2004 WOC PREVIEW

Amongst the men, Thierry Gueorgiou (France) will be closely challenged by Jarkko Huovila (Finland), Yuri Omeltchenko (Ukraine), and the Norwegian trio of Bjørnar Valstad, Holger Hott Johansen and Øystein Kristiansen with Jamie Stevenson (Great Britain) perhaps the surprise packet at the longer distances following his win in the Sprint last year.

Thierry Gueorgiou was the first French man to win an individual WOC title last year. In the month following his win in the Medium Distance race he was invited to meet the French President, Jacques Chirac. Now, Thierry is aiming to meet the President again. The title has changed his approach to Orienteering. “I have more confidence in my skills and ability. Now, when I stand on the starting line I am really relaxed”, he says. “I am aiming to compete in both the Middle and Long Distance races in Sweden. I’m not so interested in the Sprint. My goals in Västerås are to run perfect races, not to focus on medals”, Thierry asserts. He has spent nearly two months in Sweden getting accustomed to the terrain and maps. He also spends time playing the computer game “Catching Features” which he says helps improve his map memory skills.

Jamie Stephenson was the first British man to win a WOC gold medal. Unlike the Swiss response to Simone Luder’s wins last year, Stephenson’s title has not really gained much attention in the U.K. Recently, he has been training in South Africa. He asserts, “Seeking new surroundings and terrain is vital to our sport. Orienteering is about navigating in unknown terrain. As soon as you master one type of terrain, it’s time to seek new terrain challenges in order to develop as an orienteer.”

World Orienteering World Orienteering Championships preview Championships preview

Sweden will host this year's World Orienteering Championships, which will take place in the Västerås region west of Stockholm from 11th - 19th September. The program comprises qualification races and finals in the four foot Orienteering disciplines of Sprint, Middle Distance, Long Distance and Relay. Organisers predict some 15,000 paying spectators will attend the various events. There will be races for spectators in which participants will run on the championship maps and on some of the legs from the championship courses.

IN the women’s competition Simone Niggli-Luder (Switzerland) has the best credentials to take the title of World Champion for a second successive year in all three disciplines, though intense competition will again come from Karolina Hojsgaard (Sweden) who seems to be peaking at just the right time. Others predicted to challenge for the title are Jenny Johansson (Sweden), Heli Jukkola (Finland) and Hanne Staff (Norway).

At WOC2003 in her home country, Simone Niggli-Luder won everything possible – gold in all three distances and also the relay. “This year I will be fighting for medals, though it will be almost impossible to repeat last year’s amazing Can Switzerland’s Simone Niggliresults,” she says. Luder add to her four gold medals

Her performances in won at last year’s WOC? Switzerland generated great attention. By the end of the WOC week Simone could be seen on advertising posters throughout the country and gained extensive press coverage. Later in the year she was awarded the title of Swiss Sportswoman of the Year. Thierry Gueorgiou (France) won the Middle Distance gold last year.

Jamie Stephenson winning gold in the Sprint event last year.

The first World Trail Orienteering Championships will be held at the same venue, with competitions on the 16th & 17th September. Trail Orienteering is a version of the sport created to provide full competition opportunities for the disabled.

The Australian Team for WOC2005 is: Women:

Jo Allison (ACT) Hanny Allston (Tas) Allison Jones (ACT) Natasha Key (VIC) Danielle Winslow (Tas)

Men:

Grant Bluett (ACT) David Brickhill-Jones (Tas) Troy de Haas (VIC) Eric Morris (NSW) Tom Quayle (ACT) David Shepherd (ACT) Manager is Christine Brown (Tas) and Coach is Jim Russell (VIC).