WOC Long Live from 13.00: Favorites and Background

The long distance starts at 13:00 CET – with the winner in the mens class in the finish around 18:00 CET. Thus it will be a long day for the spectators both at the venue in Granåsen, Trondheim – and the ones following the race in the Internet. Excellent live services including live GPS tracking, video streaming and Live Blog will make this a very interesting day for all orienteering lovers, though.

The secret to win the long distance sits just as much in the head as in the legs. In the terrain around Granåsen, the runners will get nothing for free. You just have to keep fighting, even if you start getting tired. All the way you have to believe that you have been doing the right choices even if it feels slow at times – that is the only way to keep up the speed and keep yourself in the fight for gold.

The long distance is open in both the mens and the womens classes. There are some big favorites in both the mens and womens classes, but if I should list 5 athletes in each class, I’m not sure I would be able to pinpoint the winner.

Favorites: Men

Top Favorites:

• Daniel Hubmann: The best long distance runner the last years and on a clear top of the World of O Ranking on the long distance. Did not impress on the long qualification, and finished only 7th on the sprint. No top result in O-Ringen – however Hubmann will be very dangerous on the long distance.
• Olav Lundanes: Few runners in the world are better than Olav Lundanes in terrain dominated by marshes – as Lundanes has shown several times. Long distance is his best discipline – a real fighter which will be difficult to beat. All the way down at an 18th place at the World of O Ranking on the long distance, but that does not mean anything today.
• Thierry Gueorgiou: The best middle distance runner in the world – and really hungry to take the gold in the long distance as well. Was close with silver in Hungary last year. Third spot in the World of O Ranking on the long distance.
• Anders Nordberg: Silver in the WOC long distance in 2008 – only 8th in 2009. Skipped the EOC and NORT to concentrate fully on WOC on homeground in Trondheim. Nordberg has shown several times that he can run exceptional long distance races – can he manage when it is most important at the WOC long distance on homeground? Number four on the World of O Ranking on he long distance.
• Mattias Merz: World Champion on the long distance in 2007, silver at the Nordics in 2009 – but no medal races on the long distance in EOC or WOC in 2008 and 2009 where he had better results on the middle distance. However, Merz is fantastic on the long distance when he is in shape, and could be the winner in Trondheim.

Outsiders:

• Hans Gunnar Omdal: Impressive victory in the Norwegian EOC test races this spring – will be fighting for the medals and also for gold if he has a good day.
• Mats Haldin: Unlucky number four with an early start time in 2009 – and will yet again be in the fight for medals.
• Jani Lakanen: Won the long distance on both the World Champs and on the European Champs in 2006. Would be a surprise if he could take a medal again, but he knows what it takes to be up there.
• Francois Gonon: Bronze from 2008 in Czech Republic – and has lived in Trondheim and trained a lot in relevant terrain with focus on this race. Good at hitting his shape for the championships – and showed at the qualification race on Tuesday that he might have done just that again.
• Marc Lauenstein: Silver at WOC Long in both 2005 and 2006 – and confirmed that he is in good shape this year as well with a 5th spot on EOC long earlier this year. Not among the biggest favorites, but one of the runners who could go all the way to the top if he has the day.
• Fabian Hertner: Has shown fantastic shape in the sprints this year – was the fastest runner at the sprint in Trondheim but lost to Matthias Müller due to more mistakes. Won – surprisingly for many – a bronze medal at the EOC long distance, and must therefore be counted in Trondheim as well. Has been training a lot in Trondheim terrain during several visits. Not a top favorite, but also one of the runners who may take gold if he has the top day.
• Emil Wingstedt: His last WOC – nearly on home ground after living in Trondheim for several years during his studies. Was the king of sprint for several years, but always wanted the gold medal on the long distance. May take it in his last chance if he gets the maximum out of his race, but rather an outsider for the medals.
• Philippe Adamski: Number two on the World of O Ranking on the long distance after his silver medal at EOC long distance earlier this year. Not as good in Norwegian terrain as in continental terrain, but may still be in for a fight for the medals.

Favorites: Women

Top Favorites:

• Simone Niggli: 16 WOC gold medals – and probably the biggest favorite at the WOC long distance also. Will be really difficult to beat – but has shown some weaknesses which the competitors might exploit. On top on the World of O Ranking on the long distance.
• Marianne Andersen: Running for her first individual WOC gold medal – and the long distance in Trondheim might very well be her best chance ever to achieve that. Silver from WOC Long 2006, 2008 and 2009 – it would be a surprise if Andersen would not get another medal on the long distance in Trondheim. But will it be gold, silver or bronze? Number two on World of O Ranking on the long distance.
• Anne Margrethe Hausken: The big star in 2008 when winning the overall World Cup, but has had some injury problems in 2009 and 2010. The long distance is probably Hausken´s best chance for winning an individual gold medal in this World Champs – and although her orienteering has not always been stable, there are few who can beat Hausken if she has a good day. 6th place on World of O Ranking on the long distance.
• Helena Jansson: Jansson is still looking for a medal on WOC long distance, but Jansson is still one of the women who may stand on the top of the podium after the WOC long distance later today. Bronze medal from EOC long distance in Bulgaria this year. 5th place on the World of O Ranking on the long distance.
• Minna Kauppi: Has struggled a bit in 2009 and 2010, but the gold medalist on WOC long distance in 2007 is very capable of taking the victory in the long distance in Trondheim if she has a good race. 4th place on the World of O Ranking on the long distance.

Outsiders:

• Dana Brozkova: Brozkova should maybe have been put among the top favorites as she is number two on the World of O Ranking on the long distance, and won the WOC long distance in 2008 and took silver on the EOC long distance in 2010. However, she has not consistently shown the same qualities in Nordic terrain, and is therefore put among the outsiders.
• Annika Billstam: The bronze medalist from WOC 2008 long distance showed good shape at the Nordic Tour this year by finishing second overall. Will also be in on the fight for the medals.
• Emma Claesson: Been away from top orienteering for some time, but back this year and showed an impressive race in the qualification.
• Eva Jurenikova: Number 5 on EOC long distance, and getting closer and closer to the top. Number 7 on the World of O ranking on the long distance. Will be tough to fight for the medals, but has a medal chance on a good day.
• Mari Fasting: The third Norwegian runner in the field – has a medal chance on a good day based on her knowledge of the terrain type.

Important links and information

• The LiveBlog from the WOC Middle is embedded at the bottom of this page (scroll all the way down)
• The WOC 2010 Live center with live results, live GPS tracking and speaker sound is to be found here
• First start: 13:00 CET – Women. 14:50 CET – Men
• Startlist Long Final with link to runner profiles; men and women
• The course is in two parts, and the competitors need to exchange map for the last part of the course. The exchange takes place when passing the arena.
• A forking system will be used in the Long Distance Final.

Fantasy World Cup

Remember to submit your team to the Fantasy World Cup 2010. All WOC finals are part of the World Cup, and 10 of the 13 World Cup events count in the overall Fantasy World Cup. The last chance to update your Fantasy World Cup team ahead of the long final is at 13:00 CET – 2 minutes ahead of the first start!

WOC History

Another useful resource is the World of O Runners WOC history page – giving you all the best WOC results for each discipline sorted by country. We will update these pages during the championships.

LiveBlog for WOC 2010

There will be a LiveBlog during all of WOC in a cooperation between WorldofO.com and the WOC organizers in Trondheim. I will be reporting live from the arena/forest via mobile phone. All Tweets from Eliteorienteers go directly into the LiveBlog.

HeadCam videos

HeadCam video through part of the WOC Long Qualification course Women heat B. Get to know the type of terrain the WOC athletes meet in Trondheim by comparing map with terrain as seen through the eyes of a runner with a HeadCam mounted on the head. The runner speed (including some mistakes not shown) is just about what was required to get to an A-final. This video was made on request based on the comments on the World of O Facebook page after the WOC Middle Qual HeadCam video (see below). Longer version coming…

HeadCam video through part of the WOC Middle Qualification course Women heat C. Here the HeadCam footage is combined with 3DRerun visualization which gives an overview of the course. The runner speed here was just inside what was required for an A-final spot (thus some mistakes are allowed in the womens class).