JWOC 2013 – Middle Distance Qualification.

A sunny warm day saw some great competition and some fantastic results from the Aussies. The qualification round of the middle sees athletes divided into three groups in both Mens and Womens. Results showed tight competition with the top 20 athletes from each group qualifying for the A final with the next third the B final, and the final third the C Final. The Aussie supporters and athletes themselves were nervously waiting for the late starters to finish to determine just how many Aussie team members would make it to the A. At one stage we had 7 of our team contenders to run the A tomorrow which was a fantastic effort!!

When all had finished, some were disappointed and others elated as six of our team made the top 25 with 3 Heather (20th), Andrew (19th) and Oscar (19th) making the A final and 4 others so very, very close, but relegated to the B final; Olle (25th), Ian (22nd), Lanita (22nd) and Brodie (21st), just 1 second between him and an A final berth. Jacqui (31st) and Mary (34th) will also start in B final tomorrow. Matt (46th), Michele (48th), and Nicola (45th) will all run in the C Final.

Team thoughts about their runs;

Nicola – Happy how I coped with first two controls considering I was first starter. I then messed up number 3 and the more girls I saw, I was thinking of how slow I must have been. I hope to redeem myself tomorrow.

Matt – One large mistake and a little sloppy. I lost a bit of motivation after that.

Ian – Reached a new level of disappointment from yesterday. I have my hopes set for relay though!

Jacqui – Happy with my run except for a 5 minute mistake on 3. I knew I wouldn’t then make the A final but happy and proud of myself for pushing through the later part of my course.

Mary – My run could have been a little cleaner but I hit most controls well. I wasn’t feeling 100% at start but pretty happy. It was not my best result but I am OK with it.

Andrew – It was heard that last night Andrew exclaimed that he still had heaps of energy after the long so can’t have pushed himself enough and that is why when everyone else was resting, he decided he needed to use some energy and go to Tesco nearby. He stated that in the Middle he would need to run fast! That is exactly what he did and by finishing in 19th place in his group, he will run fast in tomorrows A final as well!

Olle – Disappointing! However, focus is now on the sprint and a relay top ten position, which is why I am not running B final tomorrow.

Brodie – Pretty good start and smooth through the first, even though hard to run. Caught a guy from Croatia once I got over the cliffs and I had strong attack points, nailing most of those controls except one. Coming out of 8, in the green, my foot went down a hole smashing my knee on a rock. Lost 1 minute and wasn’t sure if I could keep going but tried. I had no plan for the next control but chose a good route and nailed navigation from then on. A French guy chasing me down made my adrenaline kick in and I finished strongly in 10th and thought I may have a chance to hold on but ended with 21st, 1 second off A Final.

Michele – C Final tomorrow.

Lanita – Very happy, lost about a minute on 1st controls so had to regain focus and had a good run. Finished in 15th, dropping to 22nd, just missing A final.

Heather – Really, really happy. Good race plan. Started well and confidently. Made a small mistake at 5 and thought it may have cost me the A final so I pushed hard over the next few controls to make up some time, then I was quite cautious to the end but made it through Ya!! I was very nervous watching the board as I dropped in placings but managed to hold on to 20th.

Oscar – Pretty good race. We were told from the managers meeting last night that there had been recent selective tree cutting in the first section of the courses. This was different then to what we expected. I made a mistake on the recently logged part and lost a little time and struggled to get back. Good though through the middle section and good enough to get through to the A Final.