The annual Tiomila relay was held in Sweden on the weekend. 1228 teams competed in the technical terrain near Eskilstuna.
In the women’s relay there was a surprise victory by Stockholm club SOIK Hellas after a superb final leg by Tanya Ryabkina saw them overhaul Simone Niggli (Ulricehamns OK). Niggli went out in the lead but made mistakes early and struggled home in ninth place. Cassie Trewin ran a good fourth leg for the Baekkelaget second team picking up 28 places.
The men’s relay saw Halden recover from being nearly 10 minutes down after the first leg. By the fifth leg they had regained the lead after an excellent run by Tore Sandvik put them nearly 5 minutes ahead. From then on they were never seriously threatened and Emil Wingstedt could run a relatively relaxed final leg to give Halden yet another Tiomila win.
David Shepherd, running for Goteborg Majorna OK, and Troy De Haas, running for Rasti Kurikka, anchored their respective teams to solid results finishing 22nd and 24th. Malungs OK with Rob Walter running first and Julian Dent running seventh split Dave and Troy’s teams’ coming 23rd. Julian put in a solid performance in his first Tiomila recording the 20th fastest time. Reuben Smith ran first leg for his club, Nybro OK.
Orienteering Australia is pleased to announce that Annika Östman who is based in Göteborg in western Sweden will take on the very important role as massage therapist at WOC in Kiev in August.
The second of the Australian overseas WOC trials was held on Saturday at the elite series races in southern Sweden. This time it was a long distance race over 15 Km and Rob Walter once again finished on top with a very well placed 8th place in elite 2, only 6 minutes down on winner who happens to be ranked 15th in Sweden. It was an extremely good result over the tough course in very rocky terrain. Reuben Smith also had a terrific race and finished only 3 minutes down and included a win on the final split into the finish! David Shepherd who has struggled to shrug off his jet lag during the week found the physical ask tough, and tired after around 2/3rds of the race but too his credit kept at it and finished a further 10 minutes down on Reuben. Results here.
Elite series was also held on Sunday as a middle distance race but this was not a WOC trial race. However, Rob Walter is going from strength to strength and led from the 4th control all the way home posting a fantastic win by 35 seconds in elite 2. Dave Shepherd bounced back strongly from the day before and finished 3rd, 48 seconds down on Rob. Reuben found the going a little tougher after backing up from the long race the day before and was approx.7 minutes down on Rob. As with the previous day, the courses were very well set and the 6 Km race had a good mixture of control picking and even route choice. Results here.
Running the Stigtomkavlen relay in the middle of Sweden, Julian Dent also showed impressive form on 2nd last leg for his club Malung and pulled up his team from 12th to 6th and recorded the best time on his split. Julian then followed up with a tough long race the day after but one or two mistakes along the way meant that he was a little down on the winner.
Finally in Finland, Troy de Haas got to experience the Nordic Spring at its worst with two races in somewhat snowy conditions which were part of the Finnish Nordic Champs trials. His results (20th) were also strong in top-class fields.
This weekend is Sweden’s biggest relay race 10-mila so follow on-line if you get the chance!
Last weekend saw a number of Australian orienteers competing in different races in Sweden, Finland and Norway.
In central Sweden on Saturday, the men had a WOC middle distance trial in difficult depression terrain which was chosen for the trial due to its similarity to the WOC middle distance terrain. Rob Walter finished 2nd, David Shepherd 3rd, and Reuben Smith 4th. Unfortunately Julian Dent did not have one of his better days on this occasion.
On Sunday Julian, Dave and Rob competed in the Swedish Sprint Championships (not a WOC trial). All three made it through to the final held in the afternoon, which was a tough ask in itself with only 8 athletes from each heat going through to the final. In the final all three men didn’t have a lot left in the tank but Julian still managed 17th place as the best Australian, one minute down. Rob and Dave were further back in the field.
Results for the middle distance race, heat 2, heat 3 and sprint final.
In Norway, Cassie Trewin ran the Norwegian Spring events (also including a world ranking event) near Halden as her WOC trials with a sprint on the Friday night, followed up by middle and long distance races on the Saturday and Sunday. The races were also used as the trials for the Nordic Championships for the Norwegians which in effect meant the strongest possible Norwegian field. Cassie ran well in all three races finishing in the middle of the results on each day.
Results for the sprint, middle and long.
In Finland, Troy de Haas had a good race on 1st leg in a day/night relay — results can be found here.
This coming weekend several of the men will run a WRE in southern Sweden for their WOC long distance trial.
Matt Crane (GBR) and Grace Elson (Tas) won today’s National League race in SA, while the Victorian Nuggets are leading the men’s and womens National League.
Elson won another tight race from Kathryn Ewels (Vic), with Kirsten Fairfax (Vic) recording her best race of the season so far to some third. Yesterday’s Middle Distance champion, Anna Sheldon (Qld) was 4th. Meanwhile, Bridget Anderson (Qld) backed up from yesterday’s win to take out the junior women’s race.
Crane was nearly as dominating today as he was yesterday, with junior Simon Uppill (SA) recording another second placing and veteran Eric Morris (NSW) third. Bryan Keely won the junior men’s race.
The National League looks like being a good contest this year, with Victoria leading both the men’s and women’s pointscore from the Southern Arrows. Last years champions, the Canberrra Cockatoos are in the wooden spoon position in both divisions. The National League has a short hiatus until the WOC trials to be held in Victoria in 3 weeks time.
Anna Sheldon on her way to winning the Australian Middle Distance championships.
Anna Sheldon now holds both the Australian Long and Middle Distance titles, after winning today’s race in Pewsey Vale. The women’s race was both a technical and tight affair, with the top three separated by only 30 seconds. Grace Elson (Tas, 3rd place) led early in the race, but a three minute mistake at the eigth control cost her the race. The tough final loop saw the lead switch between Elson, Sheldon and Kathryn Ewels (Vic, 4th), but Sheldon was the one to hold her nerve and take the win. Tracy Bluett (NSW) finished 2nd.
Matt Crane (GBR)
The men’s field was depleted by the departure of David Shepherd, Julian Dent and Troy de Haas for the start of the European season, and visiting British orienteer Matt Crane dominated. Simon Uppill (SA) was second, two minutes behind Crane, with Kerrin Rattray (SA) showing glimpses of his 2006 form to take third place.
Morten Neve (Vic) took the men’s junior title from Tristan Lee, while Bridget Anderson (Qld) beat Belinda Lawford (Vic) for the W17-20E title.
Yesterday saw the running of the annual ASC Galaxy Sprint race, sponsored by the Australian Sports Commission.
Mens placegetters (L-R): Simon Uppill, Matt Crane, Adrian Jackson
Both the mens races were marred by a number of disqualifications due to competitors crossing out of bounds areas within the caravan park, and a creek which was marked as uncrossable. Notably, Leon Keely notified the organisers he had breached the rules, missing out on his 2nd place in M17-20E. Ultimately, the senior mens race was won by Matt Crane (GBR) from Adrian Jackson (Vic) and Simon Uppill (SA), while Nick Andrewartha won the junior mens.
Womens placegetters(L-R): Anna Sheldon, Grace Elson and Kathryn Ewels
Grace Elson (Tas) backed up her solid form from Easter to win the womens title. Kathryn Ewels (Vic ) and Anna Sheldon (Qld) rounded out the placings — all three were separated by only 6 seconds. Sarah Dunnage (WA) won the junior womens race.
Reigning champions the Canberra Cockatoos have had a poor start to the 2007 National League due to a depleted squad travelling to the Australian 3-Days over Easter. Instead, the Victorian Nuggets have taken the lead in both the men’s and women’s National League, thanks to consistent performances from Kathryn Ewels, Troy de Haas, Kirsten Fairfax and Adrian Jackson. The Southern Arrows made the best of their home advantage to be placed 3rd in both divisions, while NSW (men) and Tasmania (women) are in second place.
In the individual National Series, placings are similar to the Australian 3-Days overall standings, but that may change with another series of National League races near Adelaide in the coming weekend. Full standings will be posted after those races. National League Progress points after round 4
Senior League
Men: Victorian Nuggets 37, NSW Stingers 32, Southern Arrows 26, Tassie Foresters 17, Western Nomads 16, Canberra Cockatoos 14, Queensland Cyclones 9. Women: Victorian Nuggets 36, Tassie Foresters 31, Southern Arrows 25, Queensland Cyclones 21, NSW Stingers 16, Canberra Cockatoos 12, Western Nomads 11. Junior League Men: Victorian Nuggets 32, Tassie Foresters 30, Queensland Cyclones 22, NSW Stingers 15, Southern Arrows 13, Canberra Cockatoos 8, Western Nomads 4. Women: Queensland Cyclones 36, Canberra Cockatoos 26, Victorian Nuggets 26, Tassie Foresters 17, NSW Stingers 12, Western Nomads 8, Southern Arrows 0.
National Series
Senior Series
Men: Julian Dent (NSW) 112, Matt Crane (GBR), David Shepherd (ACT) 105. Women: Hanny Allston (TAS) 120, Grace Elson (TAS) 99, Jo Allison (ACT) 96. Junior Series
Men: Rhys Challen (WA) 92, Morten Neve (VIC) 87, Nick Andrewartha (TAS) 85. Women: Heather Harding (ACT) 117, Rachel Effeney (QLD) 103, Belinda Lawford (VIC) 92.
On Sunday 8 April, Orienteering Australia presented its major awards its the annual dinner in Burra South Australia. The following awards were made in the presence of over 100 diners.
2007 Silva Services to Orienteering Award.
Jeffa Lyon received the Silva Services to Orienteering Award for her considerable contribution to the sport over a period of more than 30 years. She started orienteering in the ACT in the 1970s and moved to South Australia in January 1980, joining the Tintookies club. Since then she has held numerous positions at club, State and national level. Such positions included secretary, president, councillor, schools coordinator, coaching activities, newsletter editor, Carnival (Level 3) controller for the 1990 Australian 3-Days, and many others, too numerous to mention.
2007 Silva Services to Coaching Award.
Anthony Scott received the Silva Services to Coaching Award for his considerable contribution as a coach not only to the ACT junior squad since 2002, but also to numerous rising stars from other States. He has been a personal coach for many juniors and has been a confidant to Hanny Allston, who consulted him on many occasions during her development to become a world champion.
2006 Orienteering Australia Athlete of the Year.
Hanny Allston was presented with her second consecutive Orienteering Australia Athlete of the Year medal. In the space of few weeks in mid 2006, Hanny became the first Australian to win a gold medal at JWOC and to win a medal in each of the three formats; the first Australian, first non-European and first junior to win a World Championships Gold Medal and the first orienteer to win a medal at the Junior and World Championships in the same year.
2006 Silva Medal (Orienteer of the Year).
Lachlan Dow was confirmed as the winner of the 2006 Silva Medal (Orienteer of the Year competition) which is awarded to the orienteer who scores the most points based on placings in the Australian 3-Days and the Australian and States Long Distance Championships. He amassed 27 points to beat Jenny Bourne (W45) Victoria on 23 points, with Todd Neve (M14) Victoria and David Shepherd (Elite) ACT dead-heating for third on 22. As fifteen year-old he is the first junior to win the Silva Medal since fellow Canberrans Cassie Trewin and Andy Hogg shared the awarded in 1990.
World Champion Hanny Allston won her second Australian 3-Days at Burra, South Australia, with a total time of 2h 24m 55s, 15 minutes ahead of fellow Tasmanian Grace Elson, with a further minute to ACT’s Jo Allison. Allston started the day with a seemingly unassailable lead, but there was no thought that she would run conservatively. She hit the lead by the third control, and was never headed. By the 7th control she had caught Grace Elson by 2 minutes in the reverse chasing start, but Elson was unable to hang on to her. Allston finished the winner of the day by 3 minutes to top off a clean sweep of the 3-Days. It’s a promising sign for Australia’s World Champion in the lead-up to this year’s championships in Ukraine.
The real battle of the day was between Jo Allison and Grace Elson. Allison was second on the day, catching a minute on Elson, but not quite enough to make up for the time she lost in the first two stages. Kathryn Ewels topped off a fantastic weekend with fourth place, a hopeful sign that she may return to the National Team later in the year. Tracy Bluett has run herself into form, coming 5th on the day, but still 7th overall behind Anna Sheldon and Susanne Casanova.
Julian Dent (NSW) won the men’s event in 2h 53m 2s by nearly seven minutes from visiting British rep Matt Crane. ACT’ s David Shepherd was third, 13 minutes adrift of Crane. The men’s field was weakened by Troy de Haas’ departure for a race in Shanghai, giving Dent a clear run at the title. But, like Allston, Dent didn’t back off, and lead for the entire race bar one control to beat Crane by 25 seconds on the day.
Simon Uppill
South Australian junior Simon Uppill was the surprise as he was only seconds behind Shepherd in fourth place. Uppill’s result is even more impressive considering he lost over 2 minutes on the 4th control, allowing Shepherd to pass him in the forest. Undeterred he caught and passed Shepherd, and blitzed the last 3 controls in a desperate attempt to reach 3rd place. In the end he beat Shepherd on the day, and closed to within a minute of him in the overall placings. The signs are good for Uppill, who will start JWOC in Dubbo as a strong favourite, and may even be promoted to run the World Championships in the Ukraine.
In the junior classes, Rhys Challen (WA) held onto his overnight lead, but Morten Neve lost his second place to stage winner Nick Andrewartha. Heather Harding won the stage and the 3-Days in the junior women, with Rachel Effeney 2nd and Jessica Davis 3rd.
In other classes, Cathy & Jon McComb (Tas) did the family double, both taking out their 35A classes. The tightest classes were M60A, where Tony Simpkins (WA) caught 4 minutes on Rob Tucker (SA) to win by only 23 seconds, and W75A where Sue Healy (Vic) made 14 minutes on Joyce Rowlands (Vic) to win by 90 seconds. Full results for the 3-Days and today’s splits now available.
