Two or three things I know about it...

1. The Trail World Championships' 6th edition was held in Serra do Gerês, Portugal, and had an orienteer as the great protagonist of the host nation. Tiago Aires, for many the best Portuguese orienteer of all time, finished in the 13th position, contributing decisively to the 5th place of Portugal in the collective standings. On his Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/corredorcommapa/ -, Aires mentions the 29th October as “the most intense day of a lifetime” and speaks about a “bittersweet feeling” at the end, due the way the race was held. The athlete came rolling in the 9th position, less than 3 minutes of the 7th ranked, but some gastric disturbs eventually conditioned him in the last kilometres. “I've done the first 60 km on the rise, from back to front, overtaking some of the great names in the World of Trail, which allowed me to break a mental barrier and realize that, with more experience and better conditions and opportunities, we can aspire to a place on the Trail World Championships' podium in the coming years”, said the Portuguese, adding that it's time to rest now: “I'll be away from the routines and the training discipline after a too long season.” The male winner was the Spanish Luis-Alberto Hernando, while the fastest woman was the French Caroline Chaverot. The complete results of the Trans Peneda Gerês 2016 / IAU Trail World Championships can be found at http://www.i-tra.org/page/328/Resultats.html.

2. At a time when the 2016 Spanish Orienteering League is coming to an end, took place last weekend, in Puerto de La Mora, Granada, its penultimate round. The 5th Nazaries Trophy was organized by the Club Veleta de Orientación and had two stages - Middle Distance and Long Distance – in the spectacular enclave of Las Mimbres, and also a vigorous Sprint through the roofs and chimneys of the typical village of Guadix. The event had the participation of approximately 750 competitors and Helen Martinsen FEDO) and Raúl Ferra Murcia (Lorca-O) were the overall winners. Ferra Murcia won the Long Distance stage, leaving the victories in the Middle Distance and Sprint to Rune Nygaard (FEDO) and Borja Vila Sempere (Colivenc), respectively. In the Elite Women, Martinsen won the Long Distance stage while Natalia Gurchenkova (Universidad Alicante) was the winner of the Middle Distance and Sprint races, the only ones attended by her. Elmar Montero Cárceles (Godih) and Maria Prieto del Campo (Malarruta) were the winners in the M/W20 classes, while in the M/W18 classes the triumphs fell to Raúl Sanjuan Juan (Colivenc) and Elena Marti Barclay (Fundi-O) . Complete results and further information at http://www.onazaries.es/.

3. The European University Sports Association and the International Orienteering Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the goals of increasing the participation among students of higher education in sport and to provide the best conditions for EUSA sports events. Very popular among university students, Orienteering has been a part of the university sports family at the international level since 1978. EUSA is about to appoint the 1st European Universities Orienteering Championship for 2019 and has already nominated Dusan Vystavel as Technical Delegate for Orienteering. “Orienteering is a sport feasible to any enthusiast (…) and enjoys big popularity among youth because it promotes fellowship, team-work and fortitude. We are happy to become partners with IOF as we share common values and history; and will, undoubtedly, hold great events”, said Adam Roczek, EUSA President, upon the signing of the memorandum. Leho Haldna, IOF’S president, added: “There are many orienteers studying at institutes of higher education who will appreciate the opportunities provided by this cooperation. Being able to combine your studies with the opportunity to participate in high-quality orienteering events, and in the context of the strong social values within student sports, should be very attractive. Our organisations share the same values, and we greatly appreciate the successful cooperation we have with FISU. We believe in an equally successful cooperation with EUSA.” The original article can be seen at www.eusa.eu.

[Photo: Tiago Martins Aires / facebook.com/corredorcommapa/]

Joaquim Margarido  

Grigory Medvedev: "I feel now strong enough for the Long Distance"

Grigory Medvedev is one of the most talented MTB orienteers of the new wave. His enormous consistency throughout the season, along with some outstanding results, place him, currently, in the World top 10 and it's on him that attentions are focused in the page turning for a new season. To the Portuguese Orienteering Blog, Medvedev analyses the now ended year and designes 2017 with the gold in sight.

I would start by asking you to present yourself. Who is Grigory Medvedev?

Grigory Medvedev (G. M.) - I was born in Moscow and I still live there. But I've been living for several years in the Czech Republic and in South Africa when I was a kid. I study Engineering in Bauman Moscow State Technical University. I like to travel, try new activities and I'm learning how to play guitar.

How did you meet Orienteering?

G. M. - I started orienteering at the age of 8. My parents just took me to the sports school to the Chess section, but I accidentally noticed some kids running outside with maps. This kind of activity seemed more interesting than Chess and I began training regularly. I did both FootO and SkiO. When I was 14 years old, I tried MTBO for the first time. It was a very exciting experience and gradually MTB Orienteering became my main discipline.

What do you see in MTB Orienteering that makes it so special?

G. M. - I like MTBO because of the high speed. If you want to be good in MTB Orienteering you must be really fast, both physically and mentally!

Have you a training routine? How is, in your case, a typical week?

G. M. - I try to do different trainings and not to have a training routine, because routine means that you are not excited any more. I participate in FootO and SkiO competitions as much as possible and I also compete in MTB XC races.

What do you like the most: Long Distance or Sprint? Why?

G. M. - I’ve always liked Sprint because of its high speed and fast orienteering. But I feel now strong enough for the Long Distance too. Long Distance demands stability, you must be concentrated for about two hours. So, I like both distances.

After some impressive results in the Junior World MTB Orienteering Championships – Sprint World Champion in 2010 and 2012 – it was a big surprise to see you in the podium of the World MTBO Championships 2014, in your second year in the Elite. Do you still remember the feelings around that bronze medal?

G. M. - Yes, I remember that race quite well. I realized then that Sprint was my only chance for top results and I did a good race, but the medal was a surprise, even for me. Still, this is my only Elite medal so far.

During the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2016, in Portugal, you managed to get the 7th place in the Long Distance and the 9th place in the Sprint. Are you happy with your results?

G. M. - I'm disappointed with my results in the WMTBOC 2016. I felt that I was well prepared but I couldn't keep calm and made too many mistakes.

How do you evaluate the Portuguese competition overall?

G. M. - I liked the event. Good organisation, interesting terrain and courses. Just the Sprint distance was quite easy and the quarantine was too long in such hot weather conditions.

You ended the season in Lithuania with three great races, reaching the podium day after day. Consequently, you got the 7th place in the World Cup 2016 overall and you're now the 8th placed in the IOF World Ranking. Did you expect it?

G. M. - Yes, I ended the season in a good way. I didn’t expect three podiums there but I'm satisfied that I saved a top ten ranking place, which was one of my goals for the season.

Would you like to mention other moments of the season?

G. M. - Besides the good end of the season, with the three races in Lithuania, I would mention the victory in WRE Sprint in Åhus (Sweden) and the overall winning in the MTBO training camp there. The worst was the Middle Distance in Portugal.

And what about the best map?

G. M. - I liked the Lithuanian maps a lot.

Talking about your team mate Anton Foliforov, how do you see him? Is he the best MTBO athlete ever? What does he has that you don’t?

G. M. - Anton is, definitely, the strongest MTBO athlete now. He trains a lot and he's really focused on every race. I wish I had his confidence and calmness.

For the last seven years, the Russian Relay team has been composed by Anton Foliforov, Ruslan Gritsan and Valeriy Gluhov. Are you ready to replace one of them already in 2017?

G. M. - I feel ready for the Relay team, but my teammates are also strong and we'll have to wait until 2017 to get an answer to this question.

In the meanwhile, what are your plans for the winter season?

G. M. - My plans are to compete in several SkiO races and to train a lot to be in good shape for the next MTBO season.

Have you some goals already designed for the next season? Would you like to share the biggest one?

G. M. - My biggest goal is, of course, a gold medal in the World MTB Orienteering Championships.

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

SAOC 2016: Maps

Joaquim Margarido

SAOC 2016: Sousa and Loesch won the Middle Distance

Back to Peñuelas Lake, the 2016 South American Orienteering Championships ended in the best way. Good maps and courses in beautiful terrains made the delights of more than four hundred participants and provided to Sidnaldo Farias Sousa and Susen Loesch tasty victories in the Elite category.

The last stage of the 2016 South American Orienteering Championships took place again at the Peñuelas Lake National Reserve, offering to four hundred competitors a Middle Distance scoring for the IOF World Ranking. Again, the victory in the Elite class fell to a Brazilian athlete, with Sidnaldo Farias Sousa (ADAAN) running his course in 36:01. For the third day in a row, the German Felix Späth (s-sport Team SUI) got the second place, finishing two minutes after the winner. The fight for the silver medal in the SAOC 2016 also caught up between two Brazilians, with the young Everton Daniel Markus (COSM) being faster than the “veteran” Leandro Pasturiza (COSAM) by the narrow margin of 5 seconds. Jorge Cifuentes Contreras (FEDEM) was, this time, the best Chilean athlete, finishing in the 9th place with more 13:21 than the winner.

The German Susen Loesch (s-sport Team SUI) got her third victory in the event, although the title of South American Orienteering Champion has been achieved by Franciely Siqueira Chiles (COSM), similar to what happened with the Sprint that opened the event's competitive program. Loesch needed 45:49 to finish her course, with a gap of 3:33 over Chiles and 4:35 over Leticia da Silva Saltori (ADAAN), third placed. In the 2016 South American Youth Orienteering Championships, the Brazilian Vinicius Matheus Wosch (COGA) and João Pedro Jaber (ADAAN) and the Chilean Ximena Hormazabal Ulloa ( APOLINAV) reached their third gold in the M18, M20 and W20 classes, respectively, while the triumph in the W18 class fitted to the Brazilian Samantha Nicolly Tozatto (COGA). After three days of intense fight between the host country and Brazil, the Brazilians managed to get the victory in the 2016 Latin Countries Cup winning, with 118 points overall. Chile was second with 103 points and Uruguay got the third place with 53 points. Argentina, Italy, Venezuela and Guatemala finished the standings.

Results

Men Elite

1. Sidnaldo Farias Sousa (ADAAN) 36:01 (+ 00:00)

2. Felix Späth (s-sport Team SUI) 38:01 (+ 02:00)

3. Everton Daniel Markus (COSM) 41:14 (+ 05:13)

4. Leandro Pasturiza (COSAM) 41:19 (+ 05:18)

5. Carlos Henrique Souza de Araujo (COGA) 44:00 (+ 07:59)

Women Elite

1. Susen Loesch (s-sport Team SUI) 45:49 (+ 00:00)

2. Franciely de Siqueira Chiles (COSM) 49:22 (+ 03:33)

3. Letícia da Silva Saltori (ADAAN) 50:24 (+ 04:35)

4. Denise Campos (ADAAN) 52:31 (+ 06:42)

5. Elaine Dalmares Lenz (ADAAN) 55:15 (+ 09:26)

Complete results and further information at http://www.saoc2016.cl/.

[Photo courtesy of Jose Ángel Nieto Poblete]

Joaquim Margarido