WORLD CHAMPS 2007

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Fin

1st Minna Kauppi Finland 80:17 2:47 2:17 2:06 15:48 2:23 6:02 1:15 5:45 5:03 2:43 2:32 4:06 8:49 3:23 1:42 1:35 1:02 2:21 1:51 2:18 2:15 1:11 0:41 0:22 – – – – – 2:47 5:04 7:10 22:58 25:21 31:23 32:38 38:23 43:26 46:09 48:41 52:47 61:36 64:59 66:41 68:16 69:18 71:39 73:30 75:48 78:03 79:14 79:55 80:17 1st Heli Jukkola Finland 80:17 3:11 2:18 2:21 16:35 2:23 6:13 1:17 5:29 5:13 2:24 2:34 2:34 9:05 2:51 2:24 1:06 2:20 2:03 2:18 1:39 1:30 1:16 0:51 0:22 – – – – – 3:11 5:29 7:50 24:25 26:48 33:01 34:18 39:47 45:00 47:24 49:58 52:32 61:37 64:28 66:52 67:58 70:18 72:21 74:39 76:18 77:48 79:04 79:55 80:17 6th Hanny Allston Australia 84:17 3:15 2:35 2:28 18:22 2:17 6:29 1:22 4:03 6:37 2:36 2:46 2:47 9:39 3:12 2:33 1:00 2:17 1:59 2:33 1:35 1:32 1:11 0:46 0:23 – – – – – 3:15 5:50 8:18 26:40 28:57 35:26 36:48 40:51 47:28 50:04 52:50 55:37 65:16 68:28 71:01 72:01 74:18 76:17 78:50 80:25 81:57 83:08 83:54 84:17

Photos: Erik Borg

Jo Allison

Minna Kauppi, Finland

Hanny Allston Troy de Haas

Julian Dent

Women’s Relay start

Hanny Allston takes 6th, 9th & 13th places at WOC races in Ukraine

What a week for Hanny Allston. In a demonstration of all-round class not seen before from an Australian orienteer at a World Championships, she took 13th place in the Middle Distance event followed by a medals podium placing 6th in the Long Distance, and 9th in the Sprint (where she was defending her Title from 2006). And in between she anchored the Women’s Relay team to 7th place.

Hanny showed to the Orienteering world that here is an emerging talent and that her win in the Sprint Championship last year was not just a ‘flash-in-the-pan’. If they didn’t know it before the top women orienteers in Europe now recognise that as Hanny matures as an athlete she will become a serious challenge to their dominance of women’s elite orienteering – the first credible challenge by an athlete from outside Europe. Hanny didn’t win a title this time but in the years to come more medals will surely hang around her neck. Of the others in the Australian Team, Julian Dent‘s 22nd place in the Sprint and 24th in the Middle Distance were best, showing that he, too, is maturing as an athlete. Anna Sheldon’s 30th in the gruelling Long Distance event was a best performance for her at WOC and one with which she should be very pleased. Grace Elson finished 30th in the Sprint and 32nd in the Middle Distance and others to make the Finals were Jo Allison (Middle) and Kathryn Ewels (Sprint).

Dead-heat for First

Minna Kauppi and Heli Jukkola both thought it even better to share the gold than just get it, or just not get it. “We have competed against each other for a long time. In relays we have been on the Finnish team together. It was good that we shared the gold today. That’s better than if one had been one second faster than the other”, said Jukkola. Kauppi thought the same. “A shared gold is not like a silver. It’s a gold !!”. The Finnish girls later teamed with Paula Haapakoski to win the World Championships Relay for the second year in a row.

Minna Kauppi and

Biggest drama of the week Heli Jukkola took place during the Women’s Long Distance Final when Finland’s Minna Kauppi and Heli Jukkola dead-heated for first place. Kauppi led by as much as 1:40 early in the race but lost it all on the short 12th leg when she took the tourist route. Jukkola got a little confused on the 15th, 17th and 19th legs, dropping to over 1min behind. But then Kauppi dropped 39sec and 45sec on the short 20th and 21st legs and the Finnish teammates were level at the last control. It was a sprint to the finish line with both recording the same time – the first dead-heat in World Championships history. The ‘make-or-break’ leg for most runners was the long leg to the 4th control. Defending champion, Simone Niggli (SUI) (16:02) took the western route staying mainly in the forest while Kauppi (15:48) and Jukkola (16:35) took to the streets. Hanny Allston (18:22) also chose the street option but went wider than the others and lost 2:34 to Kauppi on the leg. That proved decisive and Hanny was unable to claw back any of that time.

Gueorgiou back

Frenchman Thierry Gueorgiou didn’t win a medal at WOC last year but he showed he is back to top form with wins in his favourite event, the Middle Distance, and also the Sprint. Simone Niggli (SUI) took away two more gold medals to add to her expanding trophy case when she also won the Middle Distance and Sprint races. Gueorgiou took his fourth World Championship title in the Middle Distance. Last year he made a big mistake near the start of the race and didn’t get any ‘flow’ after that. This year he lost some time in the start of the race: “On the way to the first control I lost control of my orienteering. I really had to stop and try to find where I was. I had run on the compass so I managed to relocate without big problems” he said.

Sprint (Botanical Garden)

This map was created just for the WOC Sprint, and the organizers went through some tough negotiations to be able to use the area. It will never be used for Orienteering again (in the near future, anyway). The final approval came as late as May when the President of the Ukraine Olympic Committee, Sergej Bubka (the well-known former holder of the pole vault world record), gave the organizers his support. The 2008 World Championships will be held near Olomouc in Czech Republic and already there are Aussie groups planning their trip.

Hanny comments …….

The Qualification races were certainly the toughest that I have ever run. I knew they were expecting it to be rough out there when the terrain description stated “steep, vegetation with many thorns, needles and stinging nettles. In the open areas there is long grass, weeds and rose bushes …” Deep gullies were often filled with slimy mud and there was a slight scent of pig farms wafting towards the Finish. Mmm mmmmm. The terrain was not just physical, it was also very technical. Sharp erosion gullies were obscured by the dense vegetation so competitors needed to be right on top of the control before they saw it. There were little opportunities for quick paced running and often the hills were almost too steep to run. But hey, there were many exciting adventures in the forest too and interesting route choices, particularly the one thjat saved me over 30sec – jumping straight off an 8m cliff to the shock of a nearby observer. LONG DISTANCE FINAL – I didn’t feel good at all when I first started, but after about 20 minutes I got into a rhythm and started feeling great. It’s a shame the course didn’t have another 6km like the men’s, I think I could have kept going. I can’t complain. I came into this race with no expectations so I’m happy with the way I ran today. SPRINT FINAL – I really wanted to be good technically today and finish off these Championships on a good note. And I was able to do that. I didn’t make any real mistakes, but I think some of my route choices cost me time. My legs just couldn’t go any quicker today, but I’m happy, I did the best I could. (excerpts from Hanny’s blog notes)