WOC 2017: Norway and Sweden win relay

Norway defended their Relay World Champion title, and Sweden pulled off an impressive performance. Both races were dramatic, with mistakes throughout, however both Norway and Sweden were always in control, retaining the lead throughout the race.

Sweden’s team of Emma Johansson, Helena Jansson and Tove Alexandersson enjoyed a victory by 2.41 over last year’s champions Russia, holding the lead throughout.

There were no dramatic early mistakes by runners from the best teams, as happened in the men’s race, but few athletes completed the course without some distinct time loss at some point on their course. Finland (Venla Harju) kept in touch with Sweden on the first leg and were 45 seconds down at the changeover, but Jansson stretched the lead by a minute on the second leg.

However as Alexandersson completed her leg comfortably but not entirely without error – she missed her way on the spectator run-through and lost a minute between controls 9 and 13 – the Russian Natalia Gemperle was running well, and took advantage of a couple of mistakes in the middle of the course by the Finn Merja Rantanen to pull up into second place, which she held to the end. Rantanen was not pressed in bringing Finland into bronze medal position.

There was a sprint finish for fourth place between Latvia and Switzerland, just won by Sabine Hauswirth for Switzerland. The Latvian team was fourth after leg 1 (Inge Dambe) and was never below fifth – a very good team performance. Norway took the final podium place.

The Norwegian team of Eskil Kinnerberg, Olav Lundanes and Magne Dæhli ran an impressively controlled race throughout to take what in the end was a clear victory, with France getting the silver medals and Sweden the bronze.

There was drama from the start as Fabian Hertner, Switzerland’s first leg runner, could be seen on GPS making a huge mistake at control 1, losing more than 4 minutes. Great Britain, New Zealand and Hungary also faltered badly there. Sweden and the Czech Republic set the pace, but Frederic Tranchand for France was going well too. It was he who came to the changeover first, along with Lithuania and Norway, with Czech Republic and Denmark not far behind.

The decisive leg was the second one, where Olav Lundanes for Norway had a brilliant race to come back with a lead of 1.21 over France and Lithuania, with Sweden and Ukraine a little over 2 minutes down. This lead was too much for Thierry Gueorgiou to make up on last leg as Magne Dæhli continued Norway’s near-faultless progress; Gueorgiou cut the gap to 45 seconds at one point, but he was never close enough to see the leading Norwegian.

“I was really nervous,” said Dæhli, “I knew Thierry is in really good shape. Yesterday I struggled at the beginning, and today I was very focused on the way to the first control. It felt really good except for the first control after the arena passage, where I made a small mistake.”

“I was just focusing on my orienteering,” said Gueorgiou, “and I didn’t see Magne on the course. The second place feels like a gold for us. We are really satisfied.”

Estonia ran a good race throughout to finish fourth, to the great pleasure of the home crowd, and the podium places were completed by Switzerland, picking up well after Hertner’s early mistake, and Russia. The Lithuanian team dropped back on the final leg after being surprisingly close to the lead up to the second changeover.

For the full official results, go the WOC webpage: www.woc2017.ee.

[Press Release from the International Orientering Federation 2017-07-07; photo: Matias Salonen, IOF Digital Team]

WOC 2017: Master class from Thierry Gueorgiou

In his final individual WOC competition before retiring, Frenchman Thierry Gueorgiou ran a near-perfect race to take his 8th Middle Distance title at Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships.

This was a fantastic performance by Gueorgiou, once known as the ‘King of Middle Distance’ because of his string of victories in this format, the last being in 2011. Today’s is his 14th WOC gold; he also won the Long Distance three years in succession, 2013-5. Gueorgiou had some close challengers today but none were able to keep to his technical accuracy which he maintained throughout; he also showed that he has not lost a lot in speed over the years.

Gueorgiou described the day as being very tough emotionally. He has prepared only for this race this year, not competing in any other international race. “This is a dream coming true,” he said at the end, “I wanted to finish on top.”

Silver medal went to Fabian Hertner, Switzerland, who was close to Gueorgiou’s time until he made an error on the short leg to control 17. Oleksandr Kratov, Ukraine ran a very consistent race, just a shade off the pace but good enough for the bronze medal today. Defending champion Matthias Kyburz made mistakes on the course and ended 1.54 down. Norway had all their athletes in the top ten in the results, but out of the podium placings.

Johan Runesson, Sweden had a great run too but had to settle for fourth place, with Sprint champion Daniel Hubmann in fifth. The forest was very detailed and with quite low visibility in places, so mistakes were common.

“It is difficult to compare the medals and I have won many medals in Middle, it is my favourite distance,” said Gueorgiou. “This medal is very special and of course when you become a world champion for the first time it is a life changer. And for me also the Relay medal with my team-mates was special. My plan was to stay focused for the whole race, but also to smile and enjoy the moment.” And that he most certainly did, along with his many friends and admirers throughout the world of orienteering.

WOC 2017 website: www.woc2017.ee.

[Press release from the International Orienteering Federation 2017-07-06. Photo: Matias Salonen, IOF Digital Team]

WOC 2017: Outsanting win by Tove Alexandersson

Tove Alexandersson, Sweden took her second gold medal in three days with an outstanding run in the Middle distance at the Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships. Her winning lead was 2.10.

The very strong Swedish athlete showed from the start that she meant business today, setting new fastest times at every control and making only small hesitations. She continued in the same vein throughout, gradually building up an unassailable lead and taking sound routes all the way, to make a successful defence of her title won on home ground last year.

Silver medallist today was the very experienced Norwegian Marianne Andersen, one of only two of the current leading athletes to run in Estonia in the European Championships 11 years ago. She too ran a very good technical race, but could not match Alexandersson’s speed through the forest. “I made only some small errors, never more than 30 seconds,” she said. “My tactic was to stop, and continue very carefully, when unsure. This silver is like a gold for me!”

There was a close fight for the bronze medal, which was won by Finland’s Venla Harju who just missed a medal in the Sprint, after a strong challenge from Svetlana Mironova, Russia. Emily Kemp, Canada excelled to get a top six placing for the second year running.

Alexandersson said she was really satisfied with her race, and took her time on the few occasions she lost concentration slightly and was uncertain of her position. “I was running the shortest way and trying to be focused all the way reading the details. It is almost a clean race. I had good focus all the way and didn´t make any mistakes at the controls.”

Tomorrow the final races of the Championships take place, the relays.

WOC 2017 website: www.woc2017.ee.

[Press release from the International Orienteering Federation 2017-07-06. Photo: Matias Salonen, IOF Digital Team]

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]

WOC 2017: Alexandersson and Lundanes retain Long distance golds

Both Tove Alexandersson, Sweden, and Olav Lundanes, Norway won the Long distance at Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships for the second year in a row.

Tove Alexandersson, Sweden, ran a near-perfect race in the difficult Estonian terrain of the Long distance today, with only Sprint champion Maj Alm, Denmark, able to come anywhere near challenging her time.

- It was a good race and I was fighting all the way. I am very satisfied with the race and the gold, she said.

For Maja Alm, this was far and away her best result in a forest race, although she has shown on many occasions that she is a very good runner and navigator in forest terrain. Three days of sprint racing appeared not to have affected her performance. Natalia Gemperle, Russia, proved yet again that she is becoming one of the strongest and most consistent performers at world level in taking the bronze today, 5.36 down on Alexandersson.

In the men’s class, Olav Lundanes showed his determination in the way he set out from the start – almost a sprint down the run-out route. He posted fastest times throughout the course, but his run was not faultless. About making a mistake:

- I know I was close to the control, but it is difficult even if you are close to it in the green Estonian forest, he said.

This was his fifth individual WOC gold, and just like Tove Alexandersson he retains his Long distance title from last year.

- I am really really happy I managed to win two years in a row, and also get my fourth Long distance gold. They are all completely different and I am proud I have been able to win in different terrains, he said.

Silver medallist and closest contender throughout was Russian Leonid Novikov. The bronze medal went to the Swedish athlete William Lind, his first individual WOC medal. Norway’s strength in depth in this kind of race showed as they took fourth and fifth places.

For the full official results, go the WOC webpage: www.woc2017.ee.

[Press Release from the International Orientering Federation 2017-07-04; photo: Malin Fuhr]

WOC 2017: Sweden wins Sprint Relay

Sweden won the Sprint Relay at the Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships in Viljandi, Estonia. Denmark was second and Switzerland third.

The Swedish Sprint Relay team finally managed to be world champions.

- We have been fighting in the top for a long time, but this is the first time we finished on top. I couldn´t have dreamed about a better start of the championships, says last leg runner Helena Jansson.

The sprint terrain was challenging with a mix of urban terrain and steep slopes. The deciding moment came on the third leg when Great Britain and Switzerland made big mistakes. Jonas Leandersson in the Swedish team kept calm and got a 40 second lead.

- I managed to keep focused but I was surprised at the big gap at the end, says Jonas Leandersson.

Helena Jansson made a good race without any mistakes and Sweden won with a margin of 29 seconds.

- I focused really hard on my technical performance and I am really happy with the gold, says Helena Jansson.

The reigning champions Denmark won the silver after a very strong finish from Maja Alm. Switzerland with Sabine Hauswirth on the final leg took the bronze.

For the full official results, go the WOC webpage: www.woc2017.ee.

[Press release from the International Orienteering Federation 2017-07-02]

WOC 2017: Maja Alm and Daniel Hubmann World Champions in Sprint

The 2017 Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships kicked off today with the Sprint. The Danish Sprint Queen Maja Alm won for the third year in a row. In the men’s class Daniel Hubmann won, making this his 7th gold medal at World Orienteering Championships.

Orienteering’s Sprint Queen continues her reign

The Sprint at Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships took place in Tartu, Estonia, today. Maja Alm, Denmark, took a new momentous victory, after running an excellent race. She was 37 seconds faster than the silver medallist Natalia Gemperle, Russia.

- I feel very happy and it is also a relief. I have been looking forward so much to this day although I am getting more and more nervous every year. I am very proud of this medal, as the pressure is getting bigger and bigger, says Maja Alm.

Galina Vinogradova, Russia, was third just one second after Gemperle.

Close competition

In the tight men’s class, the Swiss Daniel Hubmann ran an impressive race and finished two seconds faster than Frederic Tranchand, France.

- It feels so great now, especially because I have focused a lot on sprint training ahead of these championships, says Daniel Hubmann.

Last year’s world champion Jerker Lysell, Sweden, took the bronze.

For the full official results, go the WOC webpage: www.woc2017.ee.

[Press Release from the International Orienteering Federation 2017-07-01; Photo Mathias Salonen | IOF Digital Team]

World Orienteering Day: A continued success

On Wednesday May 24th 2017, the second World Orienteering Day took place all over the world. It has proved an even greater success than last year, with over 288 000 participants all around the world taking part in an orienteering event. This is new record, with 35 000 more participants than last year.

In the end, 288 007 participants at 2265 locations in 79 countries have been part of something bigger, World Orienteering Day. Turkey is showing a fantastic result and has increased the number of participants with more than 75% compared to last year. As a final result, Turkey registered 86 436 WOD participants. Amazing!

From Antarctica to Greenland, from Singapore to Cameroun, from Ecuador to Kosovo, from Indonesia to Cyprus, hundreds of thousands of youngsters participated in World Orienteering Day. Following the idea “Be part of something bigger-Colour the World”, people all over the world took part in locally organised orienteering events, and celebrated the biggest world-wide orienteering event ever. World Orienteering Day is a very important tool to attract young people to the sport of orienteering, and it has been a success even in many countries where orienteering is not so well-known.

Hard work paid off

-Trying to repeat and surpass a successful first event is always daunting, as was the prospect of World Orienteering Day 2017. A lot of hard work has gone into building on last year’s achievement, and I am very happy to see that it has paid off. World Orienteering Day would not be possible without the initiative and dedication that can be found in the orienteering community, so I want to say a great thank you to everyone who organised a WOD event, as well as to our generous sponsors who helped make the event possible for many of us. I hope you all had a great day of celebration of our sport and congratulations on beating the World Record together! says Leho Haldna, the President of International Orienteering Federation (IOF).

There are many great examples from a lot of countries with increasing participants compared to last year. Amongst them were Serbia and the young IOF member Egypt, who did fantastic work with WOD this year and increased their number of participants by 103% and 43% respectively. This is a remarkable improvement! The largest WOD event was implemented at Hunan University in the city of Changsha in China with 3160 participants and the smallest one was carried out in an apartment in USA. This is orienteering; you can do it everywhere and anytime!

Reaching new territories

We also have to welcome new countries and territories as Cambodia, Lebanon, Philippines, Kosovo, Isle of Man, Malaysia, Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Mauritius, Luxembourg and Antarctica. Without World Orienteering Day it has been quite difficult to get all these countries involved in orienteering.

- The global reach of the World Orienteering Day project made it clear already last year that it is an important way to spread orienteering, especially to young people. This is particularly important as it is in line with the key objective of the IOC Olympic Agenda 2020: engaging youth through sport. It has been inspiring to follow the many events on the WOD website and to see the wide spread of events. I am already looking forward to next year’s event, Leho Haldna concludes.

[Press release from the International Orienteering Federation 2017-06-14]

City Race Euro Tour 2017: Orienteering in focus in seven big european cities

Between 7th May and 12th November, 2017, Orienteering will be in focus in seven major European cities. Bringing together the efforts and interests of Paris, Antwerp, Bristol, Treviso, Porto, Barcelona and Bilbao, the 4th edition of the City Race Euro Tour puts sport and tourism once more hand in hand.

Paris was the venue chosen for the inaugural presentation of the 2017 City Race Euro Tour. Starting in the French capital on 7th May, the event will take in Belgium (Antwerp, 13th and 14th May), Great Britain (Bristol, 10th and 11th June), Italy (Treviso, 17th and 18th June), Portugal (Porto, 22nd to 24th September) with the finish in Spain (Barcelona, 4th and 5th November and Bilbao, 11th and 12th November). “Think hard, run fast, feel good” stands as the motto of these seven major Orienteering events in seven major European cities. The Tour targets everyone, leading competitors and also beginners.

The idea of creating the Euro City Race Tour was the result of a partnership established in 2012 between the organising groups of the London City Race and Porto City Race. The outcome of combining the social and sporting interests proved indeed heartening, and then to decide to extend the invitation to other organisations took only a brief moment. Edinburgh and Barcelona joined Porto and London in the first edition. Krakow and Seville joined the event in 2015 and Antwerp, Malaga, Firenze and Lille were ‘newcomers’ in 2016. With a good recipe for success, the European City Race gives the public and the media visibility to increase the popularity of Orienteering, attracting crowds to applaud runners in an urban environment.

First races in Paris and Antwerp

Held for the first time ever, the Paris City Race called to Montmartre, one of the main tourist attractions in the French capital, 393 competitors from 15 different nations. It was quite unusual to see people running, maps and compasses in their hands, through the little streets, parks, restaurant terraces and stairs, side by side with painters at Place du Tertre or tourists searching for the places where Georges Seurat, Erik Satie Vincent Van Gogh or Pablo Picasso lived about one century ago. It was in this nostalgic and, at the same time, life-buzzing atmosphere, that the French Juste Raimbault (CLSG Melun) and the British Caroline Craig (North Gloucestershire OC) were stronger than their opponents, achieving clear victories in the Elite category.

One week later, the third Antwerp City Race attracted to Antwerp’s city centre 273 competitors from 18 countries. The event took place on the Het Steen map, a mix of old and new city centre with a passage on the Quay of the Schelde, towards the castle ‘Het Steen’ and the finish on Antwerp’s main square. In the Men’s Elite race, two of the best Sprint specialists fought hard for the victory, with the Belgian Yannick Michiels (TROL) getting a nearly two-minute win over the New-Zealander Tim Robertson (Fossum IF). In the Women’s Elite, the New Zealander Laura Robertson (Edinburgh Southern OC) was 43 seconds faster than the Spaniard Anna Serralonga (TROL) in taking first place.

Results

Paris City Race, 7th May 2017

Men Elite

1. Juste Raimbault (CLSG Melun, FRA) 1:03:23 (+ 00:00)

2. Fleury Roux (NOSE, FRA) 1:04:34 (+ 01:11)

3. Julien Le Borgne (Quimper 29, FRA) 1:04:43 (+ 01:20)

4. Pierre Boudet (Garde Rép., FRA) 1:05:12 (+ 01:49)

5. Maxime Chabance (NOSE, FRA) 1:08:20 (+ 04:57)

Women Elite

1. Caroline Craig (North Gloucestershire OC, GBR) 57:04 (+ 00:00)

2. Celine Finas (T.A.D., FRA) 1:00:13 (+ 03:09)

3. Francesca Taufer (U.S. Primiero, ITA) 1:03:05 (+ 06:01)

4. Clarissa Ricard Borchorst (AC Beauchamp, FRA) 1:03:49 (+ 06:45)

5. Nathanaëlle Gerbeaux (GO 78, FRA) 1:04:28 (+ 07:24)

Antwerp City Race, 14th May 2017

Men Elite

1. Yannick Michiels (TROL, BEL) 31:42 (+ 00:00)

2. Tim Robertson (Fossum IF, NZL) 33:39 (+ 01:57)

3. Tristan Bloemen (C.O. Liège, BEL) 34:21 (+ 02:39)

4. Tomas Hendrickx (K.O.L., BEL) 36:00 (+ 04:18)

5. Benjamin Anciaux (TROL, BEL) 37:30 (+ 05:48)

Women Elite

1. Laura Robertson (Edinburgh SOC, NZL) 35:19 (+ 00:00)

2. Anna Serrallonga (TROL, ESP) 36:02 (+ 00:43)

3. Miek Fabré (Omega, BEL) 36:31 (+ 01:12)

4. Kim Geypen (Omega, BEL) 37:29 (+ 02:10)

5. Caroline Craig (North Gloucestershire OC, GBR) 40:28 (+ 05:09)

All information can be found at http://cityracetour.org/.

Text and photo by Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/orienteering-in-focus-in-seven-big-european-cities/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

New IOF branding

The new International Orienteering Federation branding has been published. The branding consists of a brand book with guidelines, logos, a visual toolkit and several useful templates.

The new IOF branding has been made to simplify graphical work and to help spread a unified image of the IOF.The IOF branding is based on the fundamental values of orienteering and is developed to fulfil the aims of the IOF.

The most significant news are the new general Orienteering logo, the new discipline logos/symbols and the new World Cup logos. The other logos are unchanged but user guidelines are included in the IOF Brand Book. All the templates are new and besides useful templates for Word, Powerpoint, a cover page for official documents, a template for advertising roll ups and a letterhead, the IOF Brand Book also gives examples of designed materials.

The IOF Brand Book and new logos are found here: http://orienteering.org/resources/communication/.

Leho Haldna: "Every small orienteering event contributes on 24th May 2017!"

World Orienteering Day 2016 was a great success, achieving and surpassing our goals and expectations. The fact did not go unnoticed and many eyes have been opened to orienteering as a truly global sport for lifelong participation.

However, this does not mean at all that World Orienteering Day 2017 will be a success again. Together, we have set an ambitious target – 500 000 participants. The target is very high and looking at the pre-registrations on worldorienteeringday.com we still have some work to do to make 2017 a similar success.

World Orienteering Day is an important event for all of us. WOD has really gotten media attention plus the support of the IOC and a growing number of sponsors. It is a unique opportunity to market orienteering to new participants and partners and to show the strength of our global community of orienteers.

On behalf of the IOF I’m asking for your personal support for World Orienteering Day 2017. We know there are a lot of enthusiasts developing our sport in schools, clubs, regions and federations. Please participate, and ask and motivate others, in organising events especially in schools but also local orienteering events on May 24th!

It’s not too late to start preparing an event. Every small orienteering event contributes on 24th May 2017!

Leho Haldna
IOF President

[http://orienteering.org/world-orienteering-day-2017-a-letter-from-the-iof-president/]

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The England team came first in both the overall and Junior Cup competitions at Interland 2017. The event took place on the 2nd April in the Herbeumont Forest, in the Ardennes, southern Belgium. The English Fiona Bunn and Peter Bray, got comfortable victories in the M21 classes, respectively Women and Men. Bunn finished his race with a three-minute advantage over Greet Oeyen, Belgium, while Bray's advantage over the second placed, the French Benjamin Lepoutre, was of five minutes. Overall, England got the first place with 202, Belgium was second with 158 points and France third, with 132 points. The Interland Cup is England’s only international competition outside the British Isles. England competes annually in this five-cornered match against two Belgian teams (Flemish and French speaking), the Netherlands, and the French Ligue des Hauts de France de Course d’Orientation (LHFCO) . The competition is truly a team effort spanning age groups from W and M14 to W and M60+: 42 team members in all. Complete results and further information at http://orienteeringengland.org.uk/2017/04/04/interland-2017-win-for-england-team/.

2. OK Vihor Zagreb organized, on 2nd April, the Vihor TempO Challenge, event that called to the beautiful Bundek Park, in Zagreb, 30 competitors from Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. Third stage of 2017 Croatia-Italy-Slovenia Trophy, the event consisted in six timed stations with five tasks each and was dominated by the Slovakian Ján Furucz (Farmaceut Bratislava), the winner of the Trophy's last edition. Furucz finished with 305 seconds, corresponding to 185 seconds of answering time and 120 seconds of penalty (four incorrect answers). Slower and less accurate than Furucz, the Croatian Ivo Tišljar (OK Orion) got the second position with 350 seconds. The Slovenian Krešo Keresteš (OK Trzin) was third with 357 seconds. Ján Furucz is now the leader of 2017 Croatia-Italy-Slovenia Trophy with 288,5 points, nine points ahead of Ivica Bertol and fifteen points ahead of Tomislav Varnica, both form OK Vihor, Croatia. The results can be seen at http://www.trailo.it/Classifiche%20internazionali/CIS.asp.

3. Would you like to know who are the top 10 most popular orienteering races in the world, open to everyone? The answer is at ALL4orienteering blog [HERE] https://www.all4o.com/orienteering-blog/top-10-orienteering-races-in-the-world. The number of participants it's, surely, an important issue, but it's not the most important. That's why Jukola / Venla Relay (Finland) cames first and O-ringen (Sweden), world's biggest orienteering festival, stands on the second place. Events like Scottish Six Days (Scotland), FIN5 orienteering week (Finland) and Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering (United Kingdom) are also on the list. Probably other events, like Portugal O' Meeting (Portugal) or MTBO 5 Days Plzeň (Czech Republic), would deserve a place on the list, but the presented events can be a good starting point for knowing and living wonderful and exciting orienteering moments.

4. IOF Newsletter of April is now published and there's lots of interesting reading on it. The eyes of the orienteering world turn to Oceania for the next few weeks, to follow the action at the Oceania Orienteering Championships and the World Masters Orienteering Championships, both taking place in New Zealand. An interview with IOF FootO Athletes’ Commission member Lizzie Ingham will get you excited to follow the Oceania Champs this weekend. Excellent terrains, a great atmosphere and fierce rivalry await the Oceania orienteers who will fight for regional titles and bonus WOC spots. Of course, the newsletter also includes important news from the IOF. The IOF Council had a meeting recently, and a summary of the most notable decisions makes it easy to follow the development of orienteering. Most notable from this council meeting is perhaps the approval of the long awaited International Specification for Orienteering Maps. The IOF is also very active on the international sports scene. Make sure to read about what we got up to at this year’s SportAccord Convention. For TrailO enthusiasts, the newsletter offers interesting reading on the European Cup in TrailO. Not heard of it? Dive in and find out all about the exciting competition. Are you missing out? Find out more and subscribe here. Happy reading!

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Six intense orienteering days, two days of training, 6 stages of competition, 169 different courses, 365 controls placed on the terrain, 51 competition and open classes, three municipalities involved and a total of 2,467 participants from 36 countries. These are the final numbers of the biggest Portugal O' Meeting ever. For those who haven't been in Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre, from February 25th to 28th, here is the extended summary, in a 25-minute film that was broadcasted on the Portuguese public television last Sunday. A great way to revisit the dream terrains of Alto Alentejo and to re-vibrate intensely with the best that Orienteering has to give us. Everything to see at https://youtu.be/I-VImO1A4_g.

2. It wasn't only in Portugal that MTB Orienteering was in focus last weekend. In Hungary, too, took place the Balaton MTBO, an event organized by the Hangya SZKE club, which brought together to Csopak, on the northern shore of Lake Balaton, almost 100 riders from Hungary, Austria, France and Slovakia. The French Yoann Garde and Hana Garde, both representing Team Elite MTBO, were the big winners in the Elite category in both stages, a Middle Distance on the first day and a Free Order stage on the second day. The fight for the immediate places in the Men's class was tough, particularly on the second day, in which the Hungarians Csaba Bedö, László Rózsa and András Holluby occupied by this order the immediate positions, with only 6 seconds of difference between each other. Hana Garde had an apparently simpler task, winning comfortably both stages, with the veteran Hungarian Veronika Cseh taking the second place, with disadvantages over than three minutes in the Middle Distance stage and eight minutes in the Free Order stage. Results and other information can be seen at http://mtbo.hu/balatonmtbo/en/.

3. With the presence of President Leho Haldna and the counselors, the International Orienteering Federation joined in Madrid, last weekend, having approved a set of measures with effect as of this year. Is in this case the approval of the International Specification for Orienteering Maps ISOM 2017. For IOF events between 1 May and 31 December 2017, both ISOM 2000 and ISOM 2017 could be accepted, but which map standard is used at the event must be clearly stated in the Bulletin(s) for the event. For all events after 1 January 2018, ISOM 2017 should be used unless there are contractual limitations which would prevent this. The Council also approved the program proposed by the IOF Foot Orienteering Commission regarding WOC from 2019 and the proposal from the IOF Ski Orienteering Commission to appoint the European Ski Orienteering Championships (ESOC) 2019 to Turkey during the dates 4–12 February 2019. Other subject discussed by the Council was a positive doping case in an athlete participating in a Foot Orienteering World Ranking Event in Brasília, Brazil, in September 2016. When charged with the Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), the athlete accepted a provisional suspension whilst awaiting the decision of the hearing body of the CBO. They determined that the athlete had not committed the ADRV willfully, and therefore sanctioned them with a period of ineligibility of six months, starting on 24 November 2016, and the athlete’s results connected to the event at which the ADRV occurred have been disqualified. The council decided not to appeal the decision in this case. The IOF will work with the CBO to offer support in the Anti-Doping education of its athletes. The minutes of IOF Council Meeting can be seen HERE.

4. A new Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships WOC 2017 web page was launched a week ago, with an in-depth interview of the Long Distance course-setter Tõnis Erm. So far, you can also read interviews with top athletes Oleksandr Kratov and Marika Teini, Evely Kaasiku, one of the best Estonian orienteers and Meelis Mälberg, Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Member of the Parliament of Estonia. Take a look at http://woc2017.ee/ and see by yourself!

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The city of Coimbra is ready to host the Rainha Santa Trophy / Beira Litoral O' Meeting BLOM 2017, event that kicks off a sequence of three weekends on a row of the best Orienteering in Portugal, which is completed by the Portugal O' Meeting 2017 and the Aguiar da Beira O' Meeting 2017. The competitive program starts tomorrow with a Sprint WRE, which scores for the IOF Sprint Orienteering World Ranking, followed by an urban Middle Distance stage in the afternoon. The event's second day will be fulfilled by a Middle Distance stage, scoring for the IOF World Orienteering Ranking. The number of entered athletes is close to seven hundred, representing 18 countries. Timo Sild, Oleksandr Kratov, Hector Haines, Mårten Boström, Lucas Basset, Simon Hector or Olli Ojanaho, are just some of the 88 competitors in the Men Elite class. In the list of 44 competitors in the Elite Women class it's possible to see names such as Helen Palmer, Mariia Makarova, Irina Nyberg, Adela Indrakova, Anna Bachman, Karolin Ohlsson or Isia Basset. Everything to follow at http://blom.admondego.pt/.

2. The International Orienteering Federation has been pleased to hear about the development of the sport of orienteering in Costa Rica and has just underlined its satisfaction by recognizing the organisation Asociación Deporte de Orientación (ADO) as an affiliate organisation to the IOF. “The IOF is supporting the work of ADO through our Regional Development Coordinator, Mr Jose Angel Nieto Poblete from the Spanish Orienteering Federation. In this way, the IOF has an official relationship with the organization in Costa Rica. (…) We look forward to continuing to work together with ADO to fully establish the sport of orienteering in Costa Rica”, says Tom Hollowel, IOF Secretary General / CEO, in a letter addressed on February 13th, 2017, to Yeimi Jiménez Oviedo, ADO's President. This is the culmination of 10 stages of work developed over 6 years by Jose Angel Nieto Poblete, who seizes the opportunity to express a note of joy and a thank you on his personal page on Facebook: “All thanks to a group of enthusiasts 'Ticos' of this sport. Our goal, now, is to keep working, keep massing, with the goal of becoming a [provisional] member of IOF in 2018. We keep moving forward!”, he says.

3. There is a black shadow hovering on the recent organization of the European in Ski Orienteering Championships, held last week in Imatra, Finland. The issue was initially raised by Santeri Aikio in his personal blog [HERE], eventually leading to a heated discussion about what is considered an illegality in the Middle Distance race, M21 class, made legal by the jury's decision. The question is simple and can be summarized as follows: After the middle distance at ESOC, the organizers chose to disqualify nine male athletes and one female athlete for going across a forbidden area, a lake mapped with the ISSkiOM symbol 301.2 Uncrossable waterbody (forbidden to cross). By going over the lake you could gain approx. 40-50 seconds. A complaint was handed in against the disqualifications, but it was rejected by the organizers. Then a protest was made against the organizers decision and the jury’s decision was as follows: (1) The nine male athletes were included to the results. (2) Jury cut off the men’s course from control 7 to control 8 and the new results were calculated from start to control 7 + from control 8 to finish. (3) All other classes in the competition were left unchanged. The SkiO Athletes Commission has already ruled on this issue, considering the jury's decision “wrong and unacceptable”. On the other hand, Tom Hollowel, IOF Secretary General / CEO, also came to explain that “it's important to note that, in accordance with the IOF Ski Orienteering rules, the decision of the jury cannot be appealed, not even to the IOF Council.” IN the midst of this embroilment, Santeri Aikio takes the voice of the majority: “For the future of ski orienteering, the best winter sport there is, and for fair play, and for our reputation as a seriously taken sport, please, put an end to this nonsense!”

4. Many important topics were on the agenda for the recent IOF Council Meeting in Warsaw, 20-21 January. From the taken key decisions, we highlight the appointment by the Council of the Czech Republic as host of the 2018 IOF General Assembly; the approval of the proposed World Masters Orienteering Championships program, which will be introduced from WMOC 2018 in Denmark and will consist of Sprint Qualification, Sprint Final, a rest day, Forest Qualification, Middle Distance Final, another rest day, and finally the Long Distance Final; the approval of all principles in the ISOM 2017; and a principle decision, following a presentation from the TrailO Commission, to instate a World Ranking system in TrailO, whose details will now be worked out by the TrailO Commission, with the intention to introduce TrailO World Ranking Events from 2018. For more information, read the complete Council minutes HERE.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Less than 24 hours to the entries' deadline for the Portugal O' Meeting 2017, there are already more than 2,000 athletes looking forward to Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre where, from 25th to 28th February, will take place the 22nd edition of the most important FootO competition of the Winter calendar worldwide. Thierry Gueorgiou, Gustav Bergman, Magne Dæhli, Baptiste Rollier, Lauri Sild, Oleksandr Kratov, Gernot Kerschbaumer, Andreu Blanes, Frederic Tranchand, Olav Lundanes, Milos Nykodym, LucasBasset or Johan Runesson , are just some of the two hundred competitors in the Men Elite class. In the list of more than 100 competitors in the Women Elite class it's possible to see names such as Ursula Kadan, Anna Serralonga, Eva Jurenikova, Hollie Orr, Lizzie Ingham, Nadiya Volynska, Helena Jansson, Catherine Taylor or Simone Niggli. Joining the huge demand for the Portuguese competition, also the TrailO lovers make a point of attending the event. Guntars Mankus, Santiago Martin, Koji Chino, Mark Heikoop, Jorge Valente, Remo Madella, Zoltan Mihaczi, Bartlomiej Mazan, Gintaras Mikolavicius, Peter Huzan, António Hernandez and the Portuguese Inês Domingues, Luis Gonçalves, Cláudio Tereso, João Pedro Valente, Edgar Domingues, Jorge Baltazar and Ricardo Pinto are the heads of a list which includes 124 entries so far, the highest number ever registered in Portugal in a TrailO event. Everything to follow at http://pom.pt/2017/en/.

2. For those interested in Orienteering and its historical aspects, Halden SK has published an interesting book describing the club's maps drawing from 1928 to 2016. Here you can read about how Edgar G. Andersen and Kåre Varting signed the first Orienteering maps to the club before the Second World War, their followers Remne Vandet, Steffen Steffensen and Roar Andersen, the maps signed by Fritz Kohn, Larry Erntzen and Hans Kohn for the National Championships, the Bard E. Andersen's work as one of the creators of the modern Orienteering in Norway and the introduction of computer technology, OCAD and Laser Data - a revolution in the manufacture of orientation map! Finally, the book looks on the good and large map production in recent years with the use of skilled foreign mapmakers such as the Portuguese Tiago Martins Aires and Raquel Costa, who signed the maps of Strupeskogen, Venåsmarka, Høiås nord. To work can be seen at http://haldensk.no/dok/filer/kart/Karttegning_i_HSK_1928-2016_20170116.pdf.

3. International Orienteering Federation and International School Sport Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to to cooperate with each other for the benefit of youth sport in general and more specifically for the continued growth of youth orienteering. The agreement between both institutions focuses the attention on two main aspects: firstly, on the relevance of the educational element of youth sport. Secondly, on the importance of the cooperation between the two federations in terms of harmonisation of the international calendar and organisation of events. In this respect, the first occasion that will see the fruits of this new cooperation will certainly be the Orienteering World School Championship taking place in Palermo, Italy, on 22-28 April, 2017. IOF and ISF will cooperate and coordinate the way school orienteering events shall be structured and organised. ISF showed great interest in the innovation and success of World Orienteering Day (WOD) in 2016. The coming years ISF will cooperate with the goal of attaining a significant global WOD participation in schools. The original article can be seen at http://orienteering.org/iof-and-isf-have-signed-a-memorandum-of-understanding/.

4. FinTrailO 2017's Bulletin 1 [HERE] has just been published. The event will take place in Espoo, from 29th to 30th April, and will be organised by the orienteering club OK 77. The first day's program includes the TempO competition and the PreO competition's first part. The PreO's second part wil take place on Sunday. There will be a national trail orienteering competition on Monday 1st May in Klaukkala, some 30 km from Espoo. Organiser is Rajamäen Rykmentti. PreO competitions are organised in two different kinds of terrains. PreO 1 will be held in normal Southern Finnish forest terrain with some open areas with very good visibility. PreO 2 is held in detailed terrain with cliffs and many contours. The road surface is on both days very good for wheelchairs. In steep hills there will be extra assistance. TempO terrain is a mix of urban, park and forest terrains with good visibility and good surface for wheelchairs. Athletes from the Czech Republic, Poland, Great Britain, Slovakia and Italy have entered the event so far. You can find all information at http://www.ok77.fi/fintrailo/.

Joaquim Margarido

Sonia Mabel Caminos: From Argentina to Argentina with a stop at WOC

Sonia Mabel Caminos (Argentina) was one of the participants at the WOC Clinic 2016. She travelled to Strömstad, Sweden, with little experience from major events, to represent her country on the big orienteering stage. Today Sonia is trying to improve the events in her country, and trying to set the pace in Argentina.

Was the WOC Clinic as you expected?

– Yes, it was a wonderful experience. Having the opportunity to spend the days with training and sport, with athletes and coaches from other countries was spectacular. It was very interesting to listen to professional sportsmen and I appreciate their willingness to share knowledge and experiences. We also had the opportunity to try new discipline and formats, TrailO and maze orienteering for example.

How was your experience of the atmosphere at WOC?

– In our group, we had a warm and friendly family atmosphere. Our coaches did a great job helping us in the stressful moments around the WOC races. It was a big pressure for all of us competing as such high level.

How has the WOC Clinic affected your way of thinking regarding orienteering, organisation and competition?

– The WOC Clinic was a turning point in my life. Being able to see orienteering at a high level and a professional organisation such as the WOC organising committee has inspired me to develop orienteering in my country. I am really motivated to work to improve the conditions for orienteering here.

How do you want to contribute to the development of orienteering in Argentina?

– The Argentinian Orienteering Federation has been working very well with the development of orienteering during the past years. But it is not easy in a country where everyone is focusing on football. I will try to help and I am available for promotion work with orienteering in different arenas. I will also continue to compete and do some coaching work as well.

Do you want to participate in more development clinics in the future?

– I hope that I and other orienteering friends in Argentina will have the great opportunity to take part in development clinics. I will inspire everyone to take the chance to get to know the sport better and find inspiration in other more developed orienteering countries. To be able to develop the orienteering in Argentina we need more international experiences.

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/from-argentina-to-argentina-with-a-stop-at-woc/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

2016 MTBO season: The Foliforov Year

Anton Foliforov won all three individual gold medals at the World MTB Orienteering Championships. This was the stand-out highlight of the 2016 MTBO season. And Foliforov also won the MTBO World Cup for the fourth year in a row.

Any assessment of the 2016 international MTB Orienteering season ends up with the Russian Anton Foliforov as an inescapable key figure. He made his debut in the most important event of the international calendar in 2005, and just five years later he won his first individual gold medal in the Long distance race at the World MTB Orienteering Championships in Portugal. Now he has nine individual titles and two with the Russian team, and Foliforov is being spoken of as the best MTBO athlete of all time by everyone involved in this exciting discipline, with the 2016 season being the highlight of his career.

But the season has also thrown other big names on the MTB orienteering scene into the limelight, in particular Emily Benham from Great Britain, the world champion in the Long Distance and Sprint, winner of the World Cup and leader in the IOF World Rankings along with Foliforov. In the final round of the World Cup held in Lithuania, attention was focussed on the Estonian Lauri Malsroos, thanks to two victories and a second place in the three stages. Six other athletes achieved wins in the MTB Orienteering World Cup season, namely the Swiss Simon Braendli, the French Gaëlle Barlet, the Russian Olga Shipilova Vinogradova, the Finn Marika Hara and the Czechs Krystof Bogar and Martina Tichovska.

Kick-off in France

With winter giving way to a changeable spring, the first races of the season in early March were held in Portugal and Turkey. Races in Denmark were another important attraction in April but it was in May at Guebwiller in France that a hundred or so athletes began to pedal really seriously, in the first round of the 2016 World Cup. Simon Braendli and Emily Benham achieved “the muddiest wins” of their careers in the Long distance stage that opened the round.

Second-placed on this first stage, Anton Foliforov managed to win the Middle distance race on the second day, while Benham was again the strongest in the women’s class although sharing the highest place on the podium with Gaëlle Barlet, both recording the same time. After an exciting duel with the Russian team, France achieved a tasty home victory in the Mixed Relay that ended the round.

Twenty-two nations at World Championships in Portugal

The most important event of the season, the World MTB Orienteering Championships, took place in central Portugal at the beginning of July, bringing together 78 male and 53 female athletes representing 22 countries. Still tasting the triumphs of the previous round, Anton Foliforov and Emily Benham were the fastest in the Sprint that opened the Championships, and repeated this result in the epic Long distance in temperatures near to 40 degrees Celsius.

Olga Shipilova Vinogradova’s victory in the Middle distance, another win for the ‘flying’ Foliforov and also the silver medal for the young Czech Vojtech Ludvik were the most significant moments of a third exciting day. The Czech Team ended its time in Portugal in the best possible way by winning the men’s relay, and they took top place on the podium along with Finland, winners of the women’s relay for the 8th time in 14 editions of the World MTB Orienteering Championships.

The battle in Lithuania

At the end of September, the forests of Lithuania with their impressive autumnal colours hosted the final round of the World Cup. The men’s title was already won by Foliforov, but the women’s was still open: would Emily Benham manage to hold her advantage over her most direct opponent, the French Gaëlle Barlet? The British rider settled that question on the first stage, winning the Long distance and putting Barlet out of reach. The Estonian Lauri Malsroos was the winner of the men’s race and repeated the feat in the next stage, a quite technical Middle distance. Here, the winner in the women’s class was the Finn Marika Hara. The last stage, a challenging Sprint held in the suburbs of the city of Kaunas, brought a double Czech victory with Krystof Bogar and Martina Tichovska being the fastest.

No change in World Cup

The 2016 World Cup ended up having the same winners as in 2015, with Anton Foliforov taking the title after four wins and a second place in the two opening rounds and Emily Benham securing her triumph in the first stage of the final round. Gaëlle Barlet never backed down and the good results achieved in Lithuania allowed her to keep second position, while Martina Tichovska’s victory in the last stage was decisive for achieving third place. Also decisive were the two victories and a second place achieved by Lauri Malsroos in the final round, which gave him second place in the final World Cup standings, and he was followed by Krystof Bogar, who in the best possible way finished a season that marked his return to top competition after a three-year break.

Text and photo: Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/orienteering-world-webb.pdf. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

... For those who LIVE Orienteering

For those who LIVE Orienteering, International Orienteering Federation has just launched LIVE Orienteering, a replacement and upgrade of the IOF Livecenter which has been used for streaming of live video, GPS tracking and results from IOF major events over the past two and a half years.

“Livecenter has proven that there is a true interest in following major orienteering events. But there has been a need both to upgrade and improve the current toolset represented by Livecenter, and also to enhance the site to become the IOFs future platform for external communication”, explains Tom Hollowel, IOF's Secretary General/CEO, adding that “the development of LIVE Orienteering has been going on for the past few months and we are now ready to launch the new site. The launch is being done just prior to the first IOF major event of 2017, the European Ski Orienteering Championships in Imatra, Finland and we will be following closely the use of the site during the event”, he says.

“The long term strategy for LIVE Orienteering is that this will be the primary platform for IOF external communications and orienteering fan engagement, and a portal for orienteering news and discussions”, says Tom Hollowel. In this first version of the site, IOF external news articles are displayed and the site also integrates social media content. Through cooperation with worldofo.com, LIVE Orienteering also displays blog content and news sources from around the orienteering world. The site also integrates advertising opportunities where the income will be used to fund IOF activities. In the calendar it's possible to find events and visit the event’s own page. Links are provided to the Event pages in IOF Eventor and to an own homepage for the event if one exists, and event organisers can display their own sponsors on the event page. “The idea is to have a one-stop portal to find information and follow all IOF major events and we believe this will be a major enhancement for organisers of IOF events”, Hollowel says.

The introduction of LIVE Orienteering also means changes on the IOF homepage - www.orienteering.org. Hollowel says that “Orienteering.org will, in the future, be focused on internal communications and be the repository of all reference materials, for example about the IOF organisation, rules, guidelines, etc. Initially we will publish external articles on both pages but you will certainly notice changes at orienteering.org as the year goes on. We are hoping to be able to simplify the access to the information on orienteering.org in the process.”

Set LIVE Orienteering as a bookmark in your browser and visit every day to see what is happening in the orienteering world.

Joaquim Margarido

IOF Athlete of the Month: Erik Rost

The first IOF Athlete of the Month for 2017 is Swedish SkiO star Erik Rost. Last season, Erik Rost won the overall World Cup in SkiO for the second time in his career. Since his first overall WC victory in his breakthrough season 2007/8, he has had elite careers in both FootO and SkiO, experienced ups and downs, and continuously increased his list of merits. And the list is nowhere near complete yet.

Name: Erik Rost

Country: Sweden

Date of Birth: 30th May 1985

Lives: Falun, Sweden

Work: Forest management

Discipline: Ski orienteering

Club: Alfta Ösa OK

Merits: Overall World Cup victory: 7/8 & 15/16. WSOC silver: Relay 2007, 2011 & 2015 WSOC bronze: Relay 2009, Sprint 2015, Sprint Relay 2015. ESOC gold: Long 2008 & 2015, Middle 2011, Relay 2008, 2010 & 2016, Sprint Relay 2015. ESOC bronze: Middle 2008 & 2016, Sprint 2010, Relay 2011 & 2012, Sprint Relay 2014

IOF World Ranking: 1st

Twitter: skogsmastarn

Instagram: skogsmastaren

It is mid-February 2015 and Norway is the host of the World SkiO Championships (WSOC). The two first races are finished and Erik Rost has had a great start, winning his first ever individual WSOC medals, with a bronze in Sprint followed by another bronze medal in the Sprint Relay. The championships have the potential to be the most memorable ever for the 29-year-old Swede. In the end, it is one he will never forget, but for other reasons than sports.

After the two first races with Erik Rost at the podium, Erik Rost’s father and life-long supporter passed away. Some would have dropped out of the rest of the races, but Erik Rost finished the three last events. Both Middle and Long led to second positions but in the Relay, he was fastest of everyone, contributing greatly to the Swedish silver medal.

The following season, 2015/16, Erik Rost came back with renewed energy and achieved the best result of his career so far:

— My biggest achievement in SkiO is the overall World Cup last year. It meant a lot to me. It was a tough period after WSOC in 2015 due to my dad’s death. He meant so much to me. He has been around at events and supported me through the years. It was great to fight back after the grief and show that I could win, Erik Rost says about winning the overall World Cup.

Erik Rost’s big goal for last season was the overall World Cup. Three races in three rounds counted in the standings and the plan was stable races. With nothing worse than a fifth position he lived up to that, and with three out of three wins at the second WC round in Germany, the victory was almost secured. He just needed to do decent races in the last round:

— I have never been as nervous as I was before the three last races. I realized how much taking the victory meant to me after what happened with my father, he says.

Erik Rost handled the nerves and took the overall World Cup victory four points ahead of the Norwegian Lars Moholdt.

Erik Rost raced his first elite SkiO season in 2005/6 and already in 2007/8, he won the prestigious overall World Cup:

— I was 23 years old when I won the World Cup for the first time. At that time, I did not think that much about it and it more or less just came to me, compared to last year when I really aimed for it, he says.

Skiing in winter and running in summer

Erik Rost has his best results in SkiO, with the two overall World Cup victories as highlights, as well as the European Championships title in Long in 2015. However, for many years he spent the summer time on FootO instead of SkiO. And with an overall victory in men’s elite class in O-ringen 2011 and participation in both WOC and EOC in 2012 for Sweden, it was by no means on a recreational level. His way into the sport was, on the other hand, very ordinary:

— As is the case for many orienteers, I started at a young age when my parents took me along to orienteering. Since I enjoyed it, I continued when I got older. From when I was little, I did orienteering in summer time and SkiO in winter, he tells.

At the age of 16, he went to a sports school where he practiced orienteering, SkiO and cross-country skiing. He continued with SkiO in winter and FootO when the snow melted:

— The SkiO and FootO seasons are separate. It was not that difficult to focus on both, and I think the training for one helps in the other. Of course, competing in two seasons was tough, but not too tough, I would say.

All the way up to 2013, Erik Rost considered his focus on FootO and SkiO to be on an equal level. He had the best results in SkiO, but it was first in 2013 when finishing his studies and getting a job, as well as a foot injury which kept him from running, that he began to focus only on SkiO. Having experienced elite level in both FootO and SkiO, Erik Rost thinks the mind-set for the two disciplines is quite similar:

— Comparing FootO and SkiO, the setup for events are different. There is more people and more publicity at the FootO events. But the attitude and energy the athletes put into the sport is the same. I would even say that Ski Orienteers train a little more, because you can have longer trainings on skis without getting injured, he says.

In 2015, Erik Rost came back from his foot injury and started running again at club level for his club Malungs OK. Rather successfully, in fact, as he was a part of the relay team which came second in the Swedish championships 2015, and he ran the first leg when Malungs OK were eighth at Tiomila last year.

A bank of knowledge

Now Erik Rost is settled in the Swedish city Falun. He works part time; usually in between a training session in the morning and one in the afternoon. Falun is the centre for Dalarna Sports Academy, with excellent conditions for training:

— In Falun, I am mainly training ordinary skiing and then when we go on camps I practice SkiO. There are 8-9 athletes racing SkiO at international level and, together with the high-level cross-country skiers, Falun offers great conditions for training, Erik says.

With more than ten years of experience at elite level, Erik Rost has learned some tips and tricks, but the excitement about orienteering is that it always offers new challenges, no matter how experienced you are:

— The years in the sport have made me feel calm in myself. For instance, at major championships, I have learned to move my focus from the surrounding things to what is important: the races. I have found myself in many different situations, which has given me some experience, but the tasks in orienteering are never the same. Of course, you can be placed in situations that remind you of something you have experienced previously, and then it is nice to have a ‘bank of knowledge’, Erik explains.

The missing medal

As the World Cup in SkiO is biannual, Erik Rost is reigning champion for at least one more year. But it does not mean that this season is of no importance. Almost the opposite. When the World SkiO Championships start in March, Erik Rost has a dream that is still to be fulfilled. He has six WSOC medals, but none of them gold:

— My aim for 2017 is WSOC in Russia. I am in good shape and I think it is realistic finally to take a victory. I do not focus on any specific distances, so I will go for them all, he says.

Erik Rost is in no doubt about highlighting WSOC as the goal of the year. He will race the European SkiO Championships in Imatra, Finland, 7-12 February, but it will be a step on the road towards WSOC.

The first test of his 2017 shape came at the six-race event Ski-O Tour, held in Switzerland and Austria, where many of the big names were racing. Erik Rost won the two last days and finished second overall, after Eduard Khrennikov.

Whether or not Erik Rost will achieve the missing WSOC gold medal will be decided in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 6-11 March. Placed number one at the SkiO world-ranking list, and winner of the World Cup last year, Erik Rost must be considered among the favourites. Orienteering can be unpredictable and tough, and so can life. But it is always worth trying to fight back.

Text: Henrik Rindom Knudsen

Photo: Malin Fuhr

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/januarys-iof-athlete-of-the-month-is-erik-rost/. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]