World of O News
The 24-year-old Kajsa Nilsson has been nominated in the “Achievement of the Year 2006” poll as the comeback of the year. Orienteering Today to her about the 2006 season, in which she managed to storm back up into the absolute elite in women’s orienteering.
Although you say Middle distance is your favourite discipline, it is Sprint and Relay which are the disciplines in which you achieved the best results, at least on the International level.
But it really used to be so, until this season. I think it has quite much to do with the head and time for which you need to keep your concentration high. The first important thing you need in the world of elite orienteering is the speed. And this year I got the speed, but then you also need to be able to stay focused for certain lengths of time – in Middle, Long, Sprint or Relay. And now I know I have the speed, but I still struggle to keep my focus high for longer time. But I guess I have to be patient and take one thing at a time. Another important thing for your self-confidence is the feeling. And this season, in the beginning, I got some really nice feedback from Sprint races, both during the Park World Tour in Italy and also the European Championships in Estonia. And then, after EOC I was running the final of the Elitserien in Stockholm and half of the race a was 20 seconds ahead of Simone, but then I ran into a tree and made some route choice mistakes and was finally 20 seconds after her in the finish. That day I learned that I was able to run as fast as Simone, or even faster perhaps. That day I decided I would run Sprint at the World Champs.
The bronze medal in Sprint in Mindenparken must have been an “out-of-this-world” result for you after all the previous seasons… Was it also a dream race for you? How do you see this Sprint now, with some distance?
I really enjoyed it. It was a great day and even if I think I could do the race a bit better, I think I just should be happy with what it was. In the beginning I made some mistakes. I was I little bit too “hot” and then, on the leg just preceding the long-leg over the horse-racing track, I ran into a big three. The world got completely dark for some moments. Actually I might ended up in a hospital instead of on the podium that day. I don’t think I lost too much time with the accident itself, but I think it took away some focus for the long leg which was just following. But afterwards, I ran really well. I made only bigger mistake on the final loop where I lost about 8 seconds.
But it really was an amazing day no matter what, a real big step for me into the high levels of the orienteering world and I know that 11 seconds is now the distance to the dream come true.
I see. I think, all in all, this season must have been really motivating for you, wasn’t it?
The hole year has been a test of how it is to be a world class orienteer and now I know so much more. If I look back and try to remember how I was thinking and orienteering in Italy or last year in November, the improvement is just amazing.
What is the biggest difference now?
Routine. That you know how good you are, not just in your dreams but also out in the real world. And you know that you don’t have to do anything special in big events; that normal is good enough.
As far as I can remember, I don’t think I saw you in bad mood this year.
I really enjoy what I do and the biggest gun I have is my big big smile. I try to have my bad days at home. There is not so many of them anyhow, but I think that you you should have your tough days at home and then, when you are out and compete, just relax and enjoy life. I think that I could have never been able to take all these steps this year, if I hadn’t dreamed about it for years and years and had believed it could be possible. And my injuries had been a big help to see life from another side. Orienteering is really not all in your life. Of course it has to be the most important thing for a while if you want to achieve something in it, but not for your lifetime. And I m happy I found this out when I was in my early twenties and not late thirties. Maybe this is what makes me so happy.
Are there more people interested in you now?
I’ve been away from the real orienteering world for a long time and there are people who really had faith in me all this time, they are the ones that I really like to spend time and work with. I know that quite many people had forgotten me or thought that I was rubbish. But after the Sprint at the World Champs, I got 35 SMS’s – most from people I almost didn’t know. And can you guess how many I got after my 9th place in the Middle distance…? The answer is: 0,00. :-)
Such is sport…
Quite amazing. And another thing is that during this autumn, many, many people were interested in me. And just five months ago, in July, no one cared. It seems like most of these “new fans” don’t understand what work there was behind the medal. You know, I really hope that people like me for the person I am and not for my results.
Kajsa Nilsson – Achievement of the Year 2006
Nominated for: Comeback of the year. After four years of struggling with injuries, Nilsson managed to get in shape and win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Denmark.
Other achievements: Two smashing runs on second leg in Relay at European and World Championships. Silver medalist from WOC Relay in Denmark. 4th place from Sprint at the European Championships.
Story: Back in 2001, Nilsson was considered one of the greatest talents and hopes in the Swedish women’s orienteering. Hoever, the bronze medal from the Junior World Championships in Miskolc in Hungary was meant to be her last for a long time. Starting from 2002, she could never train for time long enough to get in her top shape. Whenever she started, soon an injury came and she was out of training and competitons again. This struggle was brought to an end this season, when she finally managed to stay away from injuries and could show what her true level was. She was nominated for the European Championships in Estonia, where she was 4th in Sprint and displayed a great run on the second leg in the Relay with which she managed to bring Sweden up to the fight for top positions. The peak of her short senior career so far came at the World Championships in Denmark, where she won two medals – bronze in Sprint and silver in Relay. At the age of 24, this Swede who lives and trains in Halden in Norway still has a lot ahead of her.
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» Runner profile Kajsa Nilsson
» Poll: Best of Orienteering 2006
