16 minute read
WORLD CHAMPS, JAPAN
WOC 2005 – Japan
Australia in 1985, USA in 1993 and now Japan in 2005. The third World Orienteering Championships to be held outside Europe, and the first-ever in Asia. Competitors representing 36 nations gathered in Aichi Prefecture in August to contest the races of WOC 2005. Hanny Allston and Troy de Haas were Australia’s stand-out performers with Hanny taking 6th place in the Longdistance event. She became the first foot orienteer from a nation outside Europe to win a podium position in an individual race. Reports compiled from Bob Mouatt and Rob Plowright.
Troy de Haas finished 7th in the Sprint event. Photo: Bob Mouatt
Long-distance
Hanny Allston creates history
The Long-distance final was a great result for two Australian women. For Hanny Allston it was about creating history and for Jo Allison it was about getting to the start and finishing.
Hanny Allston only become serious about Orienteering a few years ago when she decided to give away swimming because of shoulder problems. She won her first National League race in March 2003 and her first international medal, a bronze, at the 2005 World Junior Championships (JWOC) in Switzerland this July. She set up her final race with a great solo run in the qualifying heats in which she finished in 3rd place. The final was run in warm to hot humid conditions, but it was the terrain and vegetation that tested most people. The 8.8km course had 21 controls and 630 metres of climb.
Hanny Allston wears the garland of hydrangea (above) as she celebrates her podium placing, and (left) completes the final leg of the Relay to bring Australia home in 8th place.
Right: She does it again - Switzerland’s Simone NiggliLuder won 4 gold medals at WOC 2005, repeating her success of WOC 2003.
Hanny had a plan and she stuck to it. It was to go as hard as she could until one of the faster, later, starters caught her and then work with them to maintain her momentum. It was not until well into the race that Finland’s Paula Haapakoski caught her and they travelled together for a while until catching Russia’s Tatiana Ryabkina, who started two minutes before Hanny. About the same time another Finn, Heli Jukkola, and Simone Niggli joined what was now a pack.
Leaving the 13th control Hanny made a brave decision not to take the same route as Simone, who went low, but to stay high with the Finns. They reached control 14 ahead of Simone and stayed ahead of her through to about the 17th control. Simone and Heli reached the second last control about 2mins ahead of Hanny and the pack, which now included Romania’s Zsuzsa Fey, Tatiana Ryabkina, Hanny and Paula Haapakoski.
The climb out was very steep and the run home arduous. Hanny managed to beat Haapakoski and Ryabkina to the finish line. Her result was a fitting reward for her efforts. She beat last year’s world champion, Karolina A-Höjsgaard, by nearly 17mins and 20 places. Australian team member, David Brickhill-Jones, added to Hanny’s occasion on the podium by presenting her with a large garland of hydrangea.
Jo Allison’s preparation was severely disrupted by being stung on the sole the foot by a wasp. Her foot ballooned and she spent most of the night treating it to ensure she could get to the start line. Although she said that she suffered no pain the emotional trauma obviously had an adverse impact on her and she did well to finish 28th, her third top 30 in a Long-distance final and her sixth in WOC finals.
Russia’s Andrey Khramov won the men’s race by over two mins from Switzerland’s Marc Lauenstein and Norway’s Holger Holt Johnansen. Italy’s Michele Tavernaro finished 6th in what may be his nation’s first podium result. The big Frenchman, Thierry Gueorgiou had to settle for seventh.
Tracy Bluett ran a strong 2nd leg for Australia in the Relay after her great 13th place in the Middle Distance final.
Julian Dent finishing the Middle Distance final in 22nd place.
Troy de Haas claims best ever Aussie male foot Orienteering result at WOC
The sprint races were held in a very difficult area. Mike Dowling, who competed in the public event between the heats and the finals, said: “It was just like competing in New Zealand native forest - steep, thick and low visibility”.
The day started in bright sunshine, then a shower came through wetting the ground and making it extremely slippery. The temperature and humidity rose sharply. It was 37ºC when the women started and it got hotter later in the day.
Troy de Haas ran steadily throughout both races, and had an excellent start in the final. He lost a few seconds over the concluding stages and that not only cost him a podium finish, but probably also a medal.
Switzerland’s Simone Niggli claimed her third straight WOC Sprint gold medal from Anne Margrethe Hausken of Norway and Heather Monro of Great Britain. Some notable features of the Sprint were that all Japanese women made it through to the final. The New Zealanders again did well in terrain that suited them (confirming Mike Dowling’s assessment), and previous top Sprint competitors, Yuri Omeltchenko and Tore Sandvik, both missed the final.
Middle-distance
Tracy Bluett returns to claim a top-13 result.
All six Australians qualified for the Middle-distance final in typically hot and humid conditions. Australia was one of only four nations (alongside Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland) with all runners qualifying. Hanny Allston remarked that the terrain was quite Australian – steep gully-spur. By contrast, the finals were held in much cooler conditions, with the top temperature in the mid 20s and the humidity much lower, but getting around the courses was no easier.
The highlights were Thierry Gueorgiou’s third consecutive victory in the Middle-distance final, Simone Niggli’s second gold medal in a Middle-distance final, and Denmark’s Chris Terkelsen taking silver after a long layoff caused by chronic fatigue.
Highlight for the Australian team was Tracy Bluett’s successful return, after missing two WOCs following the birth of her daughter, to better her 14th place in Scotland in 1999. Everybody was pleased for Tracy as it has been a long way for her to get back to the top. Her 13th is the best by an Australian in a Middle-distance final at a foot World Championships. Though she was caught and passed by Finland’s Anni-Maija Fincke, Tracy was happy with her run and finished strongly.
Hanny Allston’s 18th equalled Jo Allison’s placing in Switzerland in 2003. Only Tracy Bluett and Natasha Key (17th in 2004) have done better, yet she was very disappointed after having made a two-minute error, which could have given her a top eight placing. She came home very strongly, being faster than most over the last 25 per cent of the course. Prophetically, she said she was really fired up to do well in the Longdistance final on the following day.
Julian Dent’s 22nd was probably the best debut result by an Australian - certainly in recent times. He had a fairly clean run throughout and, like Hanny, came home very strongly. His time through the last controls was much faster than most because he didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t tire.
Swedes in a sweat
translated by Rob Lewis
SKOGSSPORT reports that in preparation for WOC 2005 in Japan the Swedish National Squad focused on how to survive the anticipated heat, and in particular the high humidity, with the August average humidity being 80% in the event centre region of Aichi Prefecture. The Japanese organizers had warned about the tough August conditions and had wanted to hold the event later in the year but the IOF said “no”.
The squad spent 5 days training in a gym specially heated to 36˚C and 65% humidity to simulate the Japanese summer. Training sessions lasted for 2 hours with participants exercising on the treadmill, stationary bike and rowing machine. They were weighed before and after the session to estimate fluid loss. Different uniform materials were tested for optimal breathing and cooling qualities. The competitors were surprised at how much water they lost with large pools of sweat forming under the equipment.
Levels of fluid loss were found to vary greatly. Mattias Karlsson, WOC04 Long silver medallist lost only 1.5 litres over 1:45 hrs (estimated winning time for this year’s Long race) while teammate Johan Näsman lost 5.0 litres in the same period. It would seem that Näsman needed to drink 3 litres more than Karlsson during the race to maintain performance. Näsman conceded it was unlikely he would be able to keep up with such high levels of water loss in hot conditions even with the usual practice of drinking a lot of water in the days leading up to the race. Consequently, Näsman decided to concentrate on the Sprint and Middledistance races as a result of these findings. Sweating is an important mechanism the body has to help cool itself. Karlsson commented that due to his low sweating levels he wears a wet singlet under his O-top in hot conditions to simulate the cooling effect of sweating.
Karolina A. Höjsgaard, the current Longdistance World Champion, said she would carry a water belt in the races in Japan. Höjsgaard said she trains with one so is used to it. In WOC 2003, held in Switzerland during a heatwave that saw temperatures approaching 40˚C, she was the only Swede to run with a water belt. She finished 2nd in the Long race. Höjsgaard feels the organizers’ water controls may be inadequate to maintain optimal fluid levels. She advised that it is not enough just taking out a water belt on race day. One needs to practice drinking during training. “If you are not prepared for the heat don’t bother turning up,” says national coach Goran Anderson.
Karolina has particular respect for heat after an incident some years ago in the Swedish Junior Championships when she succumbed to unusually warm and humid weather. She’s been training in Portugal to acclimatise to warm and humid conditions
The body consists of 60% water. Daily water loss for the average person is about 3 litres. For an active orienteer the figure is much higher, and much higher still in extreme heat. In 30˚C the elite orienteer loses on average 2.1 litre of fluid/hour. As you become more dehydrated the body’s core temperature increases. Blood volume decreases so blood supply to the muscles is compromised. The heart has to work harder to maintain supply and your heart rate goes up. As you become increasingly dehydrated your sporting performance drops quickly.
One needs to train in a way that allows the body to keep fluid levels at an adequate level. Part of this is to acclimatize to the warm conditions. Ideally, before a race in hot conditions, one would spend 7-10 days acclimatizing to the heat to help the body adjust. Skogssport says the most important thing to consider before a race in warm conditions is to not allow your thirst to determine whether you drink or not. Your urine should be the guide and it should always be clear. If it is yellow you need to drink more.
Before the race it is advisable to drink plain water. In hot conditions you need to drink small amounts of about 200ml at least every 15 mins. You also need to start drinking early. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty - it will probably be too late by then and you will suffer from dehydration. For competitions that last more than an hour a sports drink with a low concentration of simple carbohydrate (sugar) is better than plain water. When engaged in prolonged strenuous activity the body is more able to absorb fluid that contains some sugar. The sugar will also provide some extra energy. Avoid sugary drinks before a race or for events shorter than an hour as these can activate insulin and blood sugar levels can actually drop producing a feeling of fatigue.
Skogssport
Relays
Simone Niggli wins 4th gold medal at WOC2005
The Swiss champion completed an outstanding WOC carnival when she ran almost 3mins faster than Norway’s Anne Margrethe Hausken on the final leg of the Relay. Starting fourth behind Sweden, Norway, and Finland, Niggli was 12secs ahead of Hausken at the intermediate split, increasing the lead by another 90secs over the final part of the race; the Swedish team was third. The race was set up to be a good one for spectators to watch, with competitors coming back through the arena about halfway through their course.
The men’s race was another closely-fought contest - 1min 35secs separated the top five teams of Switzerland, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden at the start of the final leg. Jørgen Rostrup overcame a 52sec deficit to the Swiss team to win for Norway, although at the intermediate split, France’s Thierry Gueorgiou held a 5secs advantage over Rostrup, and the French must have held high expectations of winning, but in the end it was Norway 1st by 28secs, with Switzerland a further 32secs behind in 3rd place. Gueorgiou was no match for Rostrup - during a post race interview, Rostrup said that he took it easy on the first loop and applied the pressure on the second loop.
The Australian women’s team of Jo Allison, Tracy Bluett, and Hanny Allston finished a very creditable 8th while the men’s team of David Brickhill-Jones, Troy de Haas, and Grant Bluett finished in 15th place.
Jo Allison led out for the Australian women, was going well after her first loop and came back in 6th place just ahead of Finn Paula Haapakoski. Tracy Bluett had a slightly better time than Jo, recording sixth fastest time for the leg, but the team dropped to 7th when Finland’s Heli Jukkola passed her. Both Jo and Tracy were happy with their runs, and felt that they could not have done much more on the day.
Hanny Allston was followed out by a very determined Heather Monro (Great Britain), who was keen to pick up some of the placings that their first runner had dropped. While Hanny was relatively satisfied with her run, she said that she made a few costly navigational errors due to tiredness. She finished in 8th place overall with the eleventh fastest time for the third leg.
In July, Hanny put in four outstanding runs at the World Junior Championships and in the eight days at WOC, she ran in five gruelling races, three in the last four days, so it was not surprising that she might be a little drained. A number of the top nations have complained that there was not enough gap between the World Games and WOC. The gap between JWOC and WOC was the same, and the races at JWOC would have been much more demanding, so by any measure Hanny’s performances in the past five weeks have been outstanding. New Zealand was very happy with its ninth placing, their best for some time.
The Final Analysis
Australian performances at the 2005 World Championships contained a number of positives:
• Hanny Allston set new best ever results for an Australian at WOC and for a foot orienteer from a nation outside Europe with her 6th in the Long-distance final. Apart from being the first foot orienteer from outside Europe to be on the podium for an individual race, she is probably one of the few juniors from anywhere to enjoy that honour. • Troy de Haas set a new best result for an Australian in a Sprint final with his 7th place. • Tracy Bluett set a new best result for an Australian in a Middledistance final with her 13th. • Julian Dent made one of the best (if not the best) debut run with his 22nd in the Middle-distance final. • The women’s Relay team recorded another benchmark performance by taking 8th place
Start of the Women’s Relay with Jo Allison second from right. Sprint Final - Women
1 Simone Niggli 14:02.7 SUI 2 Anne Margrethe Hausken 14:34.4 NOR 3 Heather Monro 15:01.7 GB 4 Emma Engstrand 15:03.1 SWE 5 Vroni König Salmi 15:09.5 SUI 28 Jo Allison 17:31.9 AUS 32 Natasha Key 18:03.3 AUS 45 Rika Tajima 22:47.6 JPN
Middle Distance Final - Women
1 Simone Niggli 32:46.3 SUI 2 Jenny Johansson 34:59.7 SWE 3 Minna Kauppi 35:50.0 FIN 4 Anna Mårsell 35:58.3 SWE 5 Anni-Maija Fincke 37:03.5 FIN 13 Tracy Bluett 39:23.8 AUS 18 Hanny Allston 39:54.0 AUS 35 Natasha Key 45:07.3 AUS 43 Erin Olapsen 52:40.6 US
Long Distance Final Women
1 Simone Niggli 1:13:23 SUI 2 Heli Jukkola 1:15:35 FIN 3 Vroni König Salmi 1:17:49 SUI 4 Marianne Andersen 1:19:48 NOR 5 Paula Haapakoski 1:21:57 FIN 6 Hanny Allston 1:23:31 AUS 28 Jo Allison 1:40:30 AUS 39 Diana Vosyliute 1:52:49 LTH
Women’s Relay
1 Switzerland Lea Müller 45:08 2:07:46 Vroni König Salmi 42:55 Simone Niggli 39:42 2 Norway Marianne Andersen 41:31 2:09:28 Marianne Riddervold 45:24 Anne Margrethe Hausken 42:33 3 Sweden Jenny Johansson 41:42 2:10:35 Karolina A-Höjsgaard 43:59 Emma Engstrand 44:53 4 Finland Paula Haapakoski 45:22 2:11:42 Heli Jukkola 42:16 Minna Kauppi 44:03 5 Czech Rep Marta Štěrbová 45:04 2:12:27 Eva Jurenikova 44:22 Dana Brozkova 43:00 8 Australia Jo Allison 45:20 2:21:11 Tracy Bluett 44:57 Hanny Allston 50:54 9 New Zealand Tania Robinson 47:19 2:26:07 Penny Kane 50:35 Rachael Smith 48:12
Sprint Final - Men
1 Emil Wingstedt 14:31.0 SWE 2 Daniel Hubmann 14:41.5 SUI 3 Jani Lakanen 14:45.7 FIN 4 Øystein Kvaal Østerbø 14:47.1 NOR 5 Andrey Khramov 14:49.2 RUS 7 Troy de Haas 15:02.4 AUS 28 Grant Bluett 16:41.6 AUS 44 Mårten Boström 21:06.6 FIN
Middle Distance Final Men
1 Thierry Gueorgiou 33:00.3 FRA 2 Chris Terkelsen 34:32.0 DEN 3 Jarkko Huovila 34:49.3 FIN 4 David Andersson 34:54.3 SWE 5 Øystein Kristiansen 35:31.2 NOR 22 Julian Dent 39:17.0 AUS 25 David Shepherd 39:54.4 AUS 32 Rob Walter 41:40.8 AUS 42 Ondrej Pijak 50:09.1 SVK
Long Distance Final Men
1 Andrey Khramov 1:37:22 RUS 2 Marc Lauenstein 1:39:30 SUI 3 Holger Hott Johansen 1:42:09 NOR 4 David Schneider 1:42:42 SUI 5 Mats Haldin 1:43:09 FIN 38 Claus Bloch 2:28:50 DEN
Men’s Relay
1 Norway Holger Hott Johansen 45:21 2:16:48 Øystein Kristiansen 48:17 Jørgen Rostrup 43:09 2 France Francois Gonon 45:26 2:17:16 Damien Renard 48:05 Thierry Gueorgiou 43:44 3 Switzerland Matthias Merz 46:20 2:17:48 Marc Lauenstein 46:25 Daniel Hubmann 45:02 4 Sweden Niclas Jonasson 45:37 2:17:57 Mats Troeng 48:43 Emil Wingstedt 43:35 5 Finland Jarkko Huovila 45:22 2:21:50 Mats Haldin 47:29 Petteri Muukkonen 48:57 15 Australia David Brickhill-Jones 54:35 2:34:42 Troy de Haas 50:20 Grant Bluett 49:47 18 New Zealand Karl Dravitski 54:24 2:41:23 Darren Ashmore 55:33 Chris Forne 51:25
