World of O News
Gueorgiou will be there. Hubmann will be there. Norberg will be there. And Gonon will be there. Thus gold medalists from the middle and long distance at the World Champs in Czech Republic this summer, along with the rest of the medal winners in the mens long distance, are running the Norwegian Champs in Tromsø Thursday until Sunday this week.
However, of these only Nordberg can become Norwegian Champion, as you have to live in Norway and run for a Norwegian Club to get Norwegian Champion. The others will start first in a separate “International Category” at the beginning of the start field. There is special attention towards this Norwegian Championships due to the World Champs in Trondheim in 2010 – and several teams have already been to the first pre-WOC training camp in Norway to prepare for the Trondheim WOC of 2010.
Record number of participants
Another special thing about this Norwegian Championships is that it attracts a record number of participants. A total of 115 men will run the 16 kilometer long distance in Tromsø – a new record for the long distance in recent years! The four days will give a total of 1300 starts in the junior and senior categories – impressive numbers for a championships for whom the traveling distance to get to the championships is more than 1500 kilometers for most participants.
To Tromsø for revenge
Holger Hott and Emil Wingstedt are two runners looking for revenge at the Norwegian Champs after not having optimal results earlier this year. Holger Hott has been injured big parts of this spring, and did therefore not manage to qualify to the World Champs. Emil Wingstedt was on his way to a medal on the WOC Sprint this year when he forgot an easy control and got qualified. Moreover, Wingstedt got ill before the long distance qualification, and thus came home from WOC 2008 without any results.
Favourites for winning the Norwegian Champs in the mens class over the long distance are probably Nordberg, Wingstedt and Hott – but there are several other runners like e.g. Audun Weltzien, Hans Trøan, Anders Tiltnes, Olav Lundanes or Carl
Waaler Caas who may also have possibilities to take home victory.
Hausken or Andersen?
In the womens class the international participants are less likely to fight for a best time. Instead the fight will probably stand between the two big profiles of Norwegian woman orienteering, Anne Margrethe Hausken and Marianne Andersen. Hausken has been the best of them all of this year, but Andersen is hungry for victory!
Programme
The Norwegian Champs start with Long Distance on Thursday August 28th, continue with Middle Qual August 29th, Middle Final August 30th and finally Relay at August 31st.
