WORLD MTB-O CHAMPS
Pedal to the Medal Contributions from Blair Trewin (VIC), Bob Mouatt (ACT) and other correspondents.
AUST RALIAN T EAM Men: David Baldwin (ACT), Anthony Darr (NSW), Adrian Jackson (Vic), Alex Randall (Vic), David Searle(ACT), Tom Walter (ACT); Reserves: Paul Darvodelsky (NSW), Grant Lebbink (Vic). Women: Belinda Allison (ACT), Mary Fien (NSW), Carolyn Jackson (Vic), Anna Sheldon (Qld), Julie Quinn (ACT), Emily Viner (ACT/Vic); Reserve: Elsie Northey (Vic).
LONG-DISTANCE
Qualification: Viner wins – Finn’s title defence derailed Highlights of the Long-distance Qualification races on a sunny day at Creswick Forest were Emily Viner’s win in the women’s event and the elimination of reigning World Men’s Champion, Jussi Makila (FIN), who finished a tantalizing 1min 42sec away from the last qualifying place after puncturing about two-thirds of the way around the course. He lost six minutes attempting to repair the tyre and eventually had to carry his bike. Emily was closely followed by French favourite Laure Coupat who appeared to be a real danger for the final but, as the event unfolded, we found there were some dark horses in the forest.
Jackson takes Bronze - Viner’s medal hopes punctured The serious business came next day at Wombat Station & Bell’s Reef, near Daylesford. Competitors and spectators alike were treated to a perfect day. The large open, panoramic assembly area provided spectators with an excellent view of competitors as they passed through the paddock for a map exchange roughly half-way through the course.
Adrian Jackson on his way to a Gold medal. Photo: Bob Mouatt
In October, the 2004 World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships were staged in Ballarat, Victoria. For Australia, it was a week to remember, not just because of our successful hosting of the event, but because it brought five medals. Prior to 2004, there had only been four Australian medals in any form of Orienteering at international level. To more than double that in a single week was exceptional, particularly so for Adrian Jackson, who claimed a gold medal and two bronzes, but the spoils were shared around with seven of the twelve team members going home with metal of some colour.
24 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER DECEMBER 2004
Emily Viner, a silver medallist in 2002, entered the day as a serious Australian hope. Emily started well, making up over 4 min on Laure Coupat in the first loop. She was right in the contest for much of the race, with her most serious challenger being the German, Antje Bornhak, and Finn, Paivi Tommola, who led in the middle stages. Emily regained the lead momentarily before Tommola came back to lead Emily by a few seconds with three controls to go. Both struck trouble in the closing stages, with Viner suffering a puncture in the last few kilometres, and that opened the door for another German. Anke Dannowski had lost three minutes in the first three controls, but rode a magnificent race thereafter, taking the lead at 12 and eventually winning quite comfortably. Tommola pipped Bornhak on the line for silver, whilst Viner had to settle for fifth. Dannowski’s medal was the first gold won by a German in any form of Orienteering. The men’s event was a race in three from fairly early on in the course, featuring Mika Tervala of Finland, Alain Berger of Switzerland, and Australia’s Adrian Jackson. They were never separated by much more than a minute. Tervala often had the edge, but his loss of 44 sec to Berger at 12 was crucial, setting up the race-winning break. As Berger said after his win, “Today was perfect”. Berger had already become the first orienteer to win World Championship medals in both foot and mountain bike events with a MTB-O bronze in 2002 (following his foot-O bronze in 1999, as well several relay medals), but this time it was a gold. Jackson never quite got to the front, but his bronze was the highlight of the first day for the Aussies. The good news for Australia did not stop there, with Belinda Allison and Tom Walter both making the top six after consistent races, and three other women making the top 20, Mary Fien finishing 13th, Julie Quinn 14th and Anna Sheldon 19th.
