Sondre Ruud Bråten: "I love to win!"

With the bronze medal achieved in his first presence in a World Championship, Sondre Ruud Bråten exploded from unknown to a Trail Orienteering star in a blink of an eye. Today, he recalls the glorious journey of Zagreb and reveals some ambitious goals for the future.

Let’s start by an easy question: Who is Sondre Ruud Bråten?

Sondre Ruud Bråten (S. R. B.) - Yeah, I’m 24 years old, born and raised in Jessheim, north of Oslo. Now I live in Oslo and I’m 100% Elite TrailO athlete, working as a substitute teacher and orienteering coach in Nydalens SK.

When did you find out that your future would be the TrailO?

S. R. B. - As both my parents were passionate about the sport, I can say I was born into orienteering. For the upgrade to TrailO I have to blame my brother, Vetle. We were injured at the same time, and Vetle tried TrailO at Norwegian Spring 2014, reaching the 5th place in the first day. On the second day I wanted to show Vetle that I would be the best, and managed to win the course. As a competitive person, I love to win. So, I continued.

What do you see in this discipline that makes it so special?

S. R. B. - The fact that all the competitors have the same possibility to manage the course, disable or not, is amazing! And that I’m good!

It's quite unusual to see a newcomer reaching the podium in our discipline, but you managed to do so in the World Trail Orienteering Championships 2015, achieving an impressive third place in the TempO. How did you do that? Did you expect it?

S. R. B. - My map reading skills are quite good after years of orienteering at a good level. I’m also able to stay calm in stressed situations and answer really quick. Even though. I didn’t expect the 3rd place at all . My goal was to fight for a top 10, on a good day, so the bronze felt as gold for me.

Why aren't you that good in PreO?

S. R. B. - My lack of patience is my biggest weakness in PreO, but I have managed some good PreO competitions as well.

What does it mean to be a Trail orienteer in Norway?

S. R. B. - You’re either: old, nerd or super cool. I am super cool.

How do you see the present moment of Trail orienteering? Are we going in the right way?

S. R. B. - Yes, I think so. As a youngster, my plan is to make it cool for the kids! We need to bring the average age down.

We don't see as many youngsters doing Trail Orienteering as we would like. Why is Trail orienteering a less participated discipline? Is it a question of lack of promotion, is it kind of bias (always the wrong idea that TrailO is for disabled people), what is it?

S. R. B. - There is clearly a misunderstanding that PreO is just for the disabled or old guys. My goal is to make TrailO super cool for the youngsters.

In the beginning of a new season, which are your main goals?

S. R. B. - My goal is to qualify for the Norwegian team in both TempO and PreO and fight for a medal in the TempO and Relay.

Now that 2017 is here, would you like to share your biggest wish?

S. R. B. - My biggest wish is to be famous.

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

The 2016 Trail Orienteering Season

The two most prestigious TrailO events in 2016, the European Championships and the World Championships, provided both novelties and surprises. We had the first use of an electronic validation system at the European Championships, the first ever participation of an African country in the World Championships and the new TrailO Relay format, which replaced the Team Competition. Among the surprises were the increasing number of young competitors enjoying success in this discipline, and Slovakia and Italy taking the European and World titles respectively in the TrailO Relay and successfully challenging the general Scandinavian dominance.

Both of the top events, the European Championships at Jeseník in the Czech Republic and the World Championships at Strömstad in Sweden, caught the attention of all TrailO addicts and brought to the forefront a new group of young athletes who are already beginning to make their mark. Jorge Valente, Spain, Johanne Biering and Karoline Saxtorph Schulz, both from

Denmark, Tereza Miklusova, Slovakia, Iva Lovrec, Croatia and Daniel Locker, Czech Republic are young athletes with great potential who are taking their first steps in this discipline.

At the age of 19, Iva Lovrec was fourth in the TempO Final in the World Championships, while Karoline Saxtorph Schulz, just 15 years old, was the best Danish competitor in PreO in the Open Class. And what about Daniel Locker? Second placed in his TempO qualifying heat, he finished the final in twelfth place, ahead of many of TrailO’s greatest names. And all this at the

age of 13!

New format and new technology

At the end of May in Jeseník, Czech Republic, the European Championships brought the great novelty of an electronic validation system, used for the first time in international competition with the approval of the IOF. Although there is much still to be refined, the speed of publication of the results and the chance to follow the progress of the competition online were great steps forward in the presentation of the event.

The other great novelty was in the competition programme, and it had a very positive impact. Replacing the Team Competition that has been held since 2004, the TrailO Relay proved to be a thrilling new format. It has a fascinating strategic component and brings fresh dynamism to this discipline. The final results saw Remo Madella, Michele Cera and Alessio Tenani take the European title in the Open Class for Italy, while in the Paralympic Class the favourites Sweden were the winners, the team consisting of Inga Gunnarsson, Michael Johansson and Ola Jansson.

In the TempO competition there was a tight fight between the Czech Pavel Kurfürst and the Norwegian Martin Jullum, with the penultimate task at the last station proving fatal to Jullum’s hopes. In the end, just eight seconds separated the two contenders, with Kurfürst achieving the first-ever gold medal for the Czech Republic in a European TrailO Championships. Sweden dominated the PreO competition, winning four out of the six medals. In the Paralympic Class Ola Jansson got a clear win over Michael Johansson, with the Ukrainian Vladislav Vovk - World Champion in 2015 - having to settle for the bronze medal. In the Open Class Stig Gerdtman was the winner with his team-mate Jens Andersson finishing in third place. Second-placed Martin Jullum finished with the same points total as the winner, but getting four of the six timed control tasks wrong resulted in him missing his goal of the gold medal, in the year in which he announced his farewell to top competition.

Swedes dominated at home

The month of August was heading towards its end when the ‘cream’ of world Trail Orienteering assembled in Strömstad, Sweden. The Europeans were joined by competitors from Hong Kong, Japan, the United States and, for the first time in the history of the Championships, also an African country, Egypt. Using the same competition plan as at the European Championships, 114 athletes fought for the world titles in PreO, TempO and TrailO Relay.

Kicking-off the Championships, the TempO competition had as its great winner the Norwegian Lars Jakob Waaler. After a weak performance in his qualifying heat, he was the fastest and most accurate of the 36 finalists, reaching his first gold medal ever in the World Championships in 13 attempts; he has competed in every World TrailO Championships up to now. The Swede Marit Wiksell and the Finn Pinja Mäkinen took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Ten years after winning the world title in Finland, Martin Fredholm managed to get a tasty home victory in the PreO Open Class. After eight competitors had achieved a full points score at the end of the first day, Fredholm showed his ‘nerves of steel’ on the day of reckoning, being the only competitor in this super-elite group to repeat a clean race. In the Paralympic Class, Michael Johansson was able to pull back a two-point disadvantage from the Russian Pavel Shmatov, both finishing the competition with the same score, but with the best performance on the timed controls earning Johansson his second world title in the last three years.

Kept for the last day, the TrailO Relay had 18 Open and 9 Paralympic teams competing for the medals. Repeating the excellent performance that earned them the European title, Inga Gunnarsson, Ola Jansson and Michael Johansson were the big winners in the Paralympic Class, beating the Ukrainians and Finns, second and third ranked respectively. The big surprises were in the Open Class, with the Nordic favourites well beaten by the extraordinary performances of Marián Mikluš, Dušan Furucz and Ján Furucz, who gave Slovakia the first gold medal in its history. Portugal’s second place was also historic, its best ever Orienteering result in a World Championships.

Text and photo: Joaquim Margarido

[See the original article at http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/orienteering-world-webb.pdf. Published with permission from the International Orienteering Federation]

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

Samson Deriaz: "I can't wait to race in the Elite"

With a gold medal and a silver one on his chest, Samson Deriaz was one of the stars of the last Junior World MTB Orienteering Championships. This is the main topic of the interview to the Portuguese Orienteering Blog, adding a set of important details that define him as an athlete and as a person.

The season is over and it's time for a well-deserved rest. How do you feel?

Samson Deriaz (S. D.) - I feel really happy about my season, it was the best in term of results so far. I managed to have good races during the French selections and mostly at the open races organized during the World Cup in Alsace. So I felt strong and self-confident when leaving to Portugal and I think it helped me to race the way I did. The results I got in Portugal have been the perfect ending of the season, and it was an amazing time!

Do you still feel the excitement of being on top of the podium listening “La marseillaise”? How was that day? Let me guess: You wake up and you said to yourself: “It's gold time!”

S. D. - No, I hadn't planned to win this gold medal, even if I wished so. But my state of mind before the race was good and I was motivated and really focused on what I had to do. We listened good music on the way to the course and I think it helped me to be focused. And it was a wonderful feeling to win this race and to be on the top of the podium. I was only 3 seconds faster than Sauli Pietikainen so I was very thankful about winning and I said to myself “At last I achieved this medal!” because it was my first individual one in an international Championships. And I have to say that the “Marseillaise” time, with all the French team singing with me, was really strong and emotional.

After the gold medal, you reached the silver in the Long Distance ...

S. D. - Before leaving to Portugal, I knew my shape was good, as well as my orienteering skills. So my goal was to bring back, at least, one individual medal and another in the relay because, in my opinion, our team was quite strong. But two individual medals, including a gold one, has been more than I could expect. I still have been disappointed about our fifth place in the relay because I think we could have been better.

How boring life can be without Orienteering?

S. D. - For me, Orienteering is a way to make each sport more interesting and more exciting. So, even if I also like to practice MTB or running without orienteering, it's always funnier with a map !

How did you meet MTBO and what do you see in this discipline that makes it so special?

S. D. - I started to practice Foot orienteering when I was a child, and I also used to practice MTB with my father and with friends, but not very often. I think I was ten when I took part in my first MTBO race and I did it because my club needed someone for a relay. After that, as I had enjoyed it, I continued and I finally practised more and more MTBO and less and less FootO. What I like in MTBO is that it makes us able to join MTB and orienteering in the same sport. I also love the speed, the excitement of the races and the total focus that we must keep. And of course, I also love the friendship between riders !

I would ask you about your training routine.

S. D. - I live in Lyon because of my studies, and I'm in the High Level Sport section of INSA, my Engineering School. This section allows us to have lots of time to train and to compete (we do the two first years of the school in three years) and offers us the opportunity to see a mental coach and an osteopath. So I train mostly around Lyon, and mostly on road bike. Baptiste Fuchs is my coach since the Summer of 2014, so he helps me to train cleverly on the physical part. I use to train between five and seven times a week, with intensity, sprint or long bike sessions, but also all body trainings.

What are your most valuable skills? What part do you work the most?

S. D. - With the help of Baptiste, I had a huge physical progression during the two past seasons, so I think I can say it is my greatest strength. The mental and technical parts are my weakness, but I saw the mental coach of my school section last year and it helped me a lot to avoid more mistakes and to be more focused. Yet, I still have a lot to improve and I will keep working this part of our sport, even if, for now, I almost only train physically during the week.

I'm sure that you’re following the big events and all the Elite athletes along the season. What moments / athletes impressed you the most? Is there an athlete which is an inspiration for you?

S. D. - Of course I follow their results ! And I can't wait to race in the Elite on the World Cups. I take inspiration from all the French athletes, but Cédric Beill is for me the most impressive and his four gold medals in 2014 show how strong he is. I'm always impressed about is ability to make the right choices during the race.

Did you already start to prepare the next season?

S. D. - We already had a training weekend with the French team with a meeting to explain how we will be selected for the Summer competitions. And I also restarted to train, but not just on bike. I run, swim and do all body trainings.

You still have one year in the Junior category. What are your goals for 2017?

S. D. - For my last year in Junior category, my goal is to get at least the same results as last year, both in the World Championships and in the European Championships.

Would you like to share with us your biggest wish?

S. D. - My goal is to join the French Elite team and to get a medal in this category. A gold one would be fine!

Joaquim Margarido