Emily Benham: "There will always be some new idea that has the potential to make MTBO better"

Emily Benham needs no introduction. One of the most cherished and admired athletes in the MTB orienteering world, the winner of the World Cup 2015 is also one of the most available. To the Portuguese Orienteering Blog, she talks positively about the season and leaves a couple of question marks to 2016.

How does it taste your season 2015?

Emily Benham (E. B.) - I've spent two months pondering this question in my own analysis. When looking at the results on paper, the overwhelming majority of final placings were 1st. In fact, just three results were outside the top 6, and they weren't MTBO results! On the whole, 2015 was a success, but I won the races I had no focus on, and lost the races I prepared well for. Most of all I'm frustrated that I was in best shape I've ever had, and I missed the opportunities to make the most of it.

To the IOF's Athlete of the Month, September 2014, you said: “I find myself craving perfect races and anything less just isn't good enough”. How many perfect races did you achieved in 2015?

E. B. - The mass start in Hungary came close, but I think the very best race throughout the season was the Long Distance in Pilsen. I was really focussed and doing my own race, making calculated decisions, but I ended up overheating and had to suffer to the finish. A real pain cave race. I had no idea of how good that race was until I saw the final results, and then all the suffering was worth it!

Like in 2014, you managed getting great results along the season... until the World Championships. What is still missing for the gold?

E. B. - I have my theories. It's just about another year of training to test them out.

Would you like to tell, in brief, about your performances this year, both in European and World Championships?

E. B. - I missed key pieces of information in both Middle races that cost me the opportunity to fight for gold. The Long at the European Championships was an interesting and unusual race. Apart from a big mistake to one control I was riding really well, even though it didn't feel that great at the time. I generally made good decisions, but really I'm not sure I'm satisfied with that race either. Things just didn't go my way this year for various reasons.

You could save the winning in the World Cup 2015 overall, but you lose the IOF World Ranking' s leadership to Martina Tichovska. Are you surprised? Does Martina deserve the title of “MTB Orienteering Achievement of 2015”?

E. B. - Martina has been around the top of MTBO for many years now, and last year she was so close to medals at the World Championships in all distances! She has really earned being the double World champion and I can't think of a more deserving athlete to have what is probably the strongest ever WMTBOC week by a female. Being world number one is just a reflection on the hard work she had put in over the years. It was almost a pleasure to be beaten by her and to see her have some incredible races.

You're a very committed person in MTB Orienteering's development and I would hear you about the improvements along this year. Was there any moment / fact / event that represented a big step further in our sport?

E. B. - I think one of the biggest things to happen in MTBO circles is the employment of a marketing manager in the IOF. The essence is to make MTBO and SkiO into marketable sports. The ultimate goal is probably to create a TV friendly sport that is 'simple' to understand, but there are so many steps along the way. Right now, the allowance of a XC style mass start is just a small step - can't wait to try this out!

Is there something new about to come that will make our sport even better?

E. B. - There will always be some new idea that has the potential to make MTBO better. It's just a matter of being brave enough to take the leap, rather than messing around in endless discussions. Without change, MTBO will be left behind. There is so much amazing technology out there that has potential in the sport.

How do you see MTB Orienteering in 2025? More athletes, events, public, spectacularity? Will United States or Brazil be the teams to beat?

E. B. - I really hope we will see more athletes, but also more athletes staying in the sport and not moving on to greener pastures. I'd love to see a global World Cup every year, not only in terms of the countries we race in, but also with the nations attending and being competitive at the top. I hope MTBO is able to make it to a TV friendly sport - shorter, more intense, more pressure. Man made singletracks and a tighter track network. There's so much potential for the sport.

As for future teams to beat, I think USA has great potential once they get more regular events throughout the country. The improvement they've made since 2012 is amazing. Any cycling nation has potential in MTBO, just imagine if the Netherlands start fielding a team? Or South Africa. Or even China. The task ahead is about getting maps in these 'potential' nations and finding people there who are able to develop MTBO.

Are you already planning the next season?

E. B. - Actually in 2016 I'm not looking to MTBO to form a significant part of my year. I have other goals I want to achieve. I'll still be at the big races; maps are in my blood, but I'm not having any focus on MTBO.

How does Portugal match in your agenda?

E. B. - Portugal is going to be one part of a fun season riding my bikes. I'm not sure what my goals are there, or even for MTBO at all in 2016. What I do know is that I'm going to enjoy my time there again, riding an amazing bike and with great friends.

Joaquim Margarido

Olli Ojanaho: "My biggest goal is to take the next step closer to the best athletes"

Those who have seen him competing, have no doubts. Here he is, the great successor of names like Janne Salmi or Jani Lakanen, Pasi Ikonen or Mårten Boström who, over the years, glittered worlwide with the colours of Finland. On the Portuguese Orienteering Blog's stage, today, we welcome Olli Ojanaho. Come to know him a little better.

Last 3rd October you ran, at Arosa, your first World Cup stage ever. How important was it for you?

Olli Ojanaho (O. O.) - It was very important to get a first impression of what is waiting in the Elite class. I was sick just before the competitions, had to skip the Long Distance and wasn't able to run well in Middle Distance as it was my first hard effort for over a week - and even made a couple of pretty stupid mistakes. But I think the experience was really important for me. Being in the same competitions with (almost) all the best athletes, running tough and challenging courses and seeing the level the best guys are performing at is extremely inspiring and motivating, something that I value more than my position or even my performance when running a World Cup for the very first time.

The season is over and it's time, now, for a well deserved rest. Can you choose the ideal place for fifteen days of vacation without maps? Are you able to focus in everything else but Orienteering?

O. O. - This year I will spend the off-season at home but, for the upcoming years, the place of my dreams for fifteen days of vacation would be like the following: A place with a temperature between + 25º to 35º C and a lot of sunshine, a comfortable all-inclusive hotel close to the beach, as well as some mountains or beautiful nature around. Most days like on a beach holiday, but a couple of nice hiking days in the mountains/nature as well. One shopping day, one day in a water park and, perhaps, some nightlife in the last night. Good food every day! That kind of vacation could surely make me totally forget orienteering for a while.

How boring life can be without Orienteering?

O. O. - I don't think it would be boring but it's, of course, better with orienteering! It's such a special thing to run in different kinds of forests in different countries, finding your way with a map in places you haven't been before and discovering the beautiful nature on the Earth that way. It's the feeling when you are running in a new place with a new map that makes me remember why Orienteering is my sport for life.

You did an amazing season, first with two gold medals at EYOC and, one week later, with another three gold medals at JWOC. Did you expect it?

O. O. - There are always a lot of guys aiming for medals so I can't say I was expecting to win in total of six medals [also a bronze at EYOC's Relay] before the Championships. But I knew that I was in a good shape as well as able to achieve top results when it really counts. And considering that we had strong teams in both relays, it wasn't a surprise either.

Can you mention one particular moment during these two weeks that lasts in your mind?

O. O. - Definitely! The moment when we crossed the finish line, with Topi [Raitanen] and Aleksi [Niemi] at JWOC Relay. We had known each other for years and been to many training camps together so it was extremely great to end a fantastic week with a fantastic team performance with those guys.

I'm sure that you followed the big events along the season. What moments / athletes impressed you the most?

O. O. - There were so many impressive performances and moments, so it's hard to pick just a few. But one of the most unforgettable experiences of the season as a follower was IFK Göteborg's victory in 10mila. A nice mix with older guys and young talents, running through the night in a balanced way leg after leg and finally, after a tight and exciting decision, winning the relay, to many people's surprise, was something special. The most impressive athlete was probably Daniel Hubmann, doing again a brilliant season and showing once more his ability to achieve absolute top results, no matter what's the terrain or the distance.

Have you a person which is an inspiration for you? Can you tell me why?

O. O. - Let's say the multiple World Champion in Ski Orienteering, Staffan Tunis. I was in the same Finnish team when both senior and junior European Championships took place in Latvia in 2013. I was impressed on his attitude to the sport, the way he prepared himself for the competitions and how he handled the races one at a time when they were over. A lot can be summarized with Eivind Tonna's (the headcoach of the national team) words that I once read in a newspaper: “I have never heard him complaining about anything. He only focuses on things he can affect by himself.”

Searching on the web, we can see that you have a blog - https://olliojanaho.wordpress.com/ - where you write a lot. Can you present your “work”? How important is it for you?

O. O. - I don't have time to write so much there, but I try to do an overview of what has happened in the past weeks every now and then. Updating a blog takes more time than short updates in social media but I think, and have heard the same from other people, that it's often more interesting to read stories that contain more information, more analysis and are generally a bit more profound, compared to the posts in social media.

I ask you for a comment to Thierry Gueorgiou's words: “It's in winter that you win the upcoming Summer medals”.

O. O. - That's definitely true because during the winter season, when there are not many competitions all the time like in summer, it's easier to focus on specific things that one needs to improve their performance. In winter there is a lot of time to train the basics as well as those specific things and winter creates the basis for the competition season. But on the other hand, every single day of the year is, of course, as decisive if one wants to think it that way.

How will your winter season be? Do you plan to come to Portugal for the Portugal O' Meeting?

O. O. - I will spend my winter mostly at home, in Rovaniemi, going to school and doing physical training. Then it's going to be some shorter training camps in Southern Finland and possibly Sweden or Norway. We'll have a longer training camp with the junior national team in Antalya, in late February, so I unfortunately don't have room for POM in my agenda, even though it would be great competitions and nice to take part as well.

What's your biggest goal for the next season?

O. O. - My biggest goal is to take the next step closer to the best athletes, both physically and technically. Single races or results are not so important; rather I want to have a stable season and progress in every section.

[Photo: Ethan Childs / facebook.com]

Joaquim Margarido

Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg: "It's nice to see that I still can be part of the game"

She offered to Norway two silver medals in the World Orienteering Championships WOC 2015 and got a winning in the World Cup's penultimate stage. To the Portuguese Orienteering Blog, Anne-Margrethe Hausken Nordberg highlights these and other moments, recalling a season full of emotions.

Congratulations on your victory in a World Cup stage, seven years after the last one. What special meaning does it have for you? Did you expect it?

Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg (A. M. H. N.) - Thanks a lot. It felt good to make a clean race at an individual competition, in contrast to WOC this year. My coach Frode Balchen advised me to do some mental preparations to convince myself that I could perform well in Arosa, despite no preparations for high altitude (I arrived at 10 pm the evening before the race) and no recent trainings in Swiss alpine terrain. One can never expect the victory, but I felt comfortable about my race plan and thought my shape was good enough to win. I went to the start with a nice balance of self-confidence and respect for the upcoming task.

You're not exactly a teenager, you have children to take care, ... Well, there must be a secret for such good results this season. Would you like to share with me what you did, what changes have you done?

A. M. H. N. - For several years I have not done big changes in my training, but after Sigrid was born (July 2014) I did because two children means less time for training and rest. Running is the most effective training. After the first 10 weeks of build-up after birth, all my endurance training was running or orienteering. From Oct 1st 2014 to Sep 30th 2015 I ran 535 hours. My previous highest amount of running during one year was 420 hrs in 2008. Back then – and every other year – I have done a lot of alternative training on top of the running, but not this year.

Another change was that I trained at home in Oslo all the time, because traveling with a baby is stressful. I agreed with Kenneth Buch (Norwegian head coach) to skip the national team training camps, except our WOC precamp. This flexible solution was important to me. Staying home also meant I did not care about chasing world ranking points from winter competitions. My ranking position in April was about 900 (forest) and 1300 (sprint), so I know something about early starting times this year.

I enjoyed local competitions and club trainings with Nydalens SK, where my husband Anders is head coach. I prepared for relays by competing with the boys in our club. Even if I skipped the camps, there was plenty of logistics for the competitions. Both pairs of grandparents live far away from us, but we are lucky to get help from them when we travel.

Talking about the WOC, did you feel well prepared for the Championships? What goals have you drawn?

A. M. H. N. - I felt well prepared, as I had been healthy and injury free. My WOC goal was to perform well and fight for medals.

Would you like to talk about your amazing performances and the silver medals in Relay and Sprint Mixed Relay? Did you expect it?

A. M. H. N. - For the sprint relay, I expected to start out behind the favorite teams. As that happened I tried to stick to my plan - be calm and save energy for the last 5 minutes. That relay I started thinking of last autumn, and I told Øystein Kvaal Østerbø that I was keen on us chasing a non-expected medal. For the forest relay, I predicted all kinds of scenarios, and hoped that my experience would help me getting the best out of it. I tried to be calm in the first part and switched to be more offensive with 10 controls left, keeping the initiative from then on.

Which of them is more significant to you?

A. M. H. N. - I think the sprint mixed relay medal was something extra. I have been so fed up about the attitude towards sprint in Norway. Certain voices tell us that we run too slowly and that we have no chance in sprint, which is by the way not real orienteering. Bringing home a relay medal does probably not change everything, however I believe it meant something. Sharing it with my old sprint mates Elise Egseth and Øystein Kvaal Østerbø was great, and “the kid” Håkon Jarvis Westergård did a solid WOC debut. Our mapmaker Gaute Hallan Steiwer did not make it to the team, but his work made us feel very well prepared. In addition, it was great to see our sprint coach Emil Wingstedt so happy.

And what about the WOC individual races?

A. M. H. N. - In the Middle Distance I lost my flow and self-confidence to the second control, even if I didn’t lose that much time there. I hesitated throughout the course, and after the race felt I was never close to anything. It was easy to forget that race and reload for the forest relay.

I feel good about the Long Distance, except the longest leg. Two parallel mistakes there cost me all the time I was behind the big fight. I grew up on the island Karmøy, on the western coast of Norway, and the first half of our long distance was just like my home terrain. I enjoyed it a lot.

What motivation your results during the season represent for the future?

A. M. H. N. - I think that you should not take decisions about the future when you are either too high or too low. Most days are ordinary training days, and as long as I am motivated for those, I can go on. However, of course it's nice to see that I can still be part of the game.

If I asked you a moment - the great achievement of the season -, what would be your choice?

A. M. H. N. - Running O-Ringen this year was a big challenge. It started three days after I found out my arm was broken in the elbow. It happened during our WOC sprint selection two weeks earlier, but I did not care taking a picture of it earlier because I was mostly on travel. We decided just to tape it stiff before the races and I promised the doctor not to fall. The races themselves make O-Ringen a tough week, but we travelled to Borås with our kids and stayed in a hired caravan. My arm was not capable of carrying kids, as well as a lot of other practical stuff. We left our caravan early every morning, caught the bus, Anders ran his H21K after dropping Tarjei by the children care on his way to start, by the time he finished his race I had put Sigrid to sleep and had to leave for my start, then he took both kids to miniknat while I ran, and we all took our time after the race and caught a late bus, going directly to the dinner tent at O-Ringentown, joining the prize giving there on our way back to the caravan. Of course, there was time for nice chats with both our club mates in Nydalen and other friends, but O-Ringen with small kids means no rest. When I ran toward the finish inside Borås Arena and heard that I had defended my lead, it was a special moment. I was happy for a clean race under high pressure, it was my first big individual victory for several years, and I looked forward to some rest…

It's time for a break, now, I believe. What have you planned for a well deserved rest?

A. M. H. N. - Normal family life and no traveling, except a visit to my parents on Karmøy. Some weeks of less training hours and without high intensity training.

Are you already thinking about next season, now that present season is over?

A. M. H. N. - Next summer I would like to run O-Ringen and WOC. I am not sure if I will travel to World Cup and EOC during spring. It is easier to peak for just one competition period. In addition, there is already plenty of fun with the club during spring.

[Photo: Anders Robertsson]

Joaquim Margarido

  

WTOC 2015: Photography exhibition presented in Zagreb

It is open to the public, at the HPD “Zagreb-Matica”'s house, a photography exhibition that recalls some of the WTOC 2015's finest moments. The opening took place last night and was a pretext for meeting many members of the World Championships' organizing team, revisiting a precious time of communion and joy.

The headquarters of the Croatian Mountaineering Society Planinarsko Hrvatsko Društvo "Zagreb-Matica" hosted, yesterday's early evening, a singular event. Meeting the memories, the places and the people who made the World Trail Orienteering Championships WTOC 2015, held in Zagreb and Karlovac last month of June, took place the opening of a collective exhibition authored by the photographers Branka Dimić, Senke Jurkovic Gros, Mladen Fliss and Čedomil Gros, complemented by a Velimir Brezar's video. The opening words were given by Anton Bikic, President of HPD “Zagreb-Matica” and exhibition's host. Čedomil Gros, main organizer of this event and Damir Gobec, Director of WTOC 2015 also uttered welcome words. Zdenko Horjan and Ivana Gobec, respectively Planner and Mapmaker of WTOC 2015, the athletes Iva Lovrec, Ivica Bertol and Tomislav Varnica, and even names related to the organization, such as Sanja Zuzic or Boško Opalić, were some of the many personalities presented at the event.

“We all thought that everything was worth showing, but we also wanted a little bit of gathering together again”, Ivana Gobec said to the Portuguese Orienteering Blog about the purpose of the event. Ivana still leaves some impressions: “The photos were very selected, and very few, by photographers' own choice, and it was a little surprise for us too”. Still a note to the fact that, during the cocktail reception, followed to the opening ceremony, having be displayed on a large screen a set of images from other photographers, many of which with the signature of Joaquim Margarido and the Portuguese Orienteering Blog. The exhibition will be open to the public during the month of November and it is expected that, after that, could be presented in other places.

See the photo report of the Exhibition Opening in https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.922066481180963.1073741920.137542812966671&type=3

[Photo: OK Vihor / facebook.com/OK-Vihor]

Joaquim Margarido

6th CISM Military World Games: Switzerland and Russia take the gold in Relay

With the victories of Switzerland and Russia in the Relay, came to an end the Orienteering program included in the 6th CISM Military World Games. Overall, Russia showed all his power, winning six of eight gold medals.

After a well earned break, Orienteering has returned to 6th CISM Military World Games for the last stage. Similarly to what happened in the individual races of Middle and Long Distance, the uneven area around Dongyang University, at Mungyeong (South Korea), hosted the Relay, putting on trial 37 male teams and 16 female. Starting by the women's competition, after the higher performances of Tatiana Ryabkina and Yulia Novikova in the individual races, nobody expected anything other than a Russian victory. Called to join the team, Svetlana Mironova proved to be a weight reinforcement and, in the end, the demonstration of Russian's superiority translated into a new victory with the time of 1:46:46, and a lead of seven minutes on Latvia, second placed and 8:36 over Lithuania, ranked third.

In a more detailed analysis to the course, it is worth noting that Russia took the lead from the start, with Tatiana Ryabkina finishing the first leg with a comfortable advantage over Lithuania and Norway, at the time her most direct opponents. Latvia had a disastrous first leg, with Elina Karklina losing more than fourteen minutes (!) for the leadership and to leave her team in the 7th place; but Aija Skratina first and, in the final leg, Laura Vike, were perfect to ensure the best split times, crowning with the silver medal an absolutely sensational recuperation. After the achievement in the previous edition of the Games (Rio de Janeiro, 2011), where they reached the bronze medal, the Brazilians were this time many holes below than what would be expected. Franciely de Siqueira Chiles, the current Brazilian Champion, got badly on the map and the penultimate place in the end of the first route lay down any hope for a good result. Tania Maria Jesus de Carvalho still would regain a position, but the performance of Leticia da Silva Saltori eventually fixed Brazil in the 15th final position, at 1:24:23 from the lead.

Matthias Kyburz, the “golden boy”

In the men's course, the fight between Switzerland and Russia was running high, with only ten seconds separating, in the end, the two teams. Austria started best, thanks to Gernot Kerschbaumer's great performance, but it was Russia who took the lead at the entrance for the decisive leg, with Dmitriy Tsvetkov having an advantage of 24 seconds over the Austrians, while Switzerland and Estonia ran already something apart, with a disadvantage of 2:31 and 2:44, respectively, for the lead. The truth is that Matthias Kyburz was absolutely unstoppable in this final leg, blanking the time that separated him from Tsvetkov and reaching the victory with the final time of 2:02:33. Russia finished, as stated above, ten seconds later, leaving the third place to Estonia, with a time of 2:03:51, thanks mainly to the performances of the brothers Lauri Sild and Timo Sild. With Leandro Pereira Pasturiza, Ironir Ev and Sidnaldo Alberto Farias Sousa in the team, Brazil finished in the 12th place with a time of 2:33:37, being the first non-European team overall.

In the final accounts of these 6th CISM Military World Games, we can see that only five countries have reached medals, with Russia taking six gold medals, four silver and one bronze. With two gold medals, one silver and one bronze, Switzerland ranked second in the medalist of the Games, while the third place fell to Latvia with two silver medals and two bronze. France, with a silver medal and Estonia with two bronze medals, occupied by this order the fourth and fifth positions.

Complete results and further information at http://cism-orienteering.com/.

[Photo: CISM Orienteering / www.cism-orienteering.com]

Joaquim Margarido