After all the excitement of the Middle- and Long-distance qualification races, Monday is a well-earned rest day for the athletes at WOC. The adrenaline will start flowing again on Tuesday when the Sprint Qualifications and Finals are held.

Seconds can mean everything, as several athletes discovered in the qualification races. Australian Anna Sheldon ran an intelligent race in the Long-distance to qualify in 14th place for the Final just 0.7sec ahead of Briton Jenny Whitehead. In the same heat Russian Julia Novikova strolled up the long finish shute and missed qualification by 2.1sec.

In another heat, top Chinese women’s track athlete Mingyue Zhu qualified for the Final in 15th place.

French Middle-distance “King”, Thierry Gueorgiou seems very likely to retain his WOC crown – his fourth title in a row. Simone Niggli-Luder (Switzerland) seems set to dominate all womens’ Finals but she could well be challenged by Finns Heli Jukkola and Minna Kauppi who are in great form.

The terrain is fast with complex gully formations and areas of thick vergetation. High running speed in the open areas makes over-running controls a real possibility so intense concentration is going to be the requirement for success. Provided they can keep their cool the quick runners will dominate.

Australians Hanny Allston and Anna Sheldon are in good form and we’ll be watching their Finals performances closely as the WOC week progresses.