NSW Stinger and ACTAS athlete, Julian Dent, finished 2007 on top of the Australian Elite Rankings list for the first time.  Dent’s impressive performance at the World Championships in Ukraine contributed to his leading ranking margin of over 600 points.  In the strong men’s field at WOC, Dent made 2 finals, and was only 71 seconds behind the World Champion in the Sprint Final.  Dent demonstrated his class by winning the main 3 days at Easter, and then returning to Australia late in the season to dominate all disciplines at the Oceania Championships.  ACTAS’s David Shepherd and Rob Walter completed the top 3.

TIS’s Hanny Allston led the women’s ranking list again in 2007, as she did in 2005 and 2006.  All of Allston’s top five ranking scores came from the World Championships, where she now holds her own against the best orienteers in the world.  This also highlights Allston’s focus on peaking at the right time of the year for the biggest races.  Grace Elson (TIS) made the most of her opportunities in Allston’s absence to win several domestic races including the Oceania Championships, and take a hold on the second ranking place.  Jo Allison (ACTAS) was ranked in the top three, as she has done so for the past seven years now.

It was no surprise that Simon Uppill (SASI) topped the junior men’s rankings.  On top of his brilliant JWOC races, Uppill also impressed at elite level in 2007, making the top 5 of the senior elite list.  Louis Elson and Kieran Sullivan had probably their best years to make the top three.

Like Uppill, Vanessa Round (SASI) won the junior women ranking by a large margin.  Round exceeded most people’s expectations in Dubbo, and was also more than competitive in many elite races.  Heather Harding and Rachel Effeney completed the placings.

Full ranking details for M/W 17-20E and 21E are available from the Rankings link on left hand side of the Orienteering Australia page.