BLOM 2017: Hector and Ohlsson won in Coimbra

Simon Hector and Karolin Ohlsson were the winners of Rainha Santa Trophy / Beira Litoral O' Meeting 2017. The event took place last weekend, bringing together to Coimbra and Cernache nearly 750 competitors from 18 countries.

Five weeks after the 15th Center Orienteering Meeting, the Portuguese Orienteering League Vitalis 2017 moved to Coimbra and the nearby village of Cernache for its second round. The event was organized by Ori-Mondego, Associação Desportiva do Mondego, having the participation of 577 athletes in the competition classes, to which should be added 155 competitors in the Formation and Open classes, making a total of 732 participants representing 18 Countries. The event included a Sprint stage scoring for the IOF World Sprint Orienteering Ranking and two Middle Distance stages, the last of which scoring for the IOF World Orienteering Ranking.

Totally dedicated to the beautiful “city of the students”, the program of the first day saw the French Lucas Basset (Pôles France) and the Ukrainian Nadiya Volynska (OK Orion) win the opening stage, a challenging Sprint in the uneven historical center of Coimbra. Alternating in the lead with the Swedish Hakon Jarvis Westergard (Järla Orientering), Basset ended up by imposing himself in the final part of the race, reaching the victory with the time of 15:20, against 15:25 of his direct opponent. João Mega Figueiredo (CN Alvito) was the best Portuguese in this stage, finishing in the 17th place with more 1:40 than the winner. The women's race had in Nadiya Volynska the great character, winning notably with the time of 12:51. Karolin Ohlsson (Järla Orientering) still threatened the Ukrainian's leadership in the early part of the course, ending up not resisting to the power of her opponent and finishing in the 2nd place with more 38 seconds than the winner. Mariana Moreira (CPOC) spent three more minutes than Volynska and was the best Portuguese in the 13th place.

Tiago Romão and Mariana Moreira, the best Portuguese

Coimbra's map returned to carry out excellent duels in the afternoon of the first day with the accomplishment of the Urban Middle Distance stage. In the Men's competition, only 33 seconds separated the top three athletes, with the Swedish Simon Hector (Snättringe SK) holding the win with the time of 36:58. The Swedish Johan Ek Larsson (Södertalje-Nykvarn) finished in the 2nd place 17 seconds after Hector, while Tiago Romão (CMo Funchal) reached the 3rd place with more 37:31 than the winner. In the Women Elite class, Mariana Moreira performed greatly, being able to get in the lead throughout the first half of the course, handing over the leadership to Karolin Ohlsson who ended up winning comfortably with the time of 34:51 against 37:43 of the Portuguese.

For the last day was reserved a forest stage of Middle Distance, which would reveal the winners of Rainha Santa Trophy / Beira Litoral O' Meeting 2017. In the Women Elite class, Ohlsson's advantage from the day before kept her safe from major problems and the third place in this stage turned out to be enough to ensure the final victory. The triumph in the stage went to the French Isia Basset (Pôles France) with a time of 39:45, with the Swedish Elin Mansson (IFK Göteborg) reaching the second place with more 1:57 than the winner. Volynska's fourth position, 3:07 after Isia Basset, allowed her to rise to the final second place in the Trophy. Finishing in the 13th place with the time of 50:11, Mariana Moreira was able to reach a wonderful place on the final podium, being the third placed. In the Men's chapter, the bills seemed much harder to do, especially after Lucas Basset had given up on running the Urban Middle Distance and being out of the Trophy's contest. The French would be the winner of this stage with a time of 36:16 and a one-minute advantage over the Austrian Gernot Kerschbaumer (OK Pan Kristianstad). The next places fell to the Estonian Timo Sild and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Kratov, both representing Koovee, who thus ascended to the 2nd and 3rd final place. The Trophy's winner would be Simon Hector who ended up getting the best of the victory in the second stage, after being the 6th placed of the final stage, with more 3:27 than the winner. Manuel Horta (GafanhOri) was, this time, the best Portuguese, finishing in 13th place at 5:45 of Basset, while Tiago Romão reached a worthy 5th place in the final accounts and was the best representative from Portugal.

Results

Sprint WRE

Men Elite

1. Lucas Basset (Pôles France) 15:20 (+ 00:00)

2. Hakon Jarvis Westergard (Järla Orientering) 15:25 (+ 00:05)

3. Nicolas Simonin (IFK Lidingo SOK) 15:36 (+ 00:16)

4. Loïc Marty (Pôles France) 15:56 (+ 00:36)

5. Timo Sild (Koovee) 16:01 (+ 00:41)

Women Elite

1. Nadiya Volynska (OK Orion) 12:51 (+ 00:00)

2. Karolin Ohlsson (Järla Orientering) 13:29 (+ 00:38)

3. Isia Basset (Pôles France) 14:20 (+ 01:29)

4. Elin Mansson (IFK Göteborg) 14:32 (+ 01:41)

5. Lou Lenoble (Pôles France) 14:42 (+ 01:51)

Urban Middle Distance

Men Elite

1. Simon Hector (Snättringe SK) 36:58 (+ 00:00)

2. Johan Ek Larsson (Södertälje-Nykvarn) 37:15 (+ 00:17)

3. Tiago Romão (CMo Funchal) 37:31 (+ 00:33)

4. Pedro Nogueira (ADFA) 38:10 (+ 01:12)

5. Nikita Asoyan (Dyusash) 38:28 (+ 01:30)

Women Elite

1. Karolin Ohlsson (Järla Orientering) 34:51 (+ 00:00)

2. Mariana Moreira (CPOC) 37:43 (+ 02:52)

3. Filipa Rodrigues (ADFA) 39:08 (+ 04:17)

4. Nadiya Volynska (OK Orion) 39:40 (+ 04:49)

5. Krystal Neumann (Järla Orientering) 40:26 (+ 05:35)

Middle Distance WRE

Men Elite

1. Lucas Basset (Pôles France) 36:16 (+ 00:00)

2. Gernot Kerschbaumer (OK Pan Kristianstad) 37:16 (+ 01:00)

3. Timo Sild (Koovee) 38:15 (+ 01:59)

4. Oleksandr Kratov (Koovee) 38:23 (+ 02:07)

5. Loïc Capbern (Pôles France) 39:07 (+ 02:51)

Women Elite

1. Isia Basset (Pôles France) 39:45 (+ 00:00)

2. Elin Mansson (IFK Göteborg) 41:42 (+ 01:57)

3. Karolin Ohlsson (Järla Orientering) 42:17 (+ 02:32)

4. Nadiya Volynska (OK Orion) 42:52 (+ 03:07)

5. Adela Indrakova (IFK Lidingo SOK) 43:43 (+ 03:58)

Overall standings

Men Elite

1. Simon Hector (Snättringe SK) 2860,61 points

2. Timo Sild (Koovee) 2791,63 points

3. Oleksandr Kratov (Koovee) 2778,93 points

4. Johan Ek Larsson (Södertälje-Nykvarn) 2729,43 points

5. Tiago Romão (CMo Funchal) 2676,47 points

Women Elite

1. Karolin Ohlsson (Järla Orientering) 2893,12 points

2. Nadiya Volynska (OK Orion) 2805,86 points

3. Mariana Moreira (CPOC) 2527,67 points

4. Krystal Neumann (Järla Orientering) 2468, 06 points

5. Mariia Makarova (MO Yakhroma) 2400,39 points

Complete results and further information at http://blom.admondego.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

29th Murcia Costa Calida International Trophy: Victories for Runesson and Kinni

Johan Runesson and Saila Kinni were the brightest stars of the 29th Murcia Costa Calida International Trophy, the second oldest orienteering event in Spain. Held in Caravaca de la Cruz and Cehegín, two cities of Murcia region, the event gathered more than 1,200 competitors from 17 different countries.

After the 15th Costa Blanca Trophy and the 4th Lorca O' Meeting, the Spanish Orienteering calendar moved ahead this weekend with the 29th Murcia Costa Calida International Trophy, Spain's second oldest orienteering event and also one which, from the beginning, has deserved the trust of runners from Spain and also numerous countries from all Europe. So it was this year, with more than 1,200 competitors from 17 different countries heading to Caravaca de la Cruz and Cehegín for three stages of high level orienteering.

The event couldn't have a better start, offering a Long Distance WRE stage, scoring for the IOF World Orienteering Ranking, on the map of Llano de Arriba, 8 km west of Caravaca. Moderately hilly and, in some areas of replanted forest, with reduced visibility, the race was dominated by two representatives of Tampereen Pyrinto, Johan Runesson, Sweden, and Saila Kinni, Finland, respectively in Men Elite class and Women Elite class. Keeping a very strong pace along the course, Runesson achieved the fastest time in eleven out of twenty-six controls, leading the race from start to finish. The advantage reached along the course allowed him to survive a one-minute mistake, already in the course's final part, ending with the time of 1:22:05. The Norwegian Magne Dæhli (Halden SK) finished 1:50 after the winner, reaching the second position, while the third place went to the Spanish Andreu Blanes (Colivenc), with the time of 1:24:51. In the Women's competition, Saila Kinni showed a huge consistency throughout the course, allowing her to win seconds after seconds over her most direct rivals, scoring 1:09:55 at the finish and a four-minute lead on the second ranked, the Russian Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma). In the third place, with more 5:46 than the winner, finished Sari Anttonen (Keuruun Kisailijat), Finland, while the best Spanish athlete was Esther Gil (Colivenc) in the 12th place, 18:46 after Kinni.

Held in the afternoon of the first day, in the historical centre of Cehegín, the Sprint stage was dominated by Spanish athletes in the Men's sector. Eduardo Gil (Tjalve), Andreu Blanes and Antonio Martínez (Colivenc), the three best Spanish orienteers currently, finished the race by this order. After a fourty-second mistake on her way to the fifth control, Anastasia Rudnaya reach the second placed in the Women Elite class, this time with a one-second disadvantage to the winner, Sari Anttonen. The Middle Distance stage that ended the 29th Murcia Costa Cálida International Trophy was held in Cañada de Canara, Cehegín, and saw Johan Runesson and Saila Kinni keeping the advantage brought from the eve and calling to themselves the first place in the overall standings. Runesson reached the second placed in the stage, six seconds behind the winner, Andreu Blanes, who spent 34:16. The fight for the victory between the two competitors was really intense, with Runesson breaking in the very final part of the course, after having been leading 21 out of 24 controls. In the Women Elite class, the triumph finally smiled to Rudnaya with the time of 32:12, with Anttonen and Kinni, finishing second and third, with more 1:38 and 1:39 respectively than the winner. Andreu Blanes and Violeta Feliciano (Colivenc) were the best Spanish athletes overall.

Results

Long Distance WRE

Men Elite

1. Johan Runesson (Tampereen Pyrinto) 1:22:05 (+ 00:00)

2. Magne Dæhli (Halden SK) 1:23:55 (+ 01:50)

3. Andreu Blanes (Colivenc) 1:24:51 (+ 02:46)

4. Vojtech Král (IFK Mora OK) 1:30:28 (+ 08:23)

5. Martin Regborn (Hagaby GoIF) 1:30:37 (+ 08:32)

Women Elite

1. Saila Kinni (Tampereen Pyrinto) 1:09:55 (+ 00:00)

2. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 1:13:55 (+ 04:00)

3. Sari Anttonen (Keuruun Kisailijat) 1:15:41 (+ 05:46)

4. Henna Haikonen (Anttolan Urheilijat) 1:19:56 (+ 10:01)

5. Kristin Löfgren (IFK Mora OK) 1:20:44 (+ 10:49)

Sprint

Men Elite

1. Eduardo Gil (Tjalve) 16:04 (+ 00:00)

2. Andreu Blanes (Colivenc) 16:11 (+ 00:07)

3. António Martínez (Colivenc) 16:18 (+ 00:14)

4. Vojtech Král (IFK Mora OK) 16:21 (+ 00:17)

5. Isac Von Krusenstierna (OK Kare) 16:26 (+ 00:22)

Women Elite

1. Sari Anttonen (Keuruun Kisailijat) 15:50 (+ 00:00)

2. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 15:51 (+ 00:01)

3. Maija Sianoja (MS Parma) 16:24 (+ 00:34)

4. Maria Prieto Del Campo (Malarruta) 16:52 (+ 01:02)

5. Miia Niittynen (Koovee) 17:17 (+ 01:27)

Middle Distance

Men Elite

1. António Martínez (Colivenc) 34:16 (+ 00:00)

2. Johan Runesson (Tampereen Pyrinto) 34:22 (+ 00:06)

3. Andreu Blanes (Colivenc) 34:40 (+ 00:24)

4. Eduardo Gil (Tjalve) 34:44 (00:28)

5. Eetu Savolainen (Ikaalisten Noiseva V) 35:02 (+ 00:46)

Women Elite

1. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 32:12 (+ 00:01)

2. Sari Anttonen (Keuruun Kisailijat) 33:50 (+ 01:38)

3. Saila Kinni (Tampereen Pyrinto) 33:51 (+ 01:39)

4. Henna Haikonen (Anttolan Urheilijat) 34:52 (+ 02:40)

5. Silje Ekroll Jahren (OL Norska) 35:13 (+ 03:01)

Overall results

Men Elite

1. Johan Runesson (Tampereen Pyrinto) 2:14:06 (+ 00:00)

2. Andreu Blanes (Colivenc) 2:15:42 (+ 01:36)

3. António Martínez (Colivenc) 2:24:39 (+ 10:33)

4. Manuel Jurado (Sant Joan) 2:30:26 (+ 16:20)

5. Eetu Savolainen (Ikaalisten Noiseva V) 2:30:34 (+ 16:28)

Women Elite

1. Saila Kinni (Tampereen Pyrinto) 2:01.21 (+ 00:00)

2. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 2:01:58 (+ 00:37)

3. Sari Anttonen (Keuruun Kisailijat) 2:05:21 (+ 04:00)

4. Sofia Haajanen (SK Pohjantahti) 2:17:09 (+ 15:48)

5. Miia Niittynen (Koovee) 2:22:30 (+ 21:09)

Complete results and further information at https://www.costacalidaorientacion.net/.

[Photo: FEDO / Comunicacion Federacion Española de Orientacion]

Joaquim Margarido

LOM 2017: Rudnaya stood out in Lorca

Faster than their opponents in the Sprint WRE stage, Anastasia Rudnaya and Florian Howald were the first winners of Lorca O' Meeting 2017. Rudnaya also won the Long Distance, together with Magne Dæhli, while Pascal Buchs and Sabine Hauswirth achieved tasty victories in the Night Middle Distance.

Took place last weekend the 4th edition of Lorca O' Meeting 2017, event that gathered in the historical center of the city of Lorca and the neighboring place of La Almudena nearly 600 athletes from 20 countries. From the list of participants, a special word for the excellent start field, which included the Russians Natalia Gemperle, Svetlana Mironova and Anastasia Rudnaya, the Swiss Florian Howald and Sabine Hauswirth, the Belarussian Anastasia Denisova, the Swedish Johan Runesson and the Norwegian Magne Dæhli, all outstanding names of the sport, with a place in the top 20 of the IOF Orienteering World Ranking and/or the IOF Sprint Orienteering World Ranking. The event opened with a Sprint stage, scoring for the respective IOF World Ranking, followed by a Middle Distance stage in the evening of the first day. The second day was fully dedicated to the Mass Start Long Distance stage.

Introduced by the thirteen times World Champion Thierry Guergiou, France, as “a challenge, one of the great events of the season”, the Sprint WRE toured the main streets and monuments of Lorca's historical center, through a labyrinthine network of narrow streets. Florian Howald (Tampereen Pyrinto) and Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) were the most accurate in the map reading and also the fastest, achieving tough victories over respectively Antonio Martinez (Colivenc) and Sabine Hauswirth (OL Norska). Hauswirth and Rudnaya fight another battle for the victory in the Night Middle Distance, this time with the advantage falling to the Swiss side by 9 seconds. The difference between the two top contenders in the Men Elite class was even tighter, with Pascal Buchs (Tampereen Pyrinto) reaching a six-second victory over his team mate Johan Runesson. The Lorca O' Meeting 2017 ended up with the Mass Start Long Distance stage, in the very detailed map of La Almudena and, like in the first stage, Anastasia Rudnaya reached the first place, nearly one-minute faster than Sabine Hauswirth. Despite some mistakes, Magne Dæhli was able to reach the first place in the Men Elite class, finishing with a good advantage of 1:17 over Antonio Martinez, second placed.

Results

Sprint

Men Elite

1. Florian Howald (Tampereen Pyrinto) 15:33 (+ 00:00)

2. Antonio Martinez (Colivenc) 15:35 (+ 00:02)

3. Eduardo Gil (Tjalve) 15:54 (+ 00:21)

4. Ivan Sirakov (Variant 5 Targovi) 16:36 (+ 01:03)

5. Artem Popov MS Parma) 16:47 (+ 01:14)

Women Elite

1. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 15:42 (+ 00:00)

2. Sabine Hauswirth (OL Norska) 15:55 (+ 00:13)

3. Svetlana Mironova (Koovee) 16:33 (+ 00:51)

4. Tatiana Bevza (NordWest) 16:45 (+ 01:03)

5. Anastasia Denisova (Savedalens AIK) 16:47 (+ 01:05)

Night Middle Distance

Men Elite

1. Pascal Buchs (Tampereen Pyrinto) 24:39 (+ 00:00)

2. Johan Runesson (Tampereen Pyrinto) 24:45 (+ 00:06)

3. Florian Howald (Tampereen Pyrinto) 24:52 (+ 00:13)

4. Antonio Martinez (Colivenc) 25:13 (+ 00:34)

5. Algirdas Bartkevicius (SM Gaja) 25:40 (+ 01:01)

Women Elite

1. Sabine Hauswirth (OL Norska) 27:18 (+ 00:00)

2. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 27:27 (+ 00:09)

3. Anastasia Denisova (Savedalens AIK) 27:59 (+ 00:41)

4. Mariia Makarova (MO Yakhroma) 31:48 (+ 04:30)

5. Salla Laitinen (Espoon Akilles) 33:42 (+ 06:24)

Mass Start Long Distance

Men Elite

1. Magne Dæhli (Halden SK) 1:12:50 (+ 00:00)

2. Antonio Martinez (Colivenc) 1:14:07 (+ 01:17)

3. Nikita Asoyan (Dyusash Spring) 1:14:10 (+ 01:20)

4. Florian Howald (Tampereen Pyrinto) 1:14:18 (+ 01:28)

5. Roger Casal (Colivenc) 1:17:34 (+ 04:44)

Women Elite

1. Anastasia Rudnaya (MS Parma) 1:04:57 (+ 00:00)

2. Sabine Hauswirth (OL Norska) 1:05:47 (+ 00:50)

3. Svetlana Mironova (Koovee) 1:06:01 (+ 01:04)

4. Natalia Gemperle (Alfta Osa OK) 1:08:49 (+ 03:52)

5. Josefine Heikka (Alfta Osa OK) 1:09:13 (+ 04:16)

Complete results and further information at http://lom2017.blogspot.pt/.

[Photo: Raúl Ferra / facebook.com]

Joaquim Margarido

POM 2017: One hundred entered the TrailO stage

The POM isn't just Foot Orienteering. As usual since 2010, the most important event of the Orienteering Calendar in Portugal also includes a Trail Orienteering stage. The Portuguese Orienteering Blog spoke with Filipe Dias, one of the PreO POM 2017's course setters, who brings us all the news.

It was in 2010, at Figueira da Foz Camping, that Portugal O' Meeting included in its program, for the first time, a Trail Orienteering stage. Since then, Foot Orienteering and Trail Orienteering have been together in the most important event of the Portuguese Orienteering Calendar, attracting an increasing number of participants to experience a different way of feeling and living the sport of the forest.

This year, the Grupo Desportivo dos Quatro Caminhos (GD4C) takes the responsibility of organizing the Portugal O' Meeting, in whose specifications the Trail Orienteering stage holds a very special place. With Fernando Costa as Event Director and Joaquim Margarido in the role of National Controller, Rui Principe and Filipe Dias are the course setters. Looking forward to a time and a space that bring up Orienteering's pleasure to a different dimension, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog spoke with Filipe Dias about the Pre POM 2017 and makes a preview of the event.

“The winner will have to be a complete athlete”

“I think the rigorousness of the Portuguese organizations is well-known, the POM being one of the highest exponents of this quality. As we have a Trail Orienteering stage included in the event, the care is the same in order to keep the high standards. So, we can talk about the PreO POM 2017 as a stage that will certainly be part of the organizational commitment, from the technical details to the logistical aspects”, start by saying Filipe Dias.

The event will take place on the afternoon of the POM's second day, on 26th February, at Coudelaria de Alter [Alter Stud Farm], an institution whose main mission is to create and valorize the Alter Real horse, a breed of the Lusitan Pure Blood. With an eye on the unique natural space and another on its potential to host a Trail Orienteering event, Filipe Dias highlights “the rich vegetation, both underbrush and lush, mixed with rocky details”, whose combination will provide quite interesting tasks.

- Could you say something about the kind of challenges?

“I can say that, with such a great variety of features on the terrain, it was everything but easy to choose the most interesting challenges at each control, since it was possible to have several tasks on each place. The competitors will face a set of 23 tasks that will require the use of all the position-fixing techniques, both on the map and in the terrain, from the classic ones, by the position at a mapped feature and position by contouring, to the conventional, by sighting lines, compass bearing or distance estimation, among others. The tasks won't be difficult, but it will be a course requiring a multiplicity of technical knowledgement, so the winner will have to be a complete athlete.”

One-hundred entries' barrier quite close

90 competitors entered the PreO POM 2017 so far, representing 18 countries. Among the most prominent names, it's possible to find Remo Madella (Italy), Zóltan Mihaczi (Hungary), Pete Huzan (Great Britain), Gintaras Mikolavicius (Lithuania), Koji Chino (Japan), Santiago Martin (Spain), Bartlomiej Mazan (Poland) and, on the Portuguese side, Luis Gonçalves and Cláudio Tereso, in the Open Class. As for the Paralympic Class, the Spaniards Miguel Angel Garcia and Carlos Riu will have in the Portuguese Ricardo Pinto, Júlio Guerra and Cláudio Poiares the biggest opponents. With the number of participants registered last edition practically reached (94), Filipe Dias doesn't hide his satisfaction with this numbers but, above all, talks about the quality of the participants: “Many of the competitors are renowned athletes, who leaves us quite pleased by the confidence shown in the organization and brings us an increased responsibility”, he says.

With the registrations open until 14th February (10th February without normal prizes), it's expected that the final numbers will reach the 120 entered in 2015, in an edition organized by the Clube de Orientação de Estarreja and held in Vagos. That's why Filipe Dias' last words goes to the undecided: “Like other events organized by the GD4C, I believe this will be a stage which fits a high quality level. Coudelaria de Alter, the PreO POM's venue, presents excellent conditions for an event of this magnitude, both natural and technical. So, I challenge the undecided to enter the PreO POM 2017, because your expectations won't be frustrated. A pleasant Trail Orienteering afternoon is expecting you”.

To know everything about PreO POM 2017, please read the Bulletin # 2 [click on the image above] or check the event's webpage, at http://pom.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

BLOM, POM and ABOM'17: Portugal welcomes the World of Orienteering

The Winter season is here and Portugal becomes, once again, a “Mecca” for the World of Orienteering. In three weeks, Coimbra, Alter do Chão, Crato, Portalegre and Aguiar da Beira will host a triple journey having twelve exciting stages to offer. Rui Mora, Fernando Costa and Rafael Miguel are the Directors of Beira Litoral O’ Meeting, Portugal O' Meeting and Aguiar da Beira O’ Meeting, respectively, and share their opinions with the Portuguese Orienteering Blog.

They have in common the designation “O 'Meeting” [Orienteering Meeting] but it's not all. They also share a short space in time over three weeks, include WRE stages, scoring for the IOF World Rankings, rely on organizations of huge experience and prestige and, for this and much more, promise to attract to Portugal a few thousand orienteers, mainly from the Nordic countries. These are the purposes of Beira Litoral O' Meeting, Portugal O' Meeting and Aguiar da Beira O' Meeting, Foot Orienteering events taking place between 18th February and 5th March.

With this new round of big international Orienteering events on the horizon, it's clear that “expectation” and “anxiety” are terms that perfectly match with “voluntarism” and “work”. This is what about the Directors of each of the events speak of, while emphasizing their sporting dimension, the quality of the terrains, the technical challenges, the tourist counterpoint, the economic value and how important the events can be for the Municipalities where they take place.

To conquer participants and to honor the country

As in 2003 and 2011, Fernando Costa is the Director of the Portugal O’ Meeting, speaking of “a great honor for the Grupo Desportivo dos Quatro Caminhos being the event’s organization for the third time, honoring the Country and having, once again, participants from all over the world”, he says. With 1113 athletes entered so far, representing 32 different countries – the highest number of countries in 22 editions of the event (!) -, the anxiety for showing the Alto Alentejo’s excellence of terrains and quality of maps is huge. Fernando Costa reminds that this region “has in nature its greatest value. In this context, the Orienteering has being playing an important role through the North Alentejo O 'Meeting, organized for ten years now in a sustainable way and considering the environment.”

Fernando Costa is keen to point out that “the organization of the Portugal O 'Meeting has, from the outset, felt a great cooperation of the three Municipalities involved [Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre], proving that an event of this nature can also be a good way of bringing together those who work for the region”. A special mention goes to all the landowners where the competition will take place, since “without them none of it would be possible”, says Costa, adding that “it’s very important for the organization that sponsors, partners and media continue to believe it’s worth supporting the Orienteering and the club”. The Event Director also takes the opportunity to thank “all the volunteers who are kindly join the organization and get to know our sport” and makes a wish: “That all participants enjoy the natural beauties, the historical and cultural heritage and the gastronomy of Alto Alentejo, keeping the best memories of the Portugal O 'Meeting 2017”, he concludes.

Coimbra in the Orienteering map

The Beira Litoral O' Meeting 2017 will be the first event taking place, in 18th and 19th February. According to Rui Mora, its Event Director, “ADM- Ori Mondego' organizing skills will be tested by an event that includes two WRE stages, one of Sprint and another of Middle Distance, in the forest”. Mora adds that “the preparatory working is running normally”, leaving a word of appreciation to the Coimbra Municipality and the Council of Cernache “for the provided support”.

Coimbra, City of Students and Fado, is, for Rui Mora, “a city that was lacking in the orienteering route” and whose map “won’t run out, even with the accomplishment of two urban stages”. The Event Director talks about “high level courses with the signature of Rafael Miguel and Bruno Nazário”, adding that the athletes “will want to return”, also because “Coimbra, with its unique culture and heritage, is the perfect place for a short vacation”. The number of 268 athletes registered up to date, representing 14 countries, is still far from the 800 initially pointed out by the organization, but this aspect doesn’t seem to greatly frustrate Rui Mora's expectations: “Regardless of the number, we’ll have confirmed the presence in Coimbra of some of the best athletes in the World, fighting until the end by the victories in the different classes of competition”, he says.

Quality of terrains, the strongest side

Closing this cycle of events, in the first weekend of March, we’ll have the Aguiar da Beira O' Meeting 2017, whose Event Director advances some ideas. Rafael Miguel, stresses “the fluid way how the work has been done” and praises “the support of the City Council of Aguiar da Beira, a Municipality quite motivated for the development of Orienteering in its territory”. With the courses practically set, Rafael Miguel says: “The competitors can count on an incredible forest around Quinta do Meio. The Event’s Arena will be the same as in 2016 Iberian Championship, however the competition area is practically new. As for the Sprint, and since there have been two competitions on that map before, the organization is preparing some surprises, resorting some temporary “walls” to increase the course’s technical level”.

The number of participants is of 305 from 16 countries so far. “The initial goal of our club was the one-thousand-athlete’s barrier, even knowing that March is a month too advanced in the calendar for most of the foreign athletes. Regardless of the final number of entries, some of the best athletes in the World havee already registered for the event, so the competitive level is granted”, adds Rafael Miguel. And his last words: “I would say that the strength of this event is in its venue. In addition to the high quality terrain, the people, culture and gastronomy of Aguiar da Beira will leave all the visitors pleasantly surprised”.

To know more about this events, please consult theit webpages at http://blom.admondego.pt/, http://pom.pt/2017/en/ and http://abom2017.ori-estarreja.pt/en/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Time of peace and harmony, Christmas is Orienteering time, too. In Hong Kong, the Orienteering Association of Hong Kong organized the Annual Orienteering Championships, attended by 73 athletes in the Elite category and 135 in the Open category.With the Middle Distance and the Sprint stages scoring for the IOF World Rankings, the event got the presence of Annika Björk, Swedish Orienteering star, winner of the two stages already mentioned and also the Long Distance stage. Taking place on 26th December, the Sprint race was held at Ngau Chi Wan Park and was dominated by Björk, who won with 14:03 against 14:34 from Wai Lan Iris Lui. The male winner was Tsz Wai Yu with the time of 13:09. Wai Yu had already won the Middle Distance in the previous day, staged in Black Hill, while in the women Annika Björk got a comfortable win in 37:45 and a 4:34 advantage over Iris Lui. Closing the event, Lui Wai Lan Iris achieved her third National Champion title by winning the Long Distance stage, in Pak Shek Kiu, while in the Men Elite class the victory smiled to Lam Aby. Complete results and further information at http://www.oahk.org.hk/.

2. Austria, Belgium DG, Belgium FC, Belgium FL, China P.R., the Czech Republic, England, Estonia, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine have indicated their interest in taking part in the 2017 World Schools Championships in Orienteering. Organized by the International School Sport Federation and the Italian Ministry of Education, the event will take place in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, from 22th April to 28th April 2017. The Long Distance competition and the Middle Distance competition will take place in the Nature Reserve “Bosco della Ficuzza”, in the territory of Corleone. The Model Event will be held in a part of the Bosco della Ficuzza, offering terrain similar to both the Middle and the Long Distance competitions. The Friendship Team Event will take place in the city centre of Palermo. More detailed information on maps and competition areas will be communicated in the 3rd bulletin at the end of January. Find more information at http://www.isfsports.org/sport/orienteering/bulletins/.

3. Mass Start will be the fifth format on the program for the World MTBO Championships from 2017. A growing appetite for more head-to-head racing for the MTBO athletes and the possibility for good media coverage are among the reasons. Mass Start races have been a rather popular format in MTBO, and since 2010 there have been mass start events on the World Cup circuit almost every year. From 2017, it will be an official format at WMTBOC in line with Sprint, Middle, Long and Relay. The Mass Start format will be added to the program for both Masters and Junior World MTBO Championships as well. Mass Start’s winning time is set between 75-85 minutes for both men and women and is roughly between Middle and Long. Typically, the course will start with a long first leg of 3-5 km with different route choice options to shake out the field. Forkings and loops will be essential elements of Mass Start races to separate the riders even more. Everybody rides the same course, but in slightly different order to avoid blind following. The first World MTBO Champion in Mass Start will be decided in Lithuania when the World MTBO Championships takes place from 21st to 26th August 2017.

4. The Columbia River Orienteering Club - http://www.croc.org/ - made a tutorial video on Purple Pen, which can be seen here. Feel free to pass this along to anyone in your club who would like to get up to speed quickly on this helpful software.

Joaquim Margarido

Portugal O' Meeting 2017: North Alentejo is ready to host the World's Elite

The countdown to the Portugal O 'Meeting 2017 has already started. The recognized organizational quality of the winter season’s biggest international orienteering event, the excellence of maps and terrains and the environmental and heritage value of this particular region of southern Portugal makes of POM an unforgettable experience. The participants can expect four days of competition at the highest level, at a time when there are already athletes from 20 countries entered for the event.


Repeating the “recipe” of 2011, the Municipalities of Alter do Chão, Crato and Portalegre join efforts, embracing orienteers from all over the World. It’s the 22nd edition of the Portugal O' Meeting, the great event of the international calendar in the winter, which promises, from 25th to 28th February, to spread the Orienteering’s perfume for the North Alentejo.

Similar to what happened in 2003 and 2011, the Portuguese Orienteering Federation has decided to entrust the organization of the prestigious event to Grupo Desportivo dos Quatro Caminhos. Worked in detail, the program has to offer two Middle Distance stages, on 25th and 27th February, two Long Distance stages, on 26th and 28th, a night Sprint, also on the 25th, and a Trail Orienteering stage in the afternoon of the 26th. The four forest stages score for the Portuguese Foot Orienteering League Vitalis 2017 and the sum of points achieved in each of them will allow to know the overall winners of the 35 competition classes, four initiation classes and four open classes. It is also important to highlight the stage of February 27th - very appropriately called “WRE North Alentejano O’ Meeeting" -, which scores for the IOF World Ranking.

Good depth of breathing for local economy

Despite being too early to name those who will be present at the event, it won't be difficult to predict that the great majority of the world's best orienteers will head to the North Alentejo, once again. The Swedish Helena Jansson and Annika Billstam - the latter, the POM 2016's winner – the Russian Svetlana Mironova, the British Catherine Taylor, the Canadian Emily Kemp, the Ukrainian Nadiya Volynska, the Finnish Marika Teini or the Belarusian Anastasia Denisova, in the Women, and on the Men's side, the Norwegians Olav Lundanes and Magne Dæhli, the Swedish Gustav Bergman and Albin Ridefelt, the French Thierry Gueorgiou – five times winner of the POM, the last of which in 2016 - Frédéric Tranchand and Lucas Basset or the Ukrainian Oleksandr Kratov, are just some of the many stars who have given their preference to the Portugal O' Meeting in the last years and with whom, certainly, we will cross again.

It's important to emphasize that the relevance of the Portugal O' Meeting 2017 is not just the competitive part and, of course, an event of this nature and magnitude has a very positive impact on the economy of the region and the Country. The hotels throughout the North Alentejo register already very high occupancy rates, and from small shops to restaurants and services, it's a whole region that moves thanks to the more than two thousand participants expected in the event.

To see the details of the Portugal O' Meeting 2017, please visit the official webpage at http://pom.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

PWT China Tour 2016: Robertson and Alm got overall winnings

Tim Robertson and Maja Alm were the big winners of the PWT China Tour 2016. With three Sprint stages and a Middle Distance WRE, the event took place in Beijing and Dabeigou, involving about 70 participants in the Elite category.

Starting from the initiative of seven enthusiasts, all of them coming from the Nordic countries, the Park World Tour was born in order to give Orienteering a new life and make it more visible. Investing in a model that could almost be defined as a Sprint World Cup, the idea was to create a competition to bring the orienteers to the urban areas, mixing with the locals and to put them running through the crowd.

With determination - and a large dose of idealism - it was in 1996 that arose the Park World Tour's first edition, distributed by four stages. In the following year, the event's six stages could attract five thousands spectators and broke up a historical barrier in 1998, bringing to China, for the first time ever, an Orienteering event. Thanks to its virtues and merits, the model would eventually succeed, attracting the attention of international bodies that oversee the sport. Based on this example, in 2001 the Sprint distance was added to the World Orienteering Championships program, so keeping up until now. From Vasa, Finland, the first city to host a Park World Tour stage, to iconic cities such as Vienna, Shanghai, Sydney or Budapest, it's all a success story that's told in a moment where PWT celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Good start for Johan Runesson and Maja Alm

This year the Park World Tour returned to China. Two cities, four stages, six days of competition and about seventy participants in the Elite category, these were broadly the numbers of this year's edition, that took place between the 24th and 29th October. Celebrating the Beijing O' Week, China's capital hosted the first three stages of the program, while the last stage took place in Dabeigou Forest Farm in the Shunyi district, around 60 km NE of Beijing

The Beijing Botanical Garden offered a pleasant surrounding for the Sprint race that opened the PWT China 2016. Along with a typical autumn weather, the scent and rich colors of different flowers and trees were a pleasure for all senses. Course setter Jaroslav Kacmarcik had created nice courses to the northern part of the park with varying elements that required accurate navigation. It was no surprise that the Danish Maja Alm was the fastest in the Women Elite class, but the following positions would have been difficult to guess before the race. Almost 50 seconds down, it was the British Alice Leake who was second, a mere 8 seconds in front of the Chinese Huao Shuang. Among top 10, it was eight different nationalities.In the Men Elite class it was a lot less obvious winner as the Swedish Johan Runesson - better known for his success in the forest - beat all the rest. 9 seconds down, it was a really tight struggle for the second place, as the Belgium Yannick Michiels won the British Peter Hodkinson by just 0,4 seconds. In the men's top 10 it was all different nations, representing the international flavour of Park World Tour.

Maja Alm's hat trick

The Beijing Garden Expo Park, on the western side of the city, provided a magnificent venue for the second stage, again in the Sprint distance. It was also a culturally rich environment with monuments, statues, and traditional Chinese houses. These added with tracks, flower beds, different vegetation and some ridges, offered the runners varying kinds of challenges. Among the Women, Maja Alm got her second victory in a row and Alice Leake was second again. A new runner among the top 3 was the Czech Adela Indrakova. In the Men Elite class, Yannick Michiels advanced one position from the day before and was the winner. The young New Zealander Tim Robertson was second, and the Norwegian Øystein Kvaal Østerbø standed in the third place, just one second faster than Johan Runesson.

The third stage of PWT China 2016 was a Middle Distance scoring for the IOF World Ranking, ran in the Beijing Olympic Forest Park, not far from the Bird's Nest (Olympic stadium) and Water Cube. The courses were set in the more technical part of the Olympic Park, though still a forest park area with lots of tracks, but also some hills with varied vegetation that had to be taken into account when making route choices. There was some sprint elements in this Middle Distance, so it required good tactical eye to avoid making any mistakes. In the women's class, Maja Alm scored a hat trick by taking her third consecutive victory on the tour. It was a clear victory with a margin of almost three minutes over the Chinese Huao Shuang, with the French Laurianne Beauvisage finishing third, 3:03 after the IOF Sprint World Ranking's leader. In the Men Elite class it was a tight battle for the victory as the top three were all inside 25 seconds, the French Frederic Tranchand being the fastest this time, ahead of the Estonian Timo Sild and the New Zealander Tim Robertson.

Tranchand and Alm again

After two well deserved rest days and some orienteering promotion activities, the tour moved outside Beijing to the Shunyi district, i.e. from the buzzing city atmosphere to the rural surroundings. Last stage's agenda was a Sprint, from which around half was run on forest and half on hotel park area. The forest part offered mostly good runnability and visibility but in quite a steep slope, while the hotel park area was faster to run. In the Womenn Elite class, Maja Alm became the undisputed champion of the tour by taking her 4th victory of the week with over one-minute gap before the Norwegian Lone Brochmann. Lea Vercelotti, France, was third, 15 seconds behind the second place. In the Men Elite class, Frederic Tranchand was also a clear winner with 22 second gap onTim Robertson and an advantage of 39 second gap over the Austrian Robert Merl, third placed. After the race, the PWT athletes were much asked for by the hundreds of kids having their own competition in the same place. Tons of photos were taken and many insight and tips on orienteering passed on to these future orienteering hopes of China.

The overall winners of PWT China tour 2016 were Maja Alm and Tim Robertson. Alm was in a class of her own, but Robertson beat Johan Runesson by just one point. All in all, it was another fantastic PWT tour in China, which brought top orienteers from around the world together with many Chinese athletes, once again proving the Orienteering promoting value of PWT.

Full results and further information at http://www.p-w-t.org/.

[Photo: Charlotte Ward / facebook.com]

Joaquim Margarido

World Cup 2016: Victories of Leandersson and Wyder in the Sprint, Kyburz and Alexandersson got the winning overall

With victories in the Sprint of Jonas Leandersson and Judith Wyder, came to the end the 2016 World Cup in Orienteering. Matthias Kyburz and Tove Alexandersson ensured the overall victory.

The heart of Aarau hosted, in early afternoon, the last stage of 2016 World Cup in Orienteering. The Sprint race had the participation of 37 male athletes and 38 female in the main Final, being marked, among other reasons, by the farewell to the high competition of the Swiss Baptiste Rollier. The men's race had in the Swiss Florian Howald's leadership its first great moments. Keen to take the risk to the last consequences, the Swiss ended up doing some route choices that proved to be less profitable and when, in the 9th control, the Swedish Jonas Leandersson took over the leadership, the situation wouldn't change till the end. Leandersson reached an excellent 20-second victory, finishing the season in the best way, “avenging” the 5th place in the Sprint Final of the World Championships, which took place in his home country. The second place went to the Swiss Matthias Kyburz, who had, the day before, secured his third triumph in the World Cup overall (after having previously won in 2012 and 2013). The third place fell to another Swiss, Martin Hubmann, 24 seconds after the winner.

Judith Wyder, Switzerland, was the great figure of this final round of the World Cup 2016. After the victories in the two first stages, Wyder returned to shine at the highest level, beating convincingly her most direct opponents in today's Sprint. It was an undisputed victory, started to build immediately after the start and founded on the best options along the course. Preceding Wyder at the start, the bi-champion of the World in Sprint, Maja Alm, Denmark, would spend 15:08, setting the fastest time so far. But the lead didn't last 30 seconds, as Wyder would record a final time of 14:37, before the applause and incitement of her public. At a time when the first place was no longer in question, the doubt was if the Swedish Tove Alexandersson would be able to reach the second place. But a small hesitation in the very last control determined her final third place, one second behind Maja Alm. After all, this result didn't constrain Alexandersson's leadership in the 2016 World Cup in Orienteering, whose conquest she gets for the third year in a row.

Results

Men Elite

1. Jonas Leandersson (Sweden) 14:12 (+ 00:00)

2. Matthias Kyburz (Switzerland) 14:32 (+ 00:20)

3. Martin Hubmann (Switzerland) 14:36 (+ 00:24)

4. Tim Robertson (New Zealand) 14:39 (+ 00:27)

5. Florian Howald (Switzerland) 14:42 (+ 00:30)

6. Emil Svensk (Sweden) 14:46 (+ 00:34)

Women Elite

1. Judith Wyder (Switzerland) 14:37 (+ 00:00)

2. Maja Alm (Denmark) 15:08 (+ 00:31)

3. Tove Alexandersson (Sweden) 15:09 (+ 00:32)

4. Rahel Friederich (Switzerland) 15:11 (+ 00:34)

5. Helena Jansson (Sweden) 15:12 (+ 00:35)

6. Elena Roos (Switzerland) 15:23 (+ 00:46)

Complete results and further information at http://www.o-worldcup.ch/en/.

[Photos: © International Orienteering Federation / facebook/IOFarena]

Joaquim Margarido

World Cup 2016: Long Distance gold for Kyburz and Wyder

“Playing home”, the Swiss athletes continue to demonstrate an enviable power, getting triumphs behind triumphs. After yesterday victory in the Sprint Relay, today it was the turn of Matthias Kyburz and Judith Wyder winning the Long Distance. With these triumphs, Kyburz recovers a title achieved in 2012 and 2013, while Wyder puts some pressure on Tove Alexandersson, postponing the final decision for the last day.

The Roggenhausen map, in Neue Kantonsschule Aaurau, Switzerland, hold the World Cup Final in Orienteering 2016's second stage. Quite demanding from a physical point of view, the first part of the Long Distance course turned out to be decisive for the final standings. Revealing a better condition than his opponents, the Swiss Matthias Kyburz reached, from the beginning, an advantage that would prove to be valuable, considering a less good performance in the final controls. During the first part, it worth highlighting the Austrian Gernot Kerschbaumer, who stayed practically glued to Kyburz for several controls. In the final part of the competition, particularly in the technical loop that preceded the last four controls, it was possible to see Kyburz and Kerschbaumer loosing seconds after the seconds, with Lundanes approaching to the front and to threaten the Swiss' leadership. In the end, Kyburz would record the time of 1:24:47, reaching his fifth victory of the season in scoring stages for the World Cup, whose overall winning just to ensured today. The three immediate places were occupied by Norwegian athletes, with Lundanes finishing 21 seconds after Kyburz, Carl Godager Kaas at 02:02 and Magne Dæhli at 03:19 from the winner. The second best Swiss athlete, Florian Howald, would occupy the 11th place, while Daniel Hubmann, current leader of the IOF World Ranking, had a mishap in the middle of his race, being forced to abandon.

The women's race was well balanced in the initial phase, with the Swiss Judith Wyder and the Swedish Tove Alexandersson confirming their favoritism and leading alternately the course, with only a few seconds of difference between them. It was on the way to the 6th control that Wyder made a big mistake, allowing the Swedish to take a clear leadership. Further ahead, however, in the very technical 10th control, Alexandersson would waste the precious advantage, giving the lead to the Swiss. From that moment, Wyder didn't lose anymore the command of the operations, while some less fortunate options of Alexandersson in the immediate controls ended by making another Swiss athlete, Sabine Hauswirth, to reach the second position. In the second half of the race the places didn't change and Judith Wyder eventually got her third victory of the season in a stage scoring for the World Cup 2016. A triumph of Wyder in the last race, tomorrow, can still means an overall victory in the World Cup, but, even though, she'll have to wait Tove Alexandersson finishing 15th or even worse, which is quite improbable.

Results

Men Elite

1. Matthias Kyburz (Switzerland) 1:24:47 (+ 00:00)

2. Olav Lundanes (Norway) 1:25:08 (+ 00:21)

3. Carl Godager Kaas (Norway) 1:26:49 (+ 02:02)

4. Magne Dæhli (Norway) 1:28:06 (+ 03:19)

5. Jonas Leandersson (Sweden) 1:28:15 (+ 03:28)

6. Gernot Kerschbaumer (Austria) 1:28:16 (+ 03:29)

Women Elite

1. Judith Wyder (Switzerland) 1:13:14 (+ 00:00)

2. Sabine Hauswirth (Switzerland) 1:15:16 (+ 02:02)

3. Tove Alexandersson (Sweden) 1:15:57 (+ 02:43)

4. Svetlana Mironova (Russia) 1:19:13 (+ 05:59)

5. Julia Gross (Switzerland) 1:20:54 (+ 07:40)

6. Maja Alm (Denmark) 1:22:02 (+ 08:48)

Complete results and further information at http://www.o-worldcup.ch/en/.

[Photo: © Orienteering Wold Cup Final. Rémy Steinegger / www.steineggerpix.com]

Joaquim Margarido

World Cup 2016: Switzerland wins the Sprint Relay

The Sprint Relay opened the final round of the World Cup in Orienteering of the current season. In Aarau's rainy afternoon, the Swiss team confirmed the favoritism, reaching a hard win before its public. With this result, Switzerland turned out to be the winner of the 2016 Sprint Relay World Cup in Orienteering.

The Orienteering season is coming to an end and the city of Aarau, in northern Switzerland, receives over the weekend the final round of the World Cup 2016. With 155 competitors from 20 different nations entered (83 Men and 72 Women), the event's program opened with a Sprint Relay, providing also a Long Distance stage, tomorrow, and even a Sprint stage, the last big race of the season, next Sunday. The present day was, then, dedicated to the collective race, with the presence of 24 teams.

The command along the race belonged mostly to Sweden, with Lina Strand to be the fastest in the first leg and, later, with Jonas Leandersson reaching also the best time in the third leg. A sensational second leg of the Swiss Matthias Kyburz made that the gap between Swiss and Swedes wasn't too wide at the the entrance for the last leg, where the advantage of Helena Jansson over Judith Wyder was of eight seconds. The truth is that Wyder proved unshakeable before her most direct opponents, beating all the concurrence by a wide margin and giving to Switzerland a particularly tasty victory with the final time of 56:08. Spending 39 seconds more than the winner, Helena Jansson was able to hold the second position to Sweden, while the world bi-champion of Sprint, Maja Alm, achieved the second best time in the decisive leg, making Denmark to recover four places in the standings and reach the bronze medal.

With this race, the Sprint Relay World Cup in Orienteering met the season's winner. With a win, a second and a third place recorded in the previous rounds, Switzerland and Denmark reached the final stage tied, whereby the Swiss victory also meant the triumph in the overall competition with a total of 280 points. Denmark finished second with 240 points, while Sweden ended in the third place with 220 points.

Results

1. Switzerland (Rahel Friederich, Matthias Kyburz, Daniel Hubmann, Judith Wyder) 56:08 (+ 00:00)

2. Sweden (Lina Strand, Emil Svensk, Jonas Leandersson, Helena Jansson) 56:39 (+ 00:31)

3. Denmark (Cecilie Friberg Klysner, Tue Lassen, Sören Bobach, Maja Alm) 58:03 (+ 01:55)

4. Russia (Anastasia Rudnaya, Dmitrii Nakonechnyi, Artem Popov, Galina Vinogradova) 58:13 (+ 02:05)

5. Norway (Silje Ekroll Jahren, Hakon Jarvis Westergard, Øystein Kvaal Østerbø, Ingjerd Myhre) 58:22 (+ 02:14)

6. Finland (Sari Anttonen, Topi Raitanen, Marten Bostrom, Merja Rantanen) 58:23 (+ 02:15)

Complete results and further information at http://www.o-worldcup.ch/en/.

[Photo: © Orienteering Wold Cup Final. Rémy Steinegger / www.steineggerpix.com]

Joaquim Margarido

CamBOr 2016: Sousa and Chiles win last round

Sidnaldo Farias de Sousa and Franciely De Siqueira Chiles were the big winners of the final round of CamBOr 2016 – Brazilian Orienteering Championships - Itamar Torrezam, which took place this weekend in the capital, Brazilia. The two athletes recorded victories in both stages, closing the best way the major Brazilian competition of the season.


The Brazilian Orienteering Confederation (CBO), the Federal District Orienteering Federation (FO-DF), the College of Orienteering Club Militar of Brazilia (COMIB), Tiradentes Orienteering Club (COTI) and Rocha’s Orienteering Club (COR), carried out last weekend the 3rd and final round of the 18th Brazilian Orienteering Championships - Itamar Torrezam. With one stage scoring for the IOF World Ranking, in the last day of competition, the event called to Brazilia close to four hundred and fifty competitors, representing 57 clubs.

In the competitive program, the event was hardly contested, showing Sidnaldo Farias de Sousa (ADAAN) and Franciely De Siqueira Chiles (COSM) as the big winners in the Elite category. In the Long Distance stage that filled the competitive program on Saturday, Farias de Sousa was the fastest to finish the 9.7 km of his course in 1:11:38. Only 47 seconds after the winner, Cleber Baratto Vidal (COSM) was second while the third place fell to Leandro Pereira Pasturiza (COSaM). Farias de Sousa would return to the victories in the last day of competition, taking the first place in the WRE Middle Distance stage with a time of 48:24, again with a thin advantage of just 37 seconds for the second place that belonged to Leandro Pasturiza. Julian Pasturiza (COSaM) finished the race in the third position, with 56 seconds more than the winner. With this results, Leandro Pereira Pasturiza was able to keep the good advantage in the Brazilian ranking at the start for the decisive round, revalidating the title of Brazilian Orienteering Champion, which happens for the third year in a row. And for the seventh time in his career so far.

Separated in the Ranking by just four points at the start for this round, Franciely De Siqueira Chiles (COSM) and Leticia Saltori (ADAAN) staged two extraordinary duels, in both cases favorable to Chiles. Nearly five minutes ahead of Saltori in the Long Distance and about two and a half minutes in the Middle Distance allowed to Franciely De Siqueira Chiles get the necessary points to cancel the disadvantage to her most direct opponent, winning the Brazilian Orienteering Champion Brazil for the second time in her career, after the triumph in the same competition in 2014.

Results

Long Distance

Men Elite

1. Sidnaldo Farias Sousa (ADAAN) 1:11:38 (+ 00:00)

2. Cléber Baratto Vidal (COSM) 1:12:25 (+ 00:47)

3. Leandro Pereira Pasturiza (COSaM) 1:15:52 (+ 04:14)

4. Juliano Pereira Pasturiza (COSaM) 1:15:55 (+ 04:17)

5. Marciano Kaminski (CSS Santo Ângelo) 1:20:10 (+ 08:32)

Women Elite

1. Franciely De Siqueira Chiles (COSM) 1:20:14 (+ 00:00)

2. Leticia Saltori (ADAAN) 1:24:56 (+ 04:42)

3. Edinéia Roniak (CO Gralha Azul) 1:25:48 (+ 05:34)

4. Elaine Lenz (ADAAN) 1:25:56 (+ 05:42)

5. Raquel Sales Arendt (IDS Dourados) 1:36:41 (+ 16:27)

Middle Distance

Men Elite

1. Sidnaldo Farias Sousa (ADAAN) 48:24 (+ 00:00)

2. Leandro Pereira Pasturiza (COSaM) 49:01 (+ 00:37)

3. Juliano Pereira Pasturiza (COSaM) 49:20 (+ 00:56)

4. Ironir Alberto Ev (COSM) 50:57 (+ 02:33)

5. Carlos Araújo (CO Gralha Azul) 53:10 (+ 04:46)

Women Elite

1. Franciely De Siqueira Chiles (COSM) 52:14 (+ 00:00)

2. Leticia Saltori (ADAAN) 54:47 (+ 02:33)

3. Pavla Zdráhalová De Oliveira (AOAUFRJ) 59:48 (+ 07:34)

4. Soraya Cabral (Kaapora CO) 59:56 (+ 07:42)

5. Sara Weis (CO Gralha Azul) 1:04:24 (+ 12:10)

Complete results at http://helga-o.com/webres/.

[Photo: Franciely Chiles / facebook.com/franciely.chiles]

Joaquim Margarido