ECTO 2017: Lipica TrailO ends with victories of Madella and Slovák

Remo Madella and Miroslav Slovák were the winners of the PreO stage that ended the Lipica TrailO 2017. After the first round, Remo Madella is the leader of the Unofficial European Cup in Trail Orienteering 2017.

With the PreO stage held this morning, the Lipica TrailO 2017 came to an end. In total there were 70 competitors who accepted the challenge of another stage of great level, with courses signed by Krešo Keresteš, in an organization of OK Trzin. The event took place on the Golf Club Lipica's terrains, offering to the Elite 28 controls and one timed station with two tasks before the start.

After a fourth place in yesterday's TempO stage, the Italian Remo Madella was today the most accurate and also the fastest, finishing in the first position with 28 points and a total of 12 seconds in the timed controls. Madella shared the first place with the Czech Miroslav Slovák, one of the great surprises of this European Cup round, having already been one of the most accurate in the TempO stage yesterday, only penalized by the relatively slow response time, which didn't allow him getting better than the 16th place. The third place went to the Paralympic World Champion of PreO, the Swedish Michael Johansson, with the same points as the winners but with two more seconds in the timed controls. Like the top three, the Swedish Kjell Larsson achieved also a clean race, but he was slower answering to the timed tasks, finishing fourth. Big names in the TrailO World, the Lithuanian Robertas Stankevic, the Czech Pavel Kurfürst, the Swedish Erik Ludkvist, the Croatian Ivica Bertol, the Slovak Ján Furucz, the Italian Michele Cera or the Latvian Janis Rukšans, finished their race with 27 points, getting a place in the top 10. Winner yesterday, the Swedish Lennart Wahlgren finished today in the 18th place with 26 points.

At the end of the first round of the World Cup, Remo Madella is in the lead with 81 points, followed by the Czech Miroslav Slovák and the Swedish Lennart Wahlgren with 62 points and 58 points, respectively. The next round of the Unofficial European Cup in Trail Orienteering will take place in Espoo, Finland, on 29th and 30th April. The FinTrailO will be organized by OK 77 and all information can be found at http://www.ok77.fi/fintrailo/.

Lipica TrailO 2017 PreO stage

Results

1. Remo Madella (Vivaio, ITA) 28 points / 12 seconds

1. Miroslav Slovák (TJ Slavia Hradec Králové, CZE) 28 points / 12 seconds

3. Michael Johansson (Vänersborgs SK, SWE) 28 points / 14 seconds

4. Kjell Larsson (Andrarums IF, SWE) 28 points / 22 seconds

5. Robertas Stankevic (RASKK Vilniaus, LTU) 27 points / 7 seconds

6. Pavel Kurfürst (VŠTJ Stavební fakulta Praha, CZE) 27 points / 9 seconds

6. Erik Lundkvist (HJS-Vansbro OK, SWE) 27 points / 9 seconds

8. Ivica Bertol (OK Vihor Zagreb, CRO) 27 points / 11 seconds

9. Ján Furucz (Farmaceut Bratislava, SVK) 27 points / 13 seconds

10. Michele Cera (A.S.D. Erebus Or. Vicenza, ITA) 27 points / 14 seconds

10. Janis Rukšans (OK Kapa, LAT) 27 points / 14 seconds

Unnoficial European Cup in Trail Orienteering 2017

Standings after round 1

1. Remo Madella (Vivaio, ITA) 81 points

2. Miroslav Slovák (TJ Slavia Hradec Králové, CZE) 61 points

3. Lennart Wahlgren (Rehns BK, SWE) 58 points

4. Iva Lovrec (OK Vihor Zagreb, CRO) 43 points

4. Alessio Tenani (G. S. Forestale, ITA) 43 points

6. Ján Furucz (Farmaceut Bratislava, SVK) 41 points

7. Erik Lundkvist (HJS-Vansbro OK, SWE) 39 points

8. Pavel Kurfürst (VŠTJ Stavební fakulta Praha, CZE) 38 points

9. Michael Johansson (Vänersborgs SK, SWE) 37 points

9. Zoltán Miháczi (TIPO TKE, HUN) 37 points

Complete results from Lipica TrailO 2017 are available at https://www.preoresultat.se/. More information can be seen on the event's webpage, at http://www.oktrzin-klub.si/sl/lipica-trailo.html.

[Archive photo]

Joaquim Margarido

POM 2017: Moments (3)

© Joaquim Margarido

ECTO 2017: Clear victory of Wahlgren in Lipica's first stage

A spotless performance allowed to Lennart Wahlgren be the winner of Lipica TrailO 2017's TempO stage. Getting the second fastest time and being the most accurate in the six timed station meant a superior triumph before a top-level start field.

The fifth edition of the Unofficial European Cup in TrailO kicked off this morning in Lipica, Slovenia. Organized by OK Trzin, with courses designed by Krešo Keresteš, the Lipica TrailO 2017 attracted the attention of 77 competitors from 14 countries, including Swedish Erik Stålnacke, winner of the European Cup in 2015, Slovakian Ján Furucz, winner in 2016, Norwegian Lars Jakob Waaler and Czech Pavel Kurfürst, respectively TempO World Champion and European Champion in 2016, as well as Swedes Martin Fredholm, PreO World Champion (Open Class), Ola Jansson, PreO European Champion (Paralympic Class) and Michael Johansson, PreO World Champion (Paralympic Class).

Having six timed stations with five tasks each, the TempO event was dominated by the Swedish Lennart Wahlgren with all correct answers and the second best time among the 72 Elite competitors. Wahlgren finished his course with the time of 167 seconds (an average slightly over 5.5 seconds per task), against 255 seconds of Croatian Iva Lovrec, one of the greatest surprises of the 2016 World Trail Orienteering Championships, where she achieved the fourth place in the TempO Final. Ranked 4th in the TempO Final of the European Trail Orienteering Championships, Hungarian Zoltán Miháczi finished third with 261 seconds. It should be noted that Miháczi was faster than Lovrec, but the Croatian only missed one task against two wrong answers from the Hungarian.

With very balanced performances (one wrong answer and only nine seconds difference between them), the Italians Remo Madella and Alessio Tenani and the Portuguese Luís Gonçalves occupied the immediate positions by this order. Lars Jakob Waaler was the third fastest competitor, but a disastrous performance in the second timed station, where he missed three tasks, eventually tossing him to the 7th place. Michael Johansson recorded the best time among the Paralympic competitors, ending his performance with 422 seconds (90 seconds of penalty corresponding to three wrong answers) and reaching the 28th place. Robertas Stankevic, Lithuania, Libor Forst, Czech Republic, Marco Giovannini, Italy, or Croatians Ivo Tišljar and Zdenko Horjan showed some lack of preparation at the start of the season, occupying positions in the lower half of the standings.

Results

1. Lennart Wahlgren (Rehns BK, SWE) 167 seconds

2. Iva Lovrec (OK Vihor Zagreb, CRO) 255 seconds

3. Zoltán Miháczi (TIPO TKE, HUN) 261 seconds

4. Remo Madella (VIVAIO, ITA) 284 seconds

5. Alessio Tenani (G.S. Forestale, ITA) 291 seconds

6. Luis Gonçalves (CPOC, POR) 293 seconds

7. Lars Jakob Waaler (Porsgrunn OL, NOR) 297 seconds

8. Ján Furucz (Farmaceut Bratislava, SVK) 298 seconds

8. Juha Hiirsalmi (TuMe, FIN) 298 seconds

10. Martin Fredholm (OK Linné, SWE) 308 seconds

[Archive photo]

Joaquim Margarido

Martin Kronlund: "I always take a map, a compass and a camera"

At a time when, in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Madrid, is about to start the Martin Kronlund Trophy's 27th edition, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog recovers an Interview published this week on the Spanish Orienteering Federation's webpage, reproducing the conversation between the “father” of Spanish Orienteering and Chemari Bustillo, in the role of journalist. Worth reading!

Martin Kronlund is 84. Old in age, but still young, both physically and mentally. Swedish by birth, he feels himself Spanish. “My name is now Martin Kronlund Kronlund”, he laughs, “because I wouldn’t get my passport otherwise”. Since his arrival to Spain, he lives in Madrid, in the heart of the city, something he doesn’t like very much: “Especially now. When I arrived, it was a nice place”, he recalls. That was in 1962, when he moved to Madrid to spend a season working as Fencing teacher and became captive by “the land, the people and their way of living.” Martin Kronlund is a gentleman, observer, sincere and calm. It's quite obvious that he enjoys to be in the forest. For some reason he has been practicing orienteering for more than 70 years, since his father taught him.

In the little Orienteering world he is a guru, a well-known person worldwide. I was supposed to interview him early in the morning, before the race, but he asked me to wait. “My voice in the morning isn't very good”, he argued. He talks brokenly, slowly, and before doing it, he thinks, just like in Orienteering, where you have to think before running. Martin Kronlund loves exchange experiences and the conviviality with people, showing his great sportsmanship nature, something that has been with him all his life. Its physical background lies in the daily “must-be” cross-country skiing, as it was “the only way to go to school”, he says. No doubt it worked and he keeps an excellent physical and mental shape, despite his advanced age.

When and how was born the Martin Kronlund Trophy?

Martin Kronlund (M. K.) -The first edition was in 1988, although I don’t remember how it was born. It was a proposal to my club at that time, the Orienteering Club Adyron. We agreed and accepted the challenge to organize an Orienteering event in Madrid, where it has always been held, it’s a tradition.

How was your arrival to our country?

M. K. - I was working in Stockholm (Sweden), teaching Fencing, but I had something inside me that was encouraging me to move. I saw an advertisement in L'Esgrime, a magazine I used to read, where they were looking for a Fencing teacher in Spain. I didn’t think twice.

It is said that you are the introducer of Orienteering in our country. Is it true?

M. K. - Well, it’s possible. The origin, in a broad sense, isn’t well known, but, as a new sporting discipline, it’s possible that I was responsible for the introduction of Orienteering in Spain.

The truth is that I worked as Fencing teacher in the Spanish Federation, developing my work in the Physical Education National Institute, Madrid, in a beautiful forest. In 1967, I came up with small Orienteering courses in this forest, offering to my students a fun way to practise. I had been practising this sport for years in my country of origin, but in Spain it was unknown. The goal was to train my students phisically and Orienteering was an easy and fun way of doing it. I had a very good relationship with INEF teachers, and they were very happy to have a new sport in Spain.

How has the evolution of this sport been in Spain?

M.K. - It has changed a lot since then, thanks to the work of lots of young people, to formation programs and to the creation of a Federation dedicated exclusively to this sport. All this has made it become something real and well established. In 1971 I contacted a Swedish guy living in Madrid proposing him to make a new map during his Christmas holiday. This was published in 1972 and, according to the International Orienteering Federation, was the starting shot, a real boom. Now there are thousands of orienteers, people who are not dedicated to it professionally, but who trains and strives to consolidate and promote the sport.

What would you say to someone who wants to start in this sport?

M.K. - If someone wants to start, the simplest thing to do is to give me the hand and we'll go together into the forest. With a map and a compass we will learn together to watch it and to discover the secrets it keeps, like when I was a child and I walked in the forest with my father, holding hands.

What's the most important thing: running or thinking?

M.K. - The two things are very important, it depends on the course and the map. There are parts where you can run thinking less and others where you have to go very focused, keeping a low pace. The one who set the course must mix the two types. The most important thing is to keep focused when approaching the feature in which the flag is located; you have to increase your concentration as you approach the control and, in the end, the most important thing is not let that physical exhaustion stops you thinking: a mistake under these circumstances can be the cause of a bad result.

In this sport you have a goal to achieve. Each one chooses the way. When you reach the goal, you immediately set another, and so on. Depending on the character, some arrive faster and others slow down, there are some that are passed and others don't arrive, even others that aren't able to meet all goals. Don't you think Orienteering is very similar to people's life?

M.K. - What a beautiful observation! Orienteering is like life, life is like Orienteering ... I had never thought about it; it's true, you're right... like the lives of people ... In addition, the one who passes, loses control. There are people who prefer the binomial map-compass and others choosing map-legs.

What do you have in that backpack you always carry on your shoulder?

M.K. - I always take a map, a compass and a camera. I like to photograph highlights, special elements, interesting elements of the forest that I can use later in my presentations on course setting to propose control points where to put a flag. I also like to take photos of the orienteers, the children, all of you... By the way, wait a moment ... Well, I also have a chocolate (laughs), in case of burn out...!

The original Interview can be seen at http://www.fedo.org/web/ficheros/noticias/2017/2017-Entrevista-Chemari-Martin.pdf.

Joaquim Margarido

POM 2017: Moments (2)

© Joaquim Margarido