WMOC 2016: Double victory for Switzerland in the Long Distance

Matthias Kyburz and Sarina Jenzer got the gold in the second day of the 49th World Military Orienteering Championships. In the Team Competition, Switzerland and Russia were the winners.

Following his victory in the Long Distance race of the 49th World Military Orienteering Championships, Matthias Kyburz got his second gold medal in a row. Again a comfortable triumph, fulfilling the 13,1 km of his course in 1:12:05. Frederic Tranchand, France, finished second, with more 3:15 than Kyburz. The Estonian Timo Sild closed the podium, near five minutes after the winner. Sidnaldo Farias de Sousa, Brazil, was the house team's best athlete, finishing 16th in a race that was attended by 144 competitors.

Second placed in the Middle Distance, Sarina Jenzer upgraded her standings and reached a near two-minute victory. The fight for the silver was really tough, with the Austrian Ursula Kadan being second, just one second ahead of the Russian Natalia Efimova, the Middle Distance winner, and six seconds before Yulia Novikova, Russia. The Brazilian Leticia Saltori, performed quite impressively, finishing in the 9th position with more 8:02 than Jenzer.

After the Middle Distance and the Long Distance stages, the Team competition's final standings are known and the Switzerland won the Men competition (4 best in the Middle + 4 best in the Long), before Russia and Poland, second and third placed, respectively. Russia got the win in the Women competition (3 best in the Middle + 3 best in the Long), with Poland being second and Switzerland finishing third. Brazil got the 9th position in the Men competition and reached the 6th place in the Women.

Results

Long Distance

Men

1. Matthias Kyburz (Switzerland) 1:12.05 (+ 00:00)
2. Frederic Tranchand (France) 1:15.20 (+ 03:15)
3. Timo Sild (Estonia) 1:17.04 (+ 04:59)
3. Florian Howald (Switzerland) 1:17.04 (+ 04:59)
5. Leonid Novikov (Russia) 1:18.25 (+ 06:20)
6. Hubmann Martin (Switzerland) 1:18.43 (+ 06:38)

Women

1. Sarina Jenzer (Switzerland) 57:41 (+ 00:00)

2. Ursula Kadan (Austria) 59:38 (+ 01:57)

3. Natalia Efimova (Russia) 59:39 (+ 01:58)

4. Yulia Novikova (Russia) 59:44 (+ 02:03)

5. Elena Roos (Switzerland) 1:01:42 (+ 04:01)

6. Svetlana Mironova (Russia) 1:03:40 (+ 05:59)

Team competition

Men

1. Switzerland 7:35:36 (+ 00:00)

2. Russia 7:41:52 (+ 06:16)

3. Poland 8:16:33 (+ 40:58)

Women

1. Russia 4:37:35 (+ 00:00)

2. Poland 5:08:16 (+ 30:41)

3. Switzerland 5:16:56 (+ 39:21)

[Photo: cism-orienteering.com]

Joaquim Margarido

Erik Rost: "I should be able to fight for the gold"

Overall winner of the Ski Orienteering World Cup last season and current leader of the IOF World Ranking, Erik Rost is our invited today. Here he talks about a successful season and looks forward to the next one, with the WSOC gold on the horizon.

Congratulations on your season and your World Cup winning overall. Did you expect it?

Erik Rost (E. R.) - Thanks a lot. I knew I had a big chance to win but you have to perform well for the whole season to win. Even if you know that you are strong it’s not just to ski the race to win. You must be focused, offensive and willing to push yourself hard every race to have a good result.

Was 2015/2016 your best season so far?

E. R. - It was a great season and I was better trained then before but also 2008 I won the overall World Cup. The best along the season was of course the overall World Cup title. It was my big goal. The worst was the Long Distance of ESOC. I simple made all mistakes in one race but the race after I got revenge. We won the relay after many years!

What one or two things you did in your training that were keys to your success?

E. R. - Continuity.

We can see that the fight for top positions is, nowadays, quite hard and names like Lamov, Belomazhev, Khrennikov, Moholdt or Nordberg made the start field during the last season one of the strongest ever. What things do you believe differentiates you from your closest opponents?

E. R. - Last year I had the highest lowest level even if Moholdt was very close.

A new season is about to start and the natural question is: Are you ready?

E. R. - I have prepared well and done what me and my coach think is good. I combined my sport with half time work so mostly of the time I spend at home in Falun training with Dalarna Sports Academy, but one week every month I go for a training camp.

What is your biggest challenge currently and what are you doing to manage this challenge?

E. R. - My biggest challenge is to get enough specific ski-o training. I plan to go many ski-o races to get good orienteering training and also go for some training camps with specific ski-o training.

What are your goals for the 2016/2017 season? Are we going to see you, finally, getting the gold in the World SkiO Championships?

E. R. - My goal is to perform on top at WSOC and if you look at the results from last years I should be able to fight for the gold.

Widening the scope of our talk, how do you see the Ski Orientering's present moment? Are we going in the right way?

E. R. - I think IOF is doing a good work and I know it's many people working hard to develop ski-o. Winters lack of snow it’s not good for the sport but it’s a wonderful sport and if we just can get more people to try it we will be more practitioners because it’s impossible to not like ski-o a great winter day. I’m not absolutely satisfied about the new programme for WSOC. Especially the idea to develop and introduce new distances for the championship only to make it more interesting for the spectators. We must think about the base of the sport also and try and evaluate new disciplines before introducing them in championship’s. I think todays programme is very good.

And what about the effort to become the sport more media-friendly? Do you think it's the key for the Olympics?

E. R. - Maybe. It’s difficult to say how we should do to join the Olympics. Another questions is if we want to join? Money destroys the sport. So far we have only a few known cases with doping or cheating and it’s because not so many people have money to earn from good results. It means for mostly of the athletes in ski-o it’s genuine love for the sport is the impulsion. Of course I sometimes dreaming of live (earn money) of the sport and it’s easier to develop the sport if we have big sponsors etc. but will it be better?

In the beginning of a new season, I would ask you to make a wish to all orienteers and, in particular, to those addicted to SkiO.

E. R. - Enjoy the winter. Now it’s the best time for orienteering ;)

[Photo: Donatas Lazauskas / facebook.com/orienteering.lt]

Joaquim Margarido

WMOC 2016: First gold to Matthias Kyburz and Natalia Efimova

Switzerland and Russia were the prevailing colours on the podiums of the Middle Distance race that opened the World Military Orienteering Championships, taking place in Brazil for the fifth time in 49 editions. Stronger than their opponents, Matthias Kyburz and Natalia Efimova reached the first gold of the Championships.

With the Middle Distance stage filing in the program, started in the Region of the Lakes, 200 kilometres east of Rio de Janeiro, the 49th edition of the World Military Orienteering Championships WMOC 2016. São Pedro D 'Aldeia, Armação de Búzios and Arraial do Cabo are the epicenter of an event coordinated by the Brazilian Military Sports Commission and the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, under the aegis of CISM - International Council of Military Sport.

The Men's race was attended by 149 athletes and had in the Swiss Matthias Kyburz the great winner. In a real jungle orienteering, the current World Champion of Middle Distance knew how to manage his race in the best way, reaching the finish with the time of 31:23. Returning to the big international events after a long break, the Russian Leonid Novikov got the second position, 1:13 after the winner. Martin Hubmann, Switzerland, was ranked third, followed by the Russians Valentin Novikov and Dmitrii Tsvetkov. The Brazilian Sidnaldo Farias de Sousa gave the note of sensation by finishing in the 10th position with more 4:05 than Kyburz.

Russia and Switzerland returned to be the main forces in the female competition, filling entirely the podium. Natalia Efimova, Russia, was the fastest, finishing with the time of 30:32 and a 44-second lead over the second-placed Sarina Jenzer, Switzerland. The Russian Yulia Novikova got thr 3rd place with the time of 31:47 and a six-second advantage over the fourth placed, Ursula Kadan, Austria. In a race that counted 55 competitors, the best Brazilian athlete was Letícia Saltori, in the 13th place, with 7:03 more than the winner. Franciely Chiles also joined the top 20, finishing in the 18th place.

Results

Men

1. Matthias Kyburz (Switzerland) 31:23 (+ 00:00)

2. Leonid Novikov (Russia) 32:36 (+ 01:13)

3. Martin Hubmann (Switzerland) 33:14 (+ 01:51)

4. Valentin Novikov (Russia) 33:19 (+ 01:56)

5. Dmitri Tsvetkov (Russia) 33:26 (+ 02:03)

6. Sander Vaher (Estonia) 34:46 (+ 03:23)

Women

1. Natalia Efimova (Russia) 30:32 (+ 00:00)

2. Sarina Jenzer (Switzerland) 31:16 (+ 00:44)

3. Yulia Novikova (Russia) 31:41 (+ 01:09)

4. Ursula Kadan (Austria) 31:47 (+ 01:15)

5. Svetlana Mironova (Russia) 32:19 (+ 01:47)

6. Elena Roos (Switzerland) 32:38 (+ 02:06)

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

[Photo: WMOC 2016 / facebook.com/wmoc2016BR/photos/]

Joaquim Margarido

NZ MTBO Champs 2016: Robinson and Søgaard on top again

Repeating the achievements of the opening day, Angus Robinson and Camilla Søgaard were the big winners of the Long Distance stage that closed the 2016 New Zealand MTB Orienteering Championships. The event took place in Tokoroa with the presence of 103 athletes in the 14 competitive classes and 21 participants in two recreational classes.

The Long Distance stage put an ending to the 2016 New Zealand MTB Orienteering Championships. The races took place at Cougar MTB park, Tokoroa, in a superb two way dry pine needle trails, with some great route choice legs. For Keith Dawson, from Great Britain, “a fantastic way to end the season”, as for the more than one hundred participants who headed Roturoa for a great weekend.

In the Men Open class, Angus Robinson got his third victory in a row, after an exciting shoulder to shoulder with Tom Spencer and Gene Beveridge. Robinson was able to get the lead in the first part of the race, but a two-and-a-half-minute mistake on his way to the 11th control allowed to Beveridge to take the command for the next nine controls. Close to the finish, in a moment where every single mistake counts, the difference between the three competitors was of 41 seconds. Once again, Robinson was stronger in the last controls and took a good advantage of a faulty Beveridge, to win with the time of 1:54:30. Spencer and Beveridge got the immediate places, 34 seconds and 2:30 after the winner, respectively.

As for the Women Open class, Camilla Søgaard got the lead in the first control and managed to preserve it along the course to finish with near four-and-a-half-minute advantage over Marquita Gelderman, second placed. Georgia Skelton was third, 9:52 after the winner. While celebrating her third victory in the 2016 NZ MTBO Champs [see photo], Camilla Søgaard wrote on her Facebook page: “Thanks to the organizer for a really good week with some interesting and fun courses!” Also Angus Robinson shared some thoughts in his Facebook page: “Well worth the trip over to New Zealand to take out 1st place in all three races, exceptionally good trails and event organising as well as some tough competitors to race against, hope they can make to Australia at some point.”

One last word to the World Masters Series, that had here its first round of the 2017 season, with the Sprint, yesterday, and today's Long Distance. Leigh Privett and Yett Gelderman were the M/W70 classes' winners in both stages. Jacqui Sinclair did the same in the W60 class, while Rob Garden won the Long Distance and Richard Robinson was the best in the Sprint, in the M60 class. In the M/W50 class, David King and Angela Brand-Barker got the victories, both in the Sprint and the Long Distance. Finally, in the M40 class, Brent Simpson was the winner in both stages, and in the W40 class Eric Swanson won the Sprint stage and the victory in the Long Distance went to Tamsin Barnes.

Results

Men Open

1. Angus Robinson OTH 1:54:30 (+ 00:00)

2. Tom Spencer TK 1:55:04 (+ 00:34)

3. Gene Beveridge NW 1:57:004 (+ 02:30)

4. Neil Kerrison BP 2:13:51 (+ 19:21)

5. Tom Hambrook BP 2:31:49 (+ 37:19)

Women Open

1. Camilla Søgaard OTH 1:41:56 (+ 00:00)

2. Marquita Gelderman NW 1:46:207 (+ 04:24)

3. Georgia Skelton CM 1:51:48 (+ 09:52)

4. Rachel Smith BP 2:00:58 (+ 19:02)

5. Sarah Gilkison NC 2:08:20 (+ 26:24)

Complete results and further information at http://www.mtbochamps.nz/.

[Photo: Camilla Søgaard / Facebook.com]

Joaquim Margarido

Aguiar da Beira O' Meeting 2017: Rain of Stars in the Centre of Portugal

Three events, two scoring stages for the IOF World Rankings and one of the most spectacular terrains for practicing Orienteering. Such are the ingredients of the 2017 Aguiar da Beira Orienteering Meeting 2017, an event that will attract to the Centre of Portugal the best of the best in the World.

Three years after the 3rd Mediterranean Championships in Orienteering, Aguiar da Beira prepares to host another important international Orienteering event. On the 4th and 5th March 2017, the Clube de Orientação de Estarreja will return to Aguiar da Beira with the offer of another great Orienteering event. To the recognized organizational capacity of the oldest Portuguese Orienteering Club is added the excellence of the moderately-hilly terrains of this municipality of the Centre of Portugal, promising a competitive journey at the highest level.

Consisting of a Middle Distance stage, an urban Sprint and a Long Distance stage - the first two scoring for the IOF World Rankings -, the Aguiar da Beira O 'Meeting 2017 will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the sport's winter season. The forest stages will take place in maps never before navigated, with the quality label of the cartographers Janne Weckman and Timo Joensuu, and the courses will be signed by Bruno Nazário, Diogo Miguel, António Amador, Rui Oliveira and Daniel Silva, ensuring high technical challenges and competitive intensity.

Orienteering for all

The first athletes start to enter the event and it's expected that the one-thousand-participant's barrier will be easily reached. The fact that the event takes place a few days after the Portugal O' Meeting - the biggest event of the Portuguese calendar (!) - will allow to capitalize on the presence in Portugal of the “cream” of the World of Orienteering. With thirteen world titles in the curriculum, the French Thierry Gueorgiou has already expressed his willingness to compete once again in Aguiar da Beira and, for sure, many other great names will join him.

Even if your knowledge of the sport is quite small, come to know the Orienteering in a fantastic space and step the field side by side with its biggest stars. The organization has a well-prepared staff that will be pleased to help all the beginners, introducing you to the challenging art of navigation with a map and a compass in your hands. All information at http://abom2017.ori-estarreja.pt/en/.

Joaquim Margarido