15 Australians will take part in the sprint final at the World Masters Orienteering Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, after today’s qualification race. It was a day for the runners, with relatively straightforward courses in a docklands redevelopment, in the midst of occasional rain.

Australia’s best medal chance tomorrow is probably Natasha Key, who was the second-fastest qualifier in W40 behind former Finnish national team runner Yvonne Gunell. She leads a three-strong Australian contingent in the A final, with Jenny Casanova and Clare Hawthorne also making it through. Three M55s also made it through, with A final regulars Tim Hatley and Warren Key being joined by Phil Walker.

Geoff Lawford and Ted van Geldermalsen, both of whom have reasonable top-ten prospects, will start successively in M60, and Jo Allison is another who will hope for a single-digit placing after qualifying seventh in W35.

Other Australian qualifiers are Simon Rouse (M35), Dion Keech and Blair Trewin (M40), Liz Abbott (W55), Libby Meeking (W65) and Ann Ingwersen (W70).

Event information, including (probably) live results, is available via the WMOC website. The finals start on Monday at 1000 CET (1800 in eastern Australia), with most A finals between 1200 and 1400.