Simona Aebersold: A moment, a comment...

As I was the last starter in that Middle Distance race, I would know my exact result as I crossed the finish line. So I heard the speaker saying that I was the winner. At that moment, I knew that my race had been quite good and I hadn't made any big mistakes. It was the first time for me that I had run such a good forest race at an international Championship.

It was a really good race for me this time and I am really happy that it worked out that well. When I was on the way to the first control I felt like I was in a fairy tale because the terrain was really beautiful and the map looked so difficult. I had lots of fun orienteering through that very beautiful forest and I think that was also the reason for my success. The race was nearly perfect, with only a few mistakes and a bigger one to the last control when I didn't see the big capricorn.

There has always been one big mistake in my races that destroyed my dream of a medal in a forest race (for example, last year's Middle Distance in Rauland). So it was also my big goal for this year's JWOC to achieve a medal in a forest race. After the Long Distance I was really upset because another forest race was destroyed due to one big mistake. Just that it was not a technical one this time but an administrative... and that made the feeling even worse. I had had a long time before I was ready to set that map aside and this was why I started in rage for the Middle Distance qualification and, even if that was a good race, later on also for the final. However, I think that I will never forget that Long Distance final.

Winning the second gold on home ground felt like a miracle. I have been dreaming about a gold medal in forest and that it happened on home ground is even more beautiful. The spectators gave so much power with their loud cheering! It is really an honour for me to be able to experience a home JWOC and even a very successful home JWOC. I was so happy when I crossed the finish line in Susch because I knew that I had achieved another big dream.

Simona Aebersold, Switzerland

2016.07.14 – JWOC 2016, Susch-Lavin, Switzerland

[Image: jwoc 2016 switzerland – www.guedels.com / photo by Roland Güdel]

JWOC 2016: All maps!

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2016: Swiss' best ending with two more gold in the Relay

Culminating an unforgettable week, Switzerland returned to perform at the highest level on the last day of the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016, getting the gold in the Relay, both Men and Women classes. On home ground, the Swiss team ends the competition with seven out of eight gold medals, achieving what no other nation had achieved so far in 27 editions of JWOC!

The Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016 has finished. Saved for the last day, the great Relay party was exactly that, a great, big party in the beautiful surroundings of Tarasp castle. In the Men class, the French Quentin Rauturier and the Swiss Thomas Curiger - one of the great stars of this Championships - shared the first place at the end of the first leg, but Switzerland quickly would stand out from the other teams in the second leg thanks to a brilliant performance of Riccardo Rancan. At the start for the last leg, the closest team had a disadvantage of 46 seconds for the lead, and it was ... Switzwerland's second team. Junior World Champion of Sprint and Long Distance, Joey Hadorn would eventually confirm the Swiss advantage, reaching his third gold medal of the Championships. The total time spent by the three Swiss athletes was of 1:41:26, 2:28 less than Sweden and 3:41 less than Finland, respectively second and third placed.

The story in the Women class is much the same way, with the Swiss Paula Gross finishing the first leg in the fifth position, 1:49 after another Swiss athlete, Velrie Aebischer, who led then. Sofie Bachmann was unstoppable in the second leg, leaving Simona Aebersold with an advantage of 1:15 to manage in the last leg. The final time of 1:39:01 to Switzerland and nearly five minute advantage on the second ranked lets one realize that the “golden girl” of these Championships didn't just manage the advantage, thus ensuring the seventh gold medal for the home team and the third on her personal account. Better than Aebersold in this leg only even Anna Haataja, allowing Finland to climb seven places in the standings and reach the silver medal. The third position fell to Norway, 5:07 after the winners.

Results

M20

1. Switzerland (Thomas Curiger, Riccardo Rancan, Joey Hadorn) 1:41:26 (+ 00:00)

2. Sweden (Anton Forsberg, Simon Hector, Isac von Krusenstierna) 1:43:54 (+ 02:28)

3. Finland (Topias Ahola, Anton Kuukka, Olli Ojanaho) 1:45:07 (+ 03:41)

4. France (Quentin Rauturier, Mathieu Perrin, Arnaud Perrin) 1:46:25 (+ 04:59)

5. Norway (Dag Blandkjenn, Elias Thorsdal Molnvik, Olai Stensland Lillevold) 1:46:37 (+ 05:11)

6. Czech Republic (Vojtech Sykora, Matous Furst, Vojtech Kettner) 1:46:48 (+ 05:22)

(…)

25. Portugal (Ricardo Esteves Ferreira, João Bernardino, João Novo) 2:08:30 (+ 27:04)

W20

1. Switzerland (Paula Gross, Sophie Bachmann, Simona Aebersold) 1:39:01 (+ 00:00)

2. Finland (Leenuukka Hanhijarvi, Enni Jalava, Anna Haataja) 1:43:54 (+ 04:53)

3. Norway (Ingrid Lundanes, Anine Lome, Ingeborg Eide) 1:44:08 (+ 05:07)

4. Sweden (Elin Carlsson, Tilda Johansson, Johanna Oberg) 1:46:00 (+ 06:59)

5. Great Britain (Megan Carter Davies, Julie Emmerson, Sarah Jones) 1:46:24 (+ 07:23)

6. Hungary (Virag Weiler, Luca Szuromi, Csenge Viniczai) 1:47:11 (+ 08:10)

Complete results and further information at http://www.jwoc2016.ch/.

[Image: jwoc 2016 switzerland – www.steineggerpix.com / photo by rémy steinegger]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2016: Middle gold for Aebersold and Curiger

Two high level performances have paid to Thomas Curiger and Simona Aebersold the titles of Middle Distance. In the last individual final of the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016, the national Swiss flag rose twice in the podium's tallest mast for the second time in this edition.

The beautiful surroundings of Susch-Lavin hosted, this morning, the Middle Distance Final of the JWOC 2016. Along a hill-side broken-up, in a quite detailed terrain, the athletes have been challenged at their most by demanding courses, both technically and physically.

After the convincing performances in yesterday's qualification race in Ftan, where he got the first place, as well as the Sprint and Long Distance races that earned him two silver medals, the Swiss Thomas Curiger managed to improve one single step on the podium, still enough to get the well-aimed gold. Very stable and fully focused along the course, Curiger completed the 3,800 meters in 24:21 (far below the 25 minutes expected for the organizers), beating the twice gold medalist in this JWOC and his team mate Joey Hadorn by 49 seconds. Audun Heimdal offered to Norway its first medal in this JWOC edition by finishing third with more 1:11 than Curiger. The previous Middle Distance World Champion and winner of one of yesterday's qualifying heats, Olli Ojanaho, Finland, was today far below the expectations, finishing 19th, 2:51 behind the winner.

In the Women class, Simona Aebersold came to personify the great champions, those who can get up after a defeat and rise to the highest level. Indeed, Simona managed to overcome the failure of the Long Distance final, recording today a fantastic performance, adding to the title of Sprint won last Sunday, a superb win in the “supersonic” time of 24:06 for a distance of 3,100 meters. Second placed and, perhaps, the biggest surprise of the Championships so far, the Polish Aleksandra Hornik finished 1:50 after the winner, while the Swedish Johanna Oberg, the other top favorite, along with Simona Aebersold, got the third position with the time of 26:17. After the Middle Distance, the medal table is clearly dominated by Switzerland, with five gold, four silver and one bronze. Finland, with one gold and one bronze medal (both by Anna Haataja) is in the second placed, while the third place is shared by Russia and Poland, with one silver medal each. Sweden, with three bronze medals, and Norway, with one bronze, close the list.

Results

M20

1. Thomas Curiger (Switzerland) 24:21 (+ 00:00)

2. Joey Hadorn (Switzerland) 25:10 (+ 00:49)

3. Audun Heimdal (Norway) 25:32 (+ 01:11)

4. Anton Forsberg (Sweden) 25:35 (01:14 +

5. Noah Zbinden (Switzerland) 25:40 (+ 01:19)

6. Isac von Krusenstierna (Sweden) 25:53 (+ 01:32)

W20

1. Simona Aebersold (Switzerland) 24:06 (+ 00:00)

2. Aleksandra Hornik (Poland) 25:56 (+ 01:50)

3. Johanna Oberg (Sweden) 26:17 (+ 02:11)

4. Megan Carter Davies (Great Britain) 27:28 (+ 03:22)

5. Anna Haataja (Finland) 27:31 (+ 03:25)

6. Hanna Mueller (Switzerland) 27:37 (+ 03:31)

Complete results and further information at http://www.jwoc2016.ch/.

[Image: jwoc 2016 switzerland – www.steineggerpix.com / photo by rémy steinegger]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2016: Switzerland and Norway lead twelve to the Middle Distance Final

Anticipating the outcome of the Middle Distance qualifying heats of the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016, the question, normal, appeared on the event webpage: Will the “big nations” bring all their runners into the A-final? And which of the “small” countries are ready for surprises? Read the article to know the answers.

After a day of well-deserved break, the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016 came back with the Middle Distance's qualifying heats. On a broken-up hill-side with areas of detailed contours and rocky features, as well as pine and spruce forests and small open areas and few marshes, distraction is everything but appropriate, as technically and physically challenging courses continuously demanded the utmost concentration, requiring precision and flexibility.

In the M20 class, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden shared triumphs in the three heats. Current World Champion at this distance, the Finnish Olli Ojanaho won the first heat with the time of 25:09 and an advantage of 24 seconds over the second-placed, the Swiss Thomas Curiger, silver medalist in the Sprint and Long Distance this year's JWOC. Gold medalist in the two finals already hold, the Swiss Joey Hadorn continues unstoppable and fulfilled his race in the second heat in 23:45, 34 seconds ahead of the Austrian Mathias Peter. The victory in the third heat smiled to the Swedish Isac von Krusenstierna, the remaining medalist in the two previous finals. All seven athletes who joined the top20 in the Middle Distance final of JWOC 2015, in Rauland, Norway, and now lined up at the start for the qualifying heats, stamped the passport to the Final and only the Finnish Topi Raitanen stayed out of a place in the top five.

As for the W20 class, the Swiss showed again their great shape with Valerie Aebischer winning the first heat in 26:51, against 27:12 of the Norwegian Eide Ingeborg, and Simona Aebersold being the fastest in the third heat, finishing her race in 27:25 and leaving the second placed, the British Fiona Bunn, at far 1:10. Junior Vice-World Champion of Middle Distance currently and, therefore, the highest rated runner in todays race, the Swedish Johanna Oberg won the second heat with a time of 28:12, against 28:32 of the Danish Amanda Falck Weber, in the second position. Here too, the eight athletes who registered marks in the top20 of JWOC 2015's Middle Distance ensured a place in the final A.

The law of the strongest

Altogether 120 athletes qualified up for the Final A, representing 27 different nations. Switzerland and Norway, with 6 athletes each, retain the full team for the Men's final, but if to these we add the names of Finland, Czech Republic and Sweden, with five athletes each, we have nearly half of the competitors representing the five “big nations”. With four athletes in the Final A, Germany is one of the very positive surprises, as are the sensational lone representatives of Turkey, the United States and Moldova, respectively Orhan Kutlu, Michael Laraia and Anatoly Fomiciov. At the other extreme we find Denmark, with only a keen athlete, Bidstrup Moller Laurits.

Also in W20 class, Switzerland and Norway were the only nations to get to ascertain all their athletes, and also here the Czech Republic, with five athletes qualified for the final, Sweden and Finland, both with four athletes, do prevail orienteering's force of the so called “big” countries. Once more, we can see Germany in the best way, getting four athletes into the Final A, feat matched by Great Britain. United States and Spain, with two athletes each, and Romania with an athlete, also deserve a reference. The number of countries represented in the women's final is of 22, but there are five changes in relation to the male list. Canada, Romania Ukraine, Bulgaria and Spain will be represented in the Women's Final A, exchanging with Italy, Turkey, Australia, Slovakia and Moldova, which only have representatives in the Men's Final A.

Results

M20

Heat 1

1. Olli Ojanaho (Finland) 25:09 (+ 00:00)

2. Thomas Curiger (Switzerland) 25:33 (+ 00:24)

3. Topias Ahola (Finland) 26:01 (+ 00:52)

4. Riccardo Scalet (Italy) 26:42 (+ 01:33)

5. Audun Heimdal (Norway) 26:50 (+ 01:41)

6. Henry McNulty (Australia) 26:53 (+ 01:44)

(…)

41. Ricardo Esteves Ferreira (Portugal) 35:28 (+ 10:19)

43. João Novo (Portugal) 37:27 (+ 12:18)

Heat 2

1. Joey Hadorn (Switzerland) 23:45 (+ 00:00)

2. Mathias Peter (Austria) 24:19 (+ 00:34)

3. Vojtech Kettner (Czech republic) 26:58 (+ 03:13)

4. Olai Stensland Lillevold (Norway) 27:08 (+ 03:23)

5. Simon Hector (Sweden) 27:15 (+ 03:30)

6. Matt Doyle (Australia) 27:24 (+ 03:39)

(…)

dnf  Bernardo Pereira (Portugal)

Heat 3

1. Isac von Krusenstierna (Sweden) 26:00 (+ 00:00)

2. Simon Imark (Sweden) 26:11 (+ 00:11)

3. Noah Zbinden (Switzerland) 27:50 (+ 01:50)

4. Shamus Morrison (New Zealand) 27:51 (+ 01:51)

5. Anton Kuukka (Finland) 27:57 (+ 01:57)

6. Elias Thorsdal Molvnik (Norway) 27:58 (+ 01:58)

(…)

39. João Bernardino (Portugal) 33:56 (+ 07:56)

50. Vasco Duarte (Portugal) 39:45 (+ 13:45)

W20

Heat 1

1. Valerie Aebischer (Switzerland) 26:51 (+ 00:00)

2. Ingeborg Eide (Norway) 27:12 (+ 00:21)

3. Megan Carter Davies (Great Britain) 27:20 (+ 00:29)

4. Josefine Lind (Denmark) 28:41 (+ 01:50)

5. Anna Haataja (Finland) 28:47 (+ 01:56)

6. Tereza Novakova (Czech Republic) 29:37 (+ 02:46)

Heat 2

1. Johanna Oberg (Sweden) 28:12 (+ 00:00)

2. Amanda falck Wever (Denmark) 28:32 (+ 00:20)

3. Csenge Viniczai (Hungary) 28:43 (+ 00:31)

4. Hanna Mueller (Switzerland) 28:57 (+ 00:45)

5. Aleksandra Hornik (Poland) 29:16 (+ 01:04)

6. Alena Rakova (Russia) 29:23 (+ 01:11)

(…)

36. Filipa Rodrigues (Portugal) 38:04 (+ 09:52)

Heat 3

1. Simona Aebersold (Switzerland) 27:25 (+ 00:00)

2. Fiona Bunn (Great Britain) 28:35 (+ 01:10)

3. Anna Stickova (Czech Republic) 28:40 (+ 01:15)

4. Olena Postelniak (Ukraine) 29:59 (+ 02:34)

5. Barbora Chaloupska (Czech Republic) 30:03 (+ 02:38)

6. Andreya Dyaksova (Bulgaria) 30:20 (+ 02:55)

(…)

28. Joana Fernandes (Portugal) 34:54 (+ 07:29)

Complete results and further information at http://www.jwoc2016.ch/.

[Image: jwoc 2016 switzerland – www.steineggerpix.com / photo by rémy steinegger]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2016: Hadorn and Haataja got the Long Distance gold

The second day of the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016 was, once more, a golden one to Switzerland. And not only for the Joey Hadorn's second victory in the competition as for the four medals out of six won today by the Swiss athletes. In a really demanding Long Distance, both physically and technically, Hadorn had the Finnish Anna Haataja along with him on top of the podium.

The national anthem of Switzerland returned to echo across the Engadine valley and Joey Hadorn was, again, largely responsible for this moment of joy. Twelve years after the title achieved by another Swiss, Matthias Merz - interestingly, one of the course setters of today's tough and demanding Long Distance -, Hadorn became the first male athlete ever to win the Sprint and Long Distance titles in the same edition of the JWOC. The victory in the race of Val Müstair is a successful sequel of yesterday's Sprint in Scuol, with the remaining podium to be a copy of what happened in the opening stage. Hadorn completed the 8,800 meters of the course in 1:05:01, against 1:05:53 of his team mate Thomas Curiger. Isac Von Krusenstierna, Sweden, finished third with 1:07:05. Away from their performances in Rauland, in 2015, the Finnish Olli Ojanaho saw to escape to Hadorn the world title, finishing in the 28th position, over eleven minutes after the winner. Second placed in last JWOC, the Swedish Hector Simon eventually had to settle with the fourth position, nearly one minute after his team mate Von Krusenstierna.

After the silver medal achieved last JWOC, the Finnish Anna Haataja was the highest rated competitor in the Women's race, eventually confirming her favoritism. Her time of 57:37, for a distance of 6,500 meters, is clearly better than the second ranked, the Swiss Valérie Aebischer, who finished the race in 59:27. Sofie Bachmann, also from Switzerland, got the third place, 2:54 after the winner. Gold medal in yesterday's Sprint race and seen as Anna Haataja's greatest opponent, Simona Aebersold, Switzerland, made a tremendous mistake that costs her about 9 minutes (!), finishing in the 12th place, 8:30 after the winner. Took part in the Long Distance race 164 male athletes and 145 female.

Results

M20

1. Joey Hadorn (Switzerland) 1:05:01 (+ 00:00)

2. Thomas Curiger (Switzerland) 1:05:53 (+ 00:52)

3. Isac Von Krusenstierna (Sweden) 1:07:05 (+ 02:04)

4. Simon Hector (Sweden) 1:08:04 (+ 03:03)

5. Matous Furst (Czech Republic) 1:08:08 (+ 03:07)

6. Dag Blandkjenn (Norway) 1:11:28 (+ 06:27)

(…)

92. Ricardo Esteves Ferreira (Portugal) 1:26:57 (+ 21:56)

125. João Novo (Portugal) 1:36:29 (+ 31:28)

138. Bernardo Pereira (Portugal) 1:42:22 (+ 37:21)

141. Vasco Duarte (Portugal) 1:43:59 (+ 38:58)

dnf João Bernardino (Portugal)

W20

1. Anna Haataja (Finland) 57:37 (+ 00:00)

2. Valerie Aebischer (Switzerland) 59:27 (+ 01:50)

3. Sofie Bachmann (Switzerland) 1:00:31 (+ 02:54)

4. Anine Lome (Norway) 1:02:09 (+ 04:32)

5. Paula Gross (Switzerland) 1:03:50 (+ 06:13)

6. Leenukka Hanhijarvi (Finland) 1:04:28 (+ 06:51)

(…)

121. Filipa Rodrigues (Portugal) 1:42:35 (+ 44:58)

128. Joana Fernandes (Portugal) 1:54:21 (+ 56:44)

Complete results and further information at http://www.jwoc2016.ch/.

[Image: jwoc 2016 switzerland – www.steineggerpix.com / photo by rémy steinegger]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2016: Sprint double gold for Switzerland

Without surprise, Joey Hadorn and Simona Aebersold were the big winners of the Sprint race in the Junior World Orienteering Championships' opening. On home ground, the Swiss took also the Men's silver medal, by Thomas Curiger, while Anna Dvorinskaia offers to Russia its first medal ever in a JWOC Sprint in the Women class.

Fine tourist destination in the Swiss valley of Engadine, Scuol hosted the opening stage of the 27th Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2016. 167 male competitors and 145 female took part in a demanding race, tricky in some parts with interesting route choices and the need “to consider the climb in order to be successful”, according Urs Jordi, the race's course setter.

With a strong start and a very stable race along the 3,700 meters of his course, the Swiss Joey Hadorn was the M20 class' winner with the time of 12:47, slightly below to the 13 minutes' winning time expected by the organizers. After his 4th place last JWOC in Rauland, Norway, the Swiss Thomas Curiger got the silver medal on home ground, with more 9 seconds than the winner. The Swiss team took also the fourth and the sixth positions, by Simon Dubach (second on the Arena passage, but loosing nearly twenty precious seconds in the final part of the race) and Tobia Pezzati, respectively. After some small mistakes, a strong second half of the race earned to the Swedish Isac Von Krusenstierna the bronze medal, with more 18 seconds than the winner.

Confirming her favoritism, Simona Aebersold was able to cope quite well with the pressure of defending here the Sprint gold achieved last year, keeping focused all over the course. A really impressive performance of the fast Swiss gave her the lead from the very beginning, finishing with the time of 13:13 for the 3,300 meters of her course. After a very stable race and a good speed without mistakes in the last controls, the Russian Anna Dvorinskaia finished 52 seconds after Simona Aebersold, getting for her country the first medal ever in a JWOC Sprint in the Women class. Anna Haataja, Finland, got the bronze medal with the time of 14:08. 

Results

M20

1. Joey Hadorn (Switzerland) 12:47 (+ 00:00)

2. Thomas Curiger (Switzerland) 12:56 (+ 00:09)

3. Isac Von Krusenstierna (Sweden) 13:04 (+ 00:17)

4. Simon Dubach (Switzerland) 13:18 (+ 00:31)

5. Quentin Rauturier (France) 13:19 (+ 00:32)

6. Tobia Pezatti (Switzerland) 13:20 (+ 00:33)

(…)

16. Ricardo Esteves Ferreira (Portugal) 13:39 (+ 00:52)

77. João Bernardino (Portugal) 14:56 (+ 02:09)

83. Vasco Duarte (Portugal) 15:03 (+ 02:16)

93. João Novo (Portugal) 15:11 (+ 02:24)

113. Bernardo Pereira (Portugal) 15:45 (+ 02:58)

W20

1. Simona Aebersold (Switzerland) 13:13 (+ 00:00)

2. Anna Dvorinskaia (Russia) 14:05 (+ 00:52)

3. Anna Haataja (Finland) 14:08 (+ 00:55)

4. Virag Weiler (Hungary) 14:16 (+ 01:03)

5. Josefine Lind (Denmark) 14:21 (+ 01:08)

6. Lotta Kirvesmies (Finland) 14:25 (+ 01:12)

(…)

68. Filipa Rodrigues (Portugal) 16:43 (+ 03:30)

95. Joana Fernandes (Portugal) 17:38 (+ 04:25)

Complete results and further information at http://www.jwoc2016.ch/.

[Image: jwoc 2016 switzerland – www.steineggerpix.com / photo by rémy steinegger]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2016: Step by step

From 9th to 15th July 2016 the 26th Junior World Orienteering Championships will be held in Switzerland. The world’s best junior elite orienteers are going to compete for medals in four different disciplines in and around Scuol, an Engadine tourist destination. The organising committee is led by the 23-times World Orienteering Champion, Simone Niggli. The organisers welcome the 322 competitors from 39 countries entered in the event as well as close to 1000 participants for the spectator events.

For the second time after 2005, the world’s best junior elite orienteers travel to Switzerland to compete in JWOC. Three years after retiring from the Swiss national team, the 23-time World Champion, Simone Niggli, offers her technical knowledge in orienteering and her extensive network to contribute to this event for the up-and-coming junior orienteers. As event director she is leading the organising committee together with her husband, Matthias.

No less than three competition areas are used for the first time ever at these Junior World Orienteering Championships. Newly-mapped areas are the village Scuol for the sprint on 10th July, the terrain near Susch-Lavin for the Middle Distance final on 14th July, and the area above Tarasp for the Relay on 15th July. The following areas have been used in past orienteering events: the alpine terrain at 2100m in Val Müstair close to the Ofenpass for the Long Distance on 11th July and the very demanding technical and rocky area near Ftan for the Middle Qualification event on 13th July.  

JWOC 2016 detailed program

Saturday, 9th July 2016

16:00 - 17:00 - JWOC Opening Ceremony (Scuol)

Sunday, 10th July 2016

09:00 - 12:45 - JWOC Sprint and Medal Ceremony (Scuol)

Monday, 11th July 2016

09:00 - 16:30 - JWOC Long and Flower Ceremony (Val Müstair)

Tuesday, 12th July 2016

17:00 - JWOC Long Medal Ceremony (Scuol)

Wednesday, 13th July 2016

10:00 - 12:30 - JWOC Middle Qualification (Ftan)

Thursday, 14th July 2016

09:00 - 13:50 - JWOC Middle Finals and Flower Ceremony (Susch-Lavin)

20:00 - JWOC Middle Medal Ceremony (Scuol)

Friday, 15th July 2016
10:30 - 14:00 - JWOC Relays, Medal and Closing Ceremony (Tarasp)

Note: All timings are in local time (GMT timezone).

Participants

Defending his Middle and Long gold, the Finnish Olli Ojanaho is the biggest name on the 322 athletes entered for the competition, 174 in the M20 class and 148 in the W20 class. Competing at home, the Swiss Simona Aebersold is another big name, defending is Sprint World title. Other strong names are the Swedish Simon Hector and the Finnish Anna Haataja, both current Long Vice-World Champions, the Swedish Johanna Oberg, Middle Distance silver last year and Karoliina Ukskoski, Finland, bronze defender in the Sprint. The EYOC 2016 finished in Poland last Sunday and some of its medalists joined the Junior competition, fighting for new medals. These are the cases of  Agnes-Rebeka Néda, Romania, Akseli Ruohola, Tuomas Heikkila and Leenukka Hanhijärvi, all from Finland and Fryderyk Pryjma, Poland.

Since its beginning, in 1990, the JWOC has distributed 524 medals so far, with Sweden leading this particular standings with 42 gold, 48 silver and 26 bronze. Finland, Norway, Denmark, Czech Republic and Switzerland are the next names on a list that counts 25 countries inscribed. To a complete overview of teams for JWOC 2016, including prior JWOC and EYOC results for the athletes, please visit the World of O webpage, at http://runners.worldofo.com/teams/JWOC2016/.

Terrain and useful information

Public races and Swiss Orienteering Week

JWOC 2016 will be offering several possibilities for spectators to enjoy the beautiful areas in the Engadin. One will have the chance to run in the footsteps of the JWOC champions after the JWOC-races in the same areas using the same controls.

Public Events

Sunday, 10th July - National print competition

Monday, 11th July - Open training near the Long terrain

Tuesday, 12th July - Schellen-Ursli OL, 3 sprints in historic villages

Wednesday, 13th July - Regional Middle competition in Ftan

Thursday, 14th July - Regional Middle competition in Susch-Lavin

Friday, 15th July - Open training on the relay courses

After JWOC there is an outstanding chance to prolong the vacation: The Swiss Orienteering Week

(16th-23rd July) is an international multiday-orienteering event that combines holidays with sport and a pinch of adventure. The SOW centre is in St. Moritz in the Upper Engadin, about 60km away from Scuol. See www.swiss-o-week.ch.

For further information, please visit the Event's website, at http://www.jwoc2016.ch/.

[Images: JWOC 2016 + steineggerpix.com]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2015: Relay titles to Finland and Sweden in the end of the Championships

By winning the Relay, Finland in Men class, and Sweden in Women class, closed in the best way its participation in the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2015. Renewal of title in the case of Swedish and a victory with a very special flavour for the Finns, something that didn't happened since... 1999!

Repeating what happened in the Long Distance held yesterday, the national anthems of Finland and Sweden were on air again during the Prize Giving Ceremony of JWOC 2015. Olli Ojanaho and Sara Hagström jumped again over the highest place on the podium, but this time within the respective teams, big winners of the Relay that took place, again, at the Skisenteret of Rauland, Norway. With teams from 36 countries competing in the Men class and from 26 countries in the Women class, the course ended celebrating the 26th edition of a Championships which will be in the memory of all, for its organizational high level and for its quality and technical challenge in spectacular terrains.

In the Men class, Finland was the winner, in part thanks to a phenomenal performance of Topi Raitanen in the first leg. The advantage of 1:15 to Sweden, seeded second, was jealously guarded by Aleksi Niemi, who also got the fastest time on the second leg. With more than three minutes to manage in the final leg, Olli Ojanaho has done its homework, offering to Finland the first title of this millennium (the last time that Finland won the Relay at JWOC was in 1999, when Mikko Heikelä, Jonne Lakanen and Pasi Ikonen imposed themselves to the French team, at the time with Thierry Gueorgiou). Norway and Sweden fought hard for the silver medal, with the outcome to be solved in favour of the "home team" by a margin of 19 seconds.

Finland dominates medal board

As in 2014, in the Junior World Champs of Borovets (Bulgaria), Sweden was the winner of the Women's Relay, thanks to a spectacular turnover operated in the decisive leg and signed by Sara Hagström. Norway had a demolishing start, throwing his two teams to the lead with an advantage up to a minute and a half over the concurrence. The Swiss Simona Aebersold, current World Champion in Sprint was the fastest in the second leg, but the truth is that the advantage of Norway over the other competitors did not cease to increase, which was then of 1:49 on Switzerland and 01:58 over Sweden. In the third leg, however, Sara Hagström showed why she is a prodigy of the world's Orienteering and one of the stars of this JWOC, despite the failure in the Sprint and Middle Distance courses. Leaving Sandrine Mueller (Switzerland) at 2:56 and Marie Olaussen (Norway) at distant 4:50, Hagström offered the gold to Sweden, which happens for the 9th time in 26 editions of the Championships.

Now that the JWOC 2015 came to an end, it is possible to analyse the medal board and found that, similarly to what happened in 2014, only five nations reached the gold in these Championships. Finland, with three titles - in addition to the Men Relay, Olli Ojanaho won the gold in Middle Distance and Long Distance -, is the big winner of the Championships, followed by Sweden with two wins - in Women Relay and Sara Hagström in Long Distance. Norway (Anine Ahlsand, Middle Distance), Switzerland (Simona Aebersold, Sprint) and New Zealand (Tim Robertson, Sprint) complete the Hall of Fame in terms of gold medals. Sweden reached three times the silver medal, while Norway and Finland did so on two occasions and Switzerland in one. As for the bronze, Switzerland reached three medals while Norway won two and Finland and Sweden one each. It only remains to refer to one bronze medal to close the medalist, which fell to Lithuania (the sixth country on this very particular board), thanks to the performance of Algirdas Bartkevicius in the Sprint.

Results

M20

1. Finland (Topi Raitanen, Aleksi Niemi, Olli Ojanaho) 1:36:39

2. Norway (Hakon Christiansen, Anders Felde Olaussen, Markus Holter) 01:38:02 (+ 01:23)

3. Sweden (Emil Granqvist, Erik Andersson, Simon Hector) 01:38:21 (+ 01:42)

4. France (Arnaud Perrin, Mathieu Perrin, Nicolas Rio) 01:43:30 (+ 06:51)

5. Austria (Rafael Dobnik, Mathias Peter, Matthias Gröell) 01:44:07 (+ 07:28)

6. Switzerland (Joey Hadorn, Noah Zbinden, Patrick Zbinden) 01:44:21 (+ 07:42)

(...)

33. Portugal (Carolina Delgado, Daniel Catarino, André Esteves) 2:30:01 (+ 53:22)

W20

1. Sweden (Andrea Svensson, Johanna Oberg, Sara Hagström) 1:44:17

2. Switzerland (Sofie Bachmann, Simona Aebersold, Sandrine Mueller) 01:47:04 (+ 02:47)

3. Norway (Heidi Martensson, Tonje Vassend, Marie Olaussen) 01:47:09 (+ 02:52)

4. Finland (Niina Hulkkonen, Emmi Jokela, Pihla Otsamo) 01:49:57 (+ 05:40)

5. Poland (Weronika Cych, Maja Morawska, Aleksandra Hornik) 01:51:55 (+ 07:38)

6. Denmark (Josefine Lind, Amanda Falck Weber, Miri Thrane Odum) 01:55:07 (+ 10:50)

[Photo: JWOC 2015 / jwoc2015.org]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2015: Gold to Ojanaho and Hagström in the Long Distance

Olli Ojanaho and Sarah Hagstrom reached today the gold in Long Distance. Finally the victory in an individual event in these World Championships to Hagström, on the day that Ojanaho saw confirmed his name as the star of the Championships.

Last individual final of the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2015, the Long Distance course took place on the map of Rauland Skisenteret (Norway), counting with the presence of 157 male athletes and 133 female athletes. In a very demanding terrain, both technically and physically, the course would have on the Finnish Olli Ojanaho its big name, repeating the presence on the top of the podium after, last Tuesday, have also get the title of World Champion in the Middle Distance. An achievement that only four times was found in 26 editions of JWOC, the last one in 2008 by the Swedish Johan Runesson. Ojanaho went back to the “recipe” of the great champions, basing his performance on close and careful orienteering when needed and running full speed whenever possible. In the second place ranked the Swedish Simon Hector, one of the first athletes to complete his course, having to wait almost three long hours of great anxiety to know the final outcome, during which he remained in the lead. The Norwegian Andreas Sølberg concluded in the third position, 1:26 behind the winner.

In the women's class, the Swedish Sara Hagström finally reached the gold. Pointed as the big favourite to three individual medals, Hagström would flop in the Sprint to then end up seeing her excellent victory in the Middle Distance qualification heat to translate into a “modest” 11th place in the end. Today, however, everything was different and the Swedish athlete dominated from start to finish, despite the intense fighting moved by the Finnish Anna Haataja, second placed with more 40 seconds. Sandrine Mueller, from Switzerland, finished third, repeating the bronze achieved in the final of Middle Distance. Heidi Mertensson, in 4th place, was the best Norwegian athlete. It should be noted that this was surely the most desired medal for Sara Hagström, after being second in this distance in the last two editions of JWOC. On the Swedish Orienteering Federation website - http://www.orientering.se/ - it's possible to read that Sara didn't have time to taste the course that led to her third - and last! - World Junior title. “I was very nervous and fought from beginning to end. I made some small mistakes but it's not easy to make a Long Distance absolutely clean”, she said.

As for the Portuguese, it is no glory that they leave Rauland and the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2015. In the last course, Daniel Catarino spent more 30:20 than the winner and was ranked 120th, while André Esteves finished in the 134th position, with more 39: 02 than the winner. In the women class, the picture was no better, with Joana Fernandes finishing in 114th place with a time of 1:35:20 and Carolina Delgado to spend more 2:05 seconds than her teammate and be the 119th classified. The Junior World Orienteering Championships ends tomorrow with the Relay. All to check at http://www.jwoc2015.org/.

Results

M20

1. Olli Ojanaho (Finland) 1:07:00

2. Simon Hector (Sweden) 01:08:15 (+ 01:15)

3. Andreas Soelberg (Norway) 01:08:26 (+ 01:26)

4. Aidan Smith (Great Britain) 1:09:05 (+ 02:05)

5. Simon Imark (Sweden) 01:09:13 (+ 02:13)

6. Matthias Groell (Austria) 01:10:12 (+ 03:12)

7. Audun Heimdal (Norway) 01:10:49 (+ 03:49)

8. Tobia Pezatti (Switzerland) 01:10:58 (+ 03:58)

9. Shamus Morrison (New Zealand) 01:11:05 (+ 04:05)

10. Tim Robertson (New Zealand) 01:11:12 (+ 04:12)

W20

1. Sara Hagstrom (Sweden) 52:06

2. Anna Haataja (Finland) 52:46 (+ 00:40)

3. Sandrine Mueller (Switzerland) 54:19 (+ 02:13)

4. Heidi Martensson (Norway) 54:46 (+ 02:40)

5. Miri Thrane Odum (Denmark) 55:44 (+ 03:38)

6. Simona Aebersold (Switzerland) 55:51 (+ 03:45)

7. Karoliina Ukskoski (Finland) 55:53 (+ 03:47)

8. Marie Olaussen (Norway) 57:07 (+ 05:01)

9. Johanna Oberg (Sweden) 57:19 (+ 05:13)

10. Andrea Svensson (Sweden) 57:37 (+ 05:31)

[Photo: Malin Björqvist / orientering.se]

Joaquim Margarido

JWOC 2015: Middle distance titles to Ojanaho and Ahlsand

By the same margin - 14 seconds (!) - Olli Ojanaho and Anine Ahlsand won the gold medal in the final of Middle Distance that filled the third day of the program of the Junior World Orienteering Championships JWOC 2015.

The Finnish Olli Ojanaho and the Norwegian Anine Ahlsand are the new Junior World Champions in Middle Distance after victories by the same margin of 14 seconds face their most direct opponents. Bronze medalist in the last Junior World Championships in this distance, Ojanaho showed once more why he is already a “guarentee” of the world Orienteering, coming this time to the gold medal, after having already won his qualifying heat, yesterday. The young Finnish athlete demonstrated again an impressive technical capacity and, thanks to of a strong start, managed to grant a valuable distance over his adversaries. Despite the difficulties in the latter part of his course, Ojanaho eventually reach the victory with a time of 25:13, against 25:27 of the Swedish Erik Andersson, second placed. The third place fell to the Swiss Sven Hellmuller, with more 1:03 than the winner.

The women's course had a more "tight" outcome, with the first six ranked separated by differences of less than one minute. Playing home, the young Anine Ahlsand, of only 18 years old, turned out to be the strongest, fulfilling her course in 26:57 and offering to Norway a much acclaimed victory. As in Men class, here also Sweden reached the silver medal, by Johanna Oberg, while the bronze medal went to Switzerland, by Sandrine Mueller. Defending the world title achieved in Borovets (Bulgaria, 2014) and big favourite for the victory, the Swedish Sara Hagstrom was again in “day out”, finishing in the 11th place with more 03:01 than the winner.

Results

M20

1. Olli Ojanaho (Finland) 25:13

2. Erik Andersson (Sweden) 25:27 (+ 00:14)

3. Sven Hellmuller (Switzerland) 26:16 (+ 1:03)

4. Jonas Madslien Bakken (Norway) 26:22 (+ 1:09)

5. Audun Heimdal (Norway) 26:43 (+ 1:30)

6. Nikita Stepanov (Russia) 26:57 (+ 1:44)

7. Emil Granqvist (Sweden) 27:21 (+ 2:08)

8. Jens Ronnols (Sweden) 27:32 (+ 2:19)

9. Markus Holter (Norway) 27:33 (+ 2:20)

10. Anton Kuukka (Finland) 27:44 (+ 2:31)

W20

1. Anine Ahlsand (Norway) 26:57

2. Johanna Oberg (Sweden) 27:11 (+ 0:14)

3. Sandrine Mueller (Switzerland) 27:14 (+ 00:17)

4. Anna Haataja (Finland) 27:30 (+ 0:33)

5. Ingeborg Eide (Norway) 27:48 (+ 00:51)

6. Tilda Johansson (Sweden) 27:55 (+ 0:58)

7. Paula Gross (Switzerland) 29:04 (+ 02:07)

8. Pihla Otsamo (Finland) 29:25 (+ 2:28)

9. Andrea Svensson (Sweden) 29:26 (+ 2:29)

10. Marie Olaussen (Norway) 29:52 (+ 02:55)

Complete results and further information at http://www.jwoc2015.org/.

[Photo: Jan Kocbach / twitter.com]

Joaquim Margarido