to keep a position in the top 10 and finishing in the 13th place.

In the Paralympic Class, the Swedish Ola Jansson and the Ukrainian Vladyslav Vovk also started in the lead, wielded arguments together with the main objective of the European gold. But Vovk - as Turto. in the Open Class - wasn't exactly in a “good day” and seven wrong answers ended any golden illusion. Likewise, Ola Jansson didn't have an easy day, but twenty points scored (adding to 22 points from yesterday) were enough to ensure the victory. Defending here the European title reached in Palmela, two years ago, the Swedish Michael Johansson also noted four wrong answers, yet sufficient to annul the disadvantage of two points for Vovk and guarantee him the silver medal. Vovk would be ranked third with 39 points. In the immediate positions were classified Jana Kosťová, Czech Republic, with 37 points, Søren Saxtorph, Denmark with 36 points and the Russian Pavel Shmatov with 35 points. The seventh ranked was the Finnish Pekka Seppä, with 33 points, the same as the Russian Eduard Oginskii, ranked eighth. The Lithuanian Laima Lažinskiene finished in the 9th place with 32 points and the Russian Dmitry Dokuchaev closed the top10 with 31 points. Overall winner of today’s stage was the Slovakian Dušan Furucz, who scored 23 out of 24 and answered to the two timed controls in 13 seconds.

To see the complete results and for further information, please consult the (unofficial) event's webpage at http://www.etoc2016.cz/.

[Archive photo]

Joaquim Margarido

EOC 2016: Middle gold for Kyburz and Alexandersson

Matthias Kyburz finally managed to get the gold in a forest distance. After his Sprint winning, five days ago, he was today faster than anyone else, achieving a mostly desired victory. In the Women Class, Tove Alexandersson was unstoppable, getting a two minutes win and reached the gold for the second time in this Championships.

The European Orienteering Championships EOC 2016 is come to an ending. Today, in Černa Voda, took place the last individual Final of the competition program, which was attended by 51 male and 52 female competitors for a tough and hard fought Middle Distance. Tenth placed in his qualifying heat, the Czech Jan Šedivý was the first to break the 34 minutes' barrier, taking the lead with 33:43. But the sweet taste of being first lasted less than ten minutes, when Gustav Bergman, Sweden, got a new best time, 1:13 faster than the Czech. From that moment on, it was a long wait of more than 43 minutes (!) to see if the Swedish would be able to keep the gold.

Matthias Kyburz was the last one to start. Since his European and World gold in Sprint, he's aiming for a victory in a forest distance and the opportunity is now. And he took it! Very stable throughout Černa Voda's curly terrain, with its slopes with many stones, stone grounds and watercourses, he managed to be the fastest, winning with the time of 31:56. Bergman was second while the third place went to the French Lucas Basset, with more 51 seconds than the winner. Oskar Sjöberg, Sweden, and Florian Howald, Switzerland, got the fourth and fifth places, respectively, while Šedivý would be the sixth placed, with the same time as the 41 y.o. Russian Valentin Novikov.

In the Women Class, the Danish Maja Alm was the first to register a result which could come to worth a place on the podium, with a time of 35:27. But when Tove Alexandersson ran under the 33 minutes – 32:37 (!), to be more precise -, the winner was found. Like Matthias Kyburz, Alexandersson joined to the gold, in the last sunday's Sprint, another tasty victory in this European Championships. Very irregular in the first half of her course, the Swiss Judith Wyder did an extraordinary recovery, finishing second, 2:20 after Alexandersson. Marika Teini, Finland, confirmed her excellent season, being third, 2:25 slower than the winner, but still reaching her first international medal ever. Maja Alm, fourth, the Finnish Saila Kinni, fifth, and the Swedish Helena Jansson, sixth, completed the podium. Out of the European Championships' accounts, the little Canadian Emily Kemp got the fourth best time, 6 seconds faster than Alm.

Results

Men

1. Matthias Kyburz (Switzerland) 31:56 (+ 00:00)

2. Gustav Bergman (Sweden) 32:30 (+ 00:34)

3. Lucas Basset (France) 32:47 (+ 00:51)

4. Oskar Sjöberg (Sweden) 32:58 (+ 01:02)

5. Florian Howald (Switzerland) 33:01 (+ 01:05)

6. Valentin Novikov (Russia) 33:43 (+ 01:47)

6. Jan Šedivý (Czech Republic) 33:43 (+ 01:47)

Women

1. Tove Alexandersson (Sweden) 32:37 (+ 00:00)

2. Judith Wyder (Switzerland) 34:50 (+ 02:25)

3. Marika Teini (Finland) 35:02 (02:25)

4. Maja Alm (Denmark) 35:27 (+ 02:50)

5. Saila Kinni (Finland) 35:35 (+ 02:58)

6. Helena Jansson (Sweden) 36:08 (+ 03:31)

Full results and further information at http://www.eoc2016.cz/en/.

[Archive photo]

Joaquim Margarido

ETOC 2016: Gerdtman, Turto, Jansson and Vovk leading after PreO's first day

With the PreO competition, the European Trail Orienteering Championships 2016 enters its last days. This morning, Stig Gerdtman and Jari Turto, in the Open class, and Ola Jansson and Vladislav Vovk, in the Paralympic class, were the most accurate, leading the respective standings. Still, there's a second half to play!

The European Trail Orienteering Championships ETOC 2016 it's heading for its end and the PreO competition was today's subject of all attention. This morning, in the ancient mining area of Zlaté Hory, with large amount of pits and depressions, 127 competitors tested their technical abilities, facing a very detailed terrain along which were placed 23 control points, with the “bonus” of two timed stations (with two tasks each), as an “amuse bouche”.

In the Paralympic class, the Ukranian Vladislav Vovk showed why he's currently the PreO World Champion, finishing his race with 22 points out of 23 and 106 seconds in the timed controls. Better than him, just the Swedish Ola Jansson, with the same points but with a better performance against the watch, recording 83 seconds overall. The defending European Champion, Michael Johansson, got the third best result, two points away from the leaders. The fourth and fifth placed were Inga Gunnarsson, Sweden, and Jana Kosťová, Czech Republic, with 18 points. Also fighting for a place in the podium, we can see the Lithuanian Laima Lažinskiene, the Russian Eduard Oginskii and the Danish Søren Saxtorph, with 17 points. It seems like the medals won't escape to Jansson, Vovk and Johansson, but we have to wait for tomorrow's decisive course.

In the Open Class, Stig Gerdtman, Sweden, and Jari Turto, Finland, did a clean race, finishing with 23 points each. Jari Turto, however, achieved a very unusual result in the timed controls, failing to correctly answer all the four tasks (in a set of 88 competitors in the Open Class, only four were able to perform this way). Stig Gerdtman benefited from his adversary's bad performance to take the lead. Jari Turto is the defending European Champion but he has to count on Gerdtman's revenge, fourth placed in the last European Championships and away from Palmela's podium by narrow 29 seconds. One point under the leaders, there was another pair, with the Swedish Jens Andersson ahead of the Norwegian Martin Jullum, silver medalist in the TempO competition but too little accurate today in the timed controls, missing three tasks. Waiting for a bad day of some of the leaders, there's a twelve competitors group, with 21 points. In this large group it's possible to notice the presence of the former World Champion Krešo Keresteš, Slovenia, the Swedish Marit Wiksell, the Croatian Zdenko Horjan, the Finnish Pinjä Makinen, the Portuguese João Pedro Valente or the current TempO European Champion, Pavel Kurfürst, Czech Republic. Out of the podium seems to be the current PreO World Champion, Michele Cera, Italy, with 20 points, the same as the World Champion in 2014, the Latvian Guntars Mankus, or the Portuguese Inês Domingues.

To see the complete results and for further information, please consult the (unofficial) event's webpage at http://www.etoc2016.cz/.

[Archive photo]

Joaquim Margarido

ETOC 2016: Analyzing the TrailO Relay

On the European Trail Orienteering Championships ETOC 2016's rest day, we seek to thoroughly understand the TrailO Relay competition's progress, which ended with the victories of Italy and Sweden, in the Open Class and Paralympic Class, respectively.

Italy and Sweden were the great names of the ETOC 2016's first day, by winning the TrailO Relay competition in the Open Class and Paralympic Class respectively. Looking on the moments that led to the final outcome, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog analyzes the course step by step, sharing some interesting facts. But before proceeding with the analysis itself, let's see the “game rules”. In the competition, every Federation was allowed to enter two teams in each class, each consisting of three competitors. Only the better-placed team would count in the prize list. The result was a combination of a PreO-part and a TempO-part where each wrong answers (or points deductions for exceeding the maximum time) in the PreO-part resulted in a 60 second penalty time. The end result consisted of the PreO penalty time, TempO answering time and TempO penalty time. The three legs of the competition were forked and there was a Mass Start. Every fork consisted in a 9 controls course (in fact, 8 controls, because one of it was voided), having in the end two TempO stations with four tasks each. Every team's last competitor had additionally an extra (spectator) TempO station, with four more tasks.

The TrailO Relay joined 34 teams from 16 countries, 26 in the Open class and 8 in the Paralympic class. This was the first-ever official relay competition at international level, following a trial competition at last year’s World Championships in Croatia. The 34 competitors in the first leg were distributed by the three forks, the same happening in the two remaining legs. Looking on the PreO-part overall, one can notice that V1 Fork was quite easier than the others. Fourteen competitors (one of each in the Paralympic class) hit the eight tasks in the V1 Fork, but this number falls to one competitor in the V3 Fork and none of the competitors did a clean race in the V2 Fork. It's worth looking on the overall results after the PreO-part, with Latvia leading with a 60 second penalty time in the Open Class and the Czech Republic being first with 240 seconds of penalty time. In the Open class Italy had a 60 second disadvantage and was the second placed, but the other teams were facing now the challenge of recover from a huge disadvantage of 180 seconds (Sweden, Norway, Great-Britain and the Czech Republic) or even more. In the Paralympic class, the advantage of the Czech Republic on Russia and Sweden, second placed, was of 180 seconds.

The TempO-part

The TempO-part brought some important changes to the standings. The Finnish Jari Turto, Pinjä Makinen and Lauri Kontkanen were the most accurate in the two clusters with four tasks each, getting 23 right answers out of 24 and the correspondent 30 second penalty time. With this performance, they jumped up nine places in the standings, taking the 9th position. The second team of Finland performed also quite well, with 90 second penalty time. With 120 second penalty time there was Italy, now in the lead, Portugal and Ukraine, in the Open class, and Sweden, in the Paralympic class. Latvia got 360 second penalty time, losing by far the leadership and falling to the 8th place.

Looking on the board after the TempO-part it's easy to realize that only a disaster would move Italy away from the highest place of the podium. Sweden and Slovakia were in the fight for the silver. Separated by 33 points, Norway, Portugal, Latvia and Finland still had a little hope on the medals. In the Paralympic Class, Sweden took the lead, 18 seconds before Czech Republic. Fighting for the bronze, Russia and Latvia were separated by 22,5 seconds. There's still the final TempO cluster to play just once, by the last competitor of each team. Who is going to lose? Who is going to win?

The final act

The last Cluster will be decisive. Four tasks and lots of precious seconds to play should made the difference for some. In the Paralympic class, both Ola Jansson, Sweden, and Jana Kosťová, Czech Republic, performed similarly and could keep the relative positions. Inga Gunnarsson, Michael Johansson and Ola Jansson were the first-ever TrailO Relay winners in this Class, while Hanka Doležalová, Bohuslav Hůlka and Jana Kosťová got the silver. Dmitry Dokuchaev, Dmitry Kucherenko and Pavel Shmatov could manage to keep the bronze to Russia.

In the Open Class, the three third placed had a 60 second penalty for two wrong answers and the short answering time between them didn't change anything in the final standings. With Remo Madella, Michele Cera and Alessio Tenani in the last leg, Italy saved the gold. Sweden, with Stig Gerdtman, Martin Fredholm and Marit Wiksell got the silver and the bronze went to Slovakia, with Marián Mikluš and the brothers Ján and Dušan Furucz. After Inês Domingues and Grigas Piteira, Edgar Domingues had just 30 seconds penalty and Portugal would rise up three places, overtaking Norway and getting the fourth place. Norway and Finland finished fifth and sixth, separated for close four seconds. Hungary got the seventh place, with Zoltán Miháczi winning two positions on Latvia and Croatia in the decisive cluster. Luis Gonçalves, from the Portuguese second team, was brilliant in the “final act”, winning seven places and finishing tenth overall. One last note to the Czech Pavel Kurfürst: He was the only competitor clearing the final TempO cluster. Twenty four hours later he would be on top again, getting the European gold in the TempO competition!

To see the complete results and for further information, please consult the (unofficial) event's webpage at http://www.etoc2016.cz/.

[Photo: Skogssport / facebook.com/Skogssport]

Joaquim Margarido

EOC 2016: Sweden takes twelve to the Middle Final A

With victories of Johan Runesson, Carl Godager Kaas and Matthias Kyburz, in the Men, and Dana Šafka Brožková, Catherine Taylor and Judith Wyder, in the Women, took place this afternoon the European Orienteering Championships' Qualifying Heats of Middle Distance. Sweden and Finland, in the Men, and Sweden and Czech Republic, in the Women, placed all their six athletes into tomorrow's big final, in a day marked by Daniel Hubmann's fail.

Horní Údolí (“Upper valley”, in Czech) hosted this afternoon the Qualifying Heats of Middle Distance. The races took place in the highest altitude amongst all the European Orienteering Chmapionships venues, 750 - 975 meters above the sea level. 126 men and 89 women entered the courses, spared by three heats in each (Men and Women) class. The only absent at the start was the British Hollie Orr, brilliant 6th placed last Monday, in the Long Distance Final.

The big surprise of the Qualifying came from the current European Champion, the Swiss Daniel Hubmann, 19th placed in the Heat A and out of the Final A by 9 seconds. This was also a terrible heat for Daniel's team mate, Andreas Ruedlinger, Hector Haines, Great Britain, Aaro Asikainen, Finland, Andreu Blanes, Spain and Tiago Romão, Portugal, all of them under the 17th position and thus away from the Final A. The Swedish Johan Runesson took a 32 second win over Martin Hubmann, Switzerland, with Lucas Basset, France, being third. In the Heat B one could see Carl Godager Kaas' really close win on Oskar Sjöberg and the third place of the Estonian Tino Sild. In the Heat C, the winner was the Swiss Matthias Kyburz, with an advantage of 33 seconds on the second place, the Swedish Albin Ridefelt. The Czech Jan Petržela got the third position, 1:26 after Kyburz while the young Finnish Olli Ojanaho stayed out of the Final by 34 seconds, being 18th placed. Also the Finnish Mårten Boström, the British Ralph Street and the Romanian Ionut Zinca fell out of the Final in this Heat. Sweden and the Czech Republic will have six representatives each in the Final A, while Switzerland and Norway will be represented by five athletes. With four athletes we'll have France and Russia. The 51 athletes that got the ticket to the Final A, will represent 19 countries.

In the Women, the final standings didn't bring big surprises, even considering the Danish Ida Bobach's 10th place and Maja Alm's 12th position. In the Heat A there was two Czechs in the first positions. Dana Šafka Brožková won with the time of 25:07, against 25:36 from her team mate Adéla Indráková and with Rahel Friederich, Switzerland, being third. This was a very strong heat, that included Saila Kinni, Finland (4th), Helena Jansson, sweden (5th), Nadiya Volynska, Ukraine (8th), Lina Strand, Sweden (11th), Natalia Vinogradova, Russia (12th) or Anni-Maija Fincke, Finland (13th). Catherine Taylor, Great Britain, could show a spark of her bright and got a tasty 10 second win on Svetlana Mionova, Russia, and 12 seconds on Venla Harju, Finland, in the Heat B. In the Heat C, the winner was Judith Wyder, with the time of 23:27. Julia Gross spent more 24 seconds than her team mate and got the second place, while the Swedish Emma Johannsson was third, with more 34 seconds than the winner. The Final A will receive 52 athletes from 19 countries, with Sweden and Finland represented by 6 athletes each. With five athletes there will be two other countries, Switzerland and Czech republic, while Norway and Latvia will have four representatives in the Final.

Results

Men

Heat A

1. Johan Runesson (Sweden) 28:29 (+ 00:00)

2. Martin Hubmann (Switzerland) 29:01 (+ 00:32)

3. Lucas Basset (France)

(…)

26. Tiago Romão (Portugal) 33:14 (+ 04:45)

Heat B

1. Carl Godager Kaas (Norway) 28:42 (+ 00:00)

2. Oskar Sjöberg (Sweden) 28:45 (+ 00:03)

3. Timo Sild (Estonia) 28:57 (+ 00:15)

(…)

33. Manuel Horta (Portugal) 34:33 (+ 05:51)

Heat C

1. Matthias Kyburz (Switzerlan) 28:08 (+ 00:00)

2. Albin Ridefelt (Sweden) 28:41 (+ 00:33)

3. Jan Petržela (Czech Republic) 29:34 (+ 01:26)

(…)

41. Pedro Nogueira (Portugal) 41:49 (+ 13:41)

Women

Heat A

1. Dana Šafka Brožková (Czech Republic) 25:07 (+ 00:00)

2. Adéla Indráková (Czech Republic) 25:36 (+ 00:29)

3. Rahel Friederich (Switzerland) 26:10 (+ 01:03)

Heat B

1. Catherine Taylor (Great Britain) 25:06 (+ 00:00)

2. Svetlana Mironova (Russia) 25:16 (+ 00:10)

3. Venla Harju (Finland) 25:18 (+ 00:12)

Heat C

1. Judith Wyder (Switzerland) 23:27 (+ 00:00)

2. Julia Gross (Switzerland) 23:51 (+ 00:24)

3. Emma Johansson (Sweden) 24:01 (+ 00:34)

Complete results and further information to check at http://www.eoc2016.cz/en/.

Joaquim Margarido

ETOC 2016: Pavel Kurfürst wins the TempO

Pavel Kurfürst got the TempO's gold on the second day of the European Trail Orienteering Championships ETOC 2016. The Czech knew how to break the nordic favoritism, being faster than Martin Jullum and Ján Furucz, silver and bronze, respectively. Inês Domingues, was the best Portuguese competitor, finishing in the 11th position.

After the TrailO Relay’s emotion, the second day of ETOC 2016 began with the completion of two TempO qualifying heats, in which took part 87 competitors. The beautiful green space of Zlaté Hory hosted the courses, consisting of six timed stations with four tasks each (one of the stations in Heat A would be voided). The Heats's winners were the Italian Michele Cera, PreO World Champion currently and the Swedish Marit Wiksell, ETOC 2014's bronze medalist. Looking to the qualifying final standings, one can notice the huge balance in the Heat A’s top positions and the comfortable winning of Marit Wiksell in the Heat B. 36 competitors reached a place in the final, with Sweden (seven competitors) and Finland (five competitors) leading a list of representatives from 14 different countries. Italy, Czech Republic, Norway and Portugal confirmed their potential, qualifying three athletes each to the final. Out of the final stayed the young Norwegian Sondre Ruud Braten, bronze medalist in the World Trail Orienteering Championships WTOC 2015, in Croatia.

The big decision took place a few hours later in Lázně Jeseník, in a course of seven timed stations, with four tasks each. In the betting exchange, Marit Wiksell, Lauri Kontkanen, Martin Jullum, Pinjä Makinen and Martin Fredholm were the best rated. On the other hand, Ján Furucz, Michele Cera, Luis Gonçalves, Pavel Kurfürst and Remo Madella were here also fighting for the gold, in a real “Scandinavia vs Rest of the World” contest. And it was from the “outsiders” that came the first big result. Having been the penultimate classified in his Heat, the Hungarian Zoltán Miháczi was the first to get a result under the 300 seconds, taking the lead and aiming for a final result that, at least, could improve the 9th place achieved in the last European Championships. The first major obstacle was called Luís Gonçalves, 6th placed in the last World Championships in TempO, but the Portuguese was far from his best, finishing with time of 432 seconds. In the meanwhile, the World Vice-Champion in TempO, Ján Furucz (Slovakia), would achieve a great performance, improving Miháczi's time in 9 seconds and assuming the lead. At this point, with 356 seconds, the Portuguese Inês Domingues was the third ranked among the 21 competitors who had finished the race.

Hot, hot, hot

The results continued to arrive in real time, whether in the arena or via Internet, at home of all those who were willing to follow the race. Now, everybody was able to see how important was to perform well in the first and the last stations, in fact the key for a great result. Or for a disaster! The hot phase had started and the Czech Pavel Kurfürst reached a new best time, with 258,5 seconds, with the Norwegian Martin Jullum immediately afterwards, 8 seconds behind Kurfürst. There are six missing athletes to finish their races and the relative positions of the first three remained the same, with Kurfürst in the lead, followed by Jullum and Furucz. Mihaczi was in the 4th place, while the Italian Remo Madella and Inês Domingues closed the podium places.

Now is the time of the Swedish Martin Fredholm to finish his race with 331,5 seconds overall, losing precious seconds on the last station but still entering directly to the 6th position and moving definitely Inês Domingues away from the podium. The last station was fatal to Lauri Kontkanen, Finland, finishing 20 seconds after Fredholm and staying automatically out of the podium. Instead of a not so good start, Pinja Makinen concluded his course with the time of 323.5 seconds, reaching the 5th place, before Madella. Fredholm is now out of the podium. Finally, the winners of the Qualifying Heats, the last to leave. Michele Cera finished with 314,5 seconds and reached the 5th place while Marit Wiksell, very irregular, couldn't do better than the 9th position with 351,5 seconds, the same time as Lauri Kontkanen. Inês Domingues finished in the eleven position, while Luis Gonçalves and João Pedro Valente were the 20th and the 33rd placed, respectively.

Results

1. Pavel Kurfürst (Czech Republic) 258,5 seconds

2. Martin Jullum (Norway) 266,5 seconds

3. Ján Furucz (Slovakia) 288,5 seconds

4. Zoltán Miháczi (Hungary) 297,5 seconds

5. Michele Cera (Italy) 314,5 seconds

6. Pinja Mäkinen (Finland) 323,5 seconds

7. Remo Madella (Italy) 324,5 seconds

8. Martin Fredholm (Sweden) 331,5 seconds

9. Marit Wiksell (Sweden) 351,5 seconds

9. Lauri Kontkanen (Finland) 351,5 seconds

11. Inês Domingues (Portugal) 356 seconds

(…)

20. Luis Gonçalves (Portugal) 432 seconds

33. João Pedro Valente (Portugal) 592 seconds

Full results and further information at http://www.etoc2016.cz/.

[Archive photo]

Joaquim Margarido