- It was a lot easier than what we have trained for, Thierry Gueorgiou commented after crushing everybody in todays WOC middle distance. – I nearly felt disappointed when I realized that the visibility was quite good, as I have felt weak physically yesterday after the long distance. I really had to push hard.

With 3 men among the best 10 in the middle distance just as in the long distance – it may look like the relay gold could already be delivered to the French. But we have all seen what can happen in a relay. – I feel ready for the relay – it is only 35 minutes, Gueorgiou commented after his golden middle distance race.

In the women’s class Helena Jansson took the gold medal – and looking at the GPS tracking for the women it didn’t excatly look like it was too easy. All of the women were doing mistakes – and Jansson won after a stable race with only small mistakes.

Not like a gold race

- It did not feel like a gold race, but it was, a very happy gold medal winner Helena Jansson said after winning the gold medal on the WOC middle distance today. – It is unbelieveable. It was very difficult in the forest, the Swede said after her third medal of three possible.

Neither Helena Jansson nor any of the other runners managed to get through the tricky course without mistakes. Danish Ida Bobach took the silver medal from a very early start position. Her good last loop secured her the silver medal ahead of Swiss Judith Wyder.

Maps

A very tricky middle distance race – giving all the excitement you could ask for. Below you see maps and GPS tracking:

• Map men (GPS tracking)
• Map women (GPS tracking)
• Gueorgiou versus Öberg – step by step
• HeadCam + GPS syncronized for womens course

Results

Women
1 JANSSON Helena, SWE 33:10
2 BOBACH Ida, DEN 34:26 (+01:16)
3 WYDER Judith, SUI 35:11 (+02:01)
4 KAUPPI Minna, FIN 35:19 (+02:09)
5 VINOGRADOVA Natalia, RUS 35:28 (+02:18)
6 ALM Maja, DEN 35:31 (+02:21)
7 ANDERSEN Marianne, NOR 35:49 (+02:39)
8 RANTANEN Merja, FIN 36:32 (+03:22)
9 BILLSTAM Annika, SWE 36:42 (+03:32)
10 CHATAING Amélie, FRA 36:59 (+03:49)

Men
1 GUEORGIOU Thierry, FRA 34:38
2 ÖBERG Peter, SWE 36:59 (+02:21)
3 LUNDANES Olav, NOR 37:01 (+02:23)
4 KRATOV Oleksandr, UKR 37:30 (+02:52)
5 VYTAUTAS GVILDYS Jonas, LIT 37:45 (+03:07)
6 GONON François, FRA 37:46 (+03:08)
7 LASSEN Tue, DEN 38:26 (+03:48)
8 MUELLER Matthias, SUI 38:40 (+04:02)
9 ADAMSKI Philippe, FRA 38:43 (+04:05)
10 ROLLIER Baptiste, SUI 38:55 (+04:17)

• Official results will come here – see also live results

Finally the routechoice analysis for WOC Long Men is up! There were not many long and decisive routechoices in the WOC Long distance for men this year were top runners choose different routes – from an orienteering point of view it was more of an orienteering technical challenge. And of course a real physical challenge with the long winning time and the heat. Below you find a brief analysis leg by leg for most of the mens course.

Sorry for some delay in publishing this – I had to do some changes to my software due to the new buffering feature in the GPSSeuranta units (which on the other hand gives us a lot more data). Note that in the illustrations, the first time given is the “GPS time” – i.e. taken from the GPS data – whereas the split time from the timing system is written in paranthesis – and also in the table provided for each split. For the controls in the forked part there was not good GPS coverage – in addition I do not provide the split time tables.

See also the HeadCam video from the first 6 controls and the GPS illustrations from the WOC Long distance.

I hope to update this article with some more comments from routeplanners before the WOC is over.

Start-1

Split times Start-1
1. 07:35 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
2. 07:55 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
3. 08:07 Gernot KERSCHBAUMER (17.)
4. 08:14 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
5. 08:17 Oleksandr KRATOV (11.)
6. 08:18 François GONON (3.)
9. 08:23 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
12. 08:33 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
23. 09:24 Pasi IKONEN (2.)

The first control was one of the most tricky legs in this WOC Long – here several runners already lost their chance to fight for a place in the top. The illustration below illustrates the many mistakes made on this leg very well.

The best choice here was to do as Gueorgiou and Rollier. Follow the path as long as possible, then find the correct place to take the small path down. This part still had very good runnability. Then the key was to know exactly where you were when you crossed the big path – if you didn’t you were “dead”. The terrain at the other side of the big path was really tricky.

Gueorgiou was fastest already from the start – 20 seconds faster than the next runner Baptiste Rollier. Boström, Ikonen and Gonon took a more direct route than Gueorgiou. Even if the runnability was good here, the time it takes to read the map is longer, and this is probably the main reason for the time losses. Hubmann is close to the optimal route, but looses nearly a minute to Gueorgiou.

Leg 1-2

Split times 1-2
1. 01:05 Valentin NOVIKOV (14.)
2. 01:05 Alexey BORTNIK (13.)
3. 01:09 Daniel HAJEK (40.)
4. 01:10 Kalvis MIHAILOVS (38.)
5. 01:12 Jonne LEHTO (25.)
9. 01:16 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
10. 01:16 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
13. 01:16 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
16. 01:19 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
17. 01:19 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
20. 01:23 François GONON (3.)

The second leg was a short leg – down the hill with quite nice features to orienteer after.  Not much happened between the top runners here. Gonon was the slowest of the top runners – but still only lost a few seonds to Gueorgiou.

Leg 2-3

Split times 2-3
1. 01:44 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
2. 01:47 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
3. 01:49 Carl Waaler KAAS (15.)
4. 01:50 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
5. 01:51 Gernot KERSCHBAUMER (17.)
13. 01:59 François GONON (3.)
16. 02:04 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
19. 02:10 Pasi IKONEN (2.)

The third leg looks easy on the map, but still some runners did mistakes here. If you are not accurate in your orienteering here, it is easy to come too high (like the HeadCam runner did). Gueorgiou is again fastest with 1:44 – Ikonen looses nearly half a minute.

Leg 3-4

Split times 3-4
1. 03:42 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
2. 03:44 Tero FOHR (9.)
3. 03:46 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
4. 03:53 Dmitrii TCVETKOV (12.)
5. 03:53 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
9. 04:05 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
14. 04:08 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
28. 04:45 François GONON (3.)

Control 3-4 was a quite easy control – a possibility to get a mental break after some tricky controls. The only viable choice here was to go down on the big path, and take the control from below. Gueorgiou was again fastest with 3:42 with the ideal route. Boström and Hubann loose half a minute by leaving the big path too early – getting a less secure attack of the control. Gonon made a strange routechoice – running too high – loosing more than a minute to Gueorgiou. A few runners (none in the top, see illustration bellow) did not take down to the big path but instead took a more direct option – they lost a lot of time on it!

Leg 4-5

Split times 4-5
1. 01:06 Valentin NOVIKOV (14.)
2. 01:06 Tero FOHR (9.)
3. 01:09 Alexey BORTNIK (13.)
4. 01:10 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
5. 01:10 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
7. 01:11 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
13. 01:15 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
14. 01:15 François GONON (3.)
18. 01:19 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
19. 01:19 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)

4-5 was a short leg running down – with quite easy orienteering due to some features just ahead of the control to ease the orienteering. None of the top runners lost more than 9 second – Boström and Hubmann being the slowest.

Leg 5-6

Split times 5-6
1. 02:17 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
2. 02:19 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
3. 02:23 Carl Waaler KAAS (15.)
4. 02:25 Gernot KERSCHBAUMER (17.)
5. 02:26 Lauri SILD (34.)
9. 02:29 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
12. 02:33 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
14. 02:34 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
15. 02:35 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
43. 07:44 François GONON (3.)

The last 50 meters into the 6th control were pretty tricky – and several runners did mistakes here (like the HeadCam runner did). All of the top runners did this last part into the control well – but Gonon made a big 5:30 minute mistake by running 30 degrees wrong out of the control – searching for the control several hundred meters away from the control (making a “heart shape” for a special person with the GPS track, like somebody on the LiveBlog noted).

Gueorgiou looses 17 seconds to the best runner on this leg.  At this point we have the following standing:

1. Gueorgiou 18.01
2. Rollier 18.34
3. Lundanes. 18.49
4. Kerschbaumer 19.14
5. Hubmann 19.15
6. Novikov 19.31
10. Boström 19.53
13. Ikonen 20.26
25. Gonon 25.24

Gonon is 7.23 behind Gueorgiou – and has he started 6 minutes ahead, he is 1.23 behind in the forest.

Leg 6-7

Split times 6-7
1. 01:57 François GONON (3.)
2. 01:59 Dmitrii TCVETKOV (12.)
3. 02:00 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
4. 02:02 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
5. 02:02 Julian DENT (24.)
15. 02:15 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
23. 02:21 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
36. 02:48 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)

Again a downhill control with not too technical orienteering – the important thing is keeping the direction. Gonon is fastest – trying to gain time after his mistake. Gueorgiou looses 18 seconds to Gonon.

Leg 7-8

Split times 7-8
1. 13:15 François GONON (3.)
2. 13:32 Valentin NOVIKOV (14.)
3. 13:50 Carl Waaler KAAS (15.)
4. 13:59 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
5. 14:02 Marc LAUENSTEIN (8.)
6. 14:04 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
8. 14:22 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
13. 15:05 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
14. 15:09 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)

A long leg with two main options – going direct along the small path – or taking a long right option along the big path (nearly 300 meters longer). Almost all runners take the more direct option – and time differences are mostly due to running speed and the technical difficulties the last part into the control. Gueorgiou looses 44 seconds to Gonon here – most of it the last 50-100 meters into the control. Gonon runs fantastic – seeing Gueorgiou for the first time in the race just as he punches the 8th control.

Both Hubmann and Boström loose nearly two minutes to Gonon on this leg – but took the optimal route.

Leg 8-9

Split times 8-9
1. 01:21 François GONON (3.)
2. 01:29 Marc LAUENSTEIN (8.)
3. 01:30 Mikhail MAMLEEV (16.)
4. 01:33 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
5. 01:35 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
12. 01:37 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
14. 01:40 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
20. 01:42 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)

A short uphill leg – small differenes except Gonon has a super time because he tries to get up into the back of Gueorgiou. No top runners loose any significant time here.

Leg 9-10

Split times 9-10
1. 04:58 François GONON (3.)
2. 04:59 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
3. 05:04 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
4. 05:08 Marc LAUENSTEIN (8.)
5. 05:13 Carl Waaler KAAS (15.)
8. 05:35 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
16. 05:58 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
29. 06:21 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)

A medium length leg in the slope with no real routechoice options. Gueorgiou and Gonon are the fastest here with 4:58/4:59 – the Swiss runners loose 1:00 (Hubmann) and nearly 1:30 (Rollier) seemingly due to unsecurity.

Leg 10-11

Split times 10-11
1. 04:01 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
2. 04:02 François GONON (3.)
3. 04:17 Valentin NOVIKOV (14.)
4. 04:20 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
5. 04:21 Tue LASSEN (37.)
7. 04:23 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
10. 04:27 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
15. 04:30 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
32. 05:34 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)

A leg in the slope with two different options – either staying in the slope (optimal route) or up to the path and down again (a bit less risky, but nearly a minute slower). Gueorgiou/Gonon are again fastest with 4:01/4:02. Rollier again looses more than a minute due to insecurity ahead of the control. The other top runners loose some time – but all less than 30 seconds.

Leg 11-12

Split times 11-12
1. 02:05 François GONON (3.)
2. 02:13 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
3. 02:20 Olle KÄRNER (22.)
4. 02:20 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
5. 02:23 Simonas KREPSTA (21.)
7. 02:25 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
12. 02:31 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
14. 02:33 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)

A short leg in the slope – nothing much happening among the top runners, but Gonon is now running ahead of Gueorgiou for this leg and a few more. Boström looses more than 20 seonds.

Leg 12-13

Split times 12-13
1. 13:07 François GONON (3.)
2. 13:07 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
3. 13:18 Marc LAUENSTEIN (8.)
4. 13:18 Tero FOHR (9.)
5. 13:25 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
7. 13:34 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
10. 13:47 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
11. 13:56 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
18. 14:46 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)

Going left was clearly the best choice – all top runners went this way. Going right is about 200 meters longer but with a few meter less of altitude to gain. Going left  you on the other hand get mental rest. The route planner commented that the right choice is equivalent when thinking all of the course as one, as you save some height on this route.

Looking at the split, Olle Kärner is fastest among the runners taking the right option with 15:48 – that is 1:41 behind Gonon/Gueorgiou going left. Of the top runners Hubmann looses most time here – he looses nearly 50 seconds to Gonon/Gueorgiou.

Leg 13-17

A few short legs with few orienteering technical challenges. Not much happening among the top runners here.

Split times 13-14
1. 00:34 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
2. 00:36 Dmitrii TCVETKOV (12.)
3. 00:38 Mikhail MAMLEEV (16.)
4. 00:39 Valentin NOVIKOV (14.)
5. 00:40 Vyacheslav MUKHIDINOV (18.)
7. 00:40 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
9. 00:40 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
16. 00:42 François GONON (3.)
29. 00:45 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
31. 00:46 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)

Split times 14-15
1. 01:01 Mikhail MAMLEEV (16.)
2. 01:01 Dmitrii TCVETKOV (12.)
3. 01:05 Tero FOHR (9.)
4. 01:06 Vyacheslav MUKHIDINOV (18.)
5. 01:06 Tue LASSEN (37.)
7. 01:06 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
9. 01:07 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
10. 01:07 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
15. 01:10 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
17. 01:11 François GONON (3.)
26. 01:16 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)

Split times 15-16
1. 01:41 Gernot KERSCHBAUMER (17.)
2. 01:42 Jan SEDIVY (27.)
3. 01:42 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
4. 01:45 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
5. 01:45 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
6. 01:45 François GONON (3.)
7. 01:47 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
9. 01:50 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
11. 01:50 Pasi IKONEN (2.)

Split times 16-17
1. 02:05 Tero FOHR (9.)
2. 02:06 François GONON (3.)
3. 02:09 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
4. 02:13 Olav LUNDANES (10.)
5. 02:14 Tue LASSEN (37.)
6. 02:16 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)
7. 02:16 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
11. 02:20 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
15. 02:22 Pasi IKONEN (2.)

Leg 19-20 / 22-23

For the remainder of the course, the GPS data is missing for many runners – and due to the forking I have not included the split times from the timing system (only GPS timing included). I will update this section if I find routes of the top runners – as GPS-data for the best runners on this leg is missing.

From the GPS data it looks like left and right are approximately equivalent. Gueorgiou/Gonon go left and loose around 15 seconds to Kerschbaumer. Boström looses 1:23 taking an extreme right variant.

Leg 21-22/ 24-25

Short leg – but still some routechoice options and quite big differences for this leg length. Gonon and Gueorgiou run different routes here. Lauenstein is fastest – I don’t have his route from the GPS but will try to find it.

Leg 22-23 / 25-26

No big routechoice options – and not the most challenging technical leg – but several top runners loose time. Notably Hubmann looses nearly 2:30 here.

Leg 23-24 / 26-27

Again a short leg with some micro-routechoice options. The runners are getting tired, and one of the top runners do a mistake on each control. This time it is Olle Boström’s turn – he looses 42 seconds on this leg by taking a more left option.

Leg 29-30

Split times 29-30
1. 02:13 Baptiste ROLLIER (4.)
2. 02:22 Carl Waaler KAAS (15.)
3. 02:27 Pasi IKONEN (2.)
4. 02:31 Tero FOHR (9.)
5. 02:34 François GONON (3.)
8. 02:36 Thierry GUEORGIOU (1.)
13. 02:45 Olle BOSTRÖM (6.)
20. 02:54 Daniel HUBMANN (5.)

To the second last control it is again Boström who looses time (30 seconds) – and this time also Hubmann (40 seconds).

Experience the tricky first 6 controls of the WOC long distance course for the men using a HeadCam video syncronized with GPS and map. The synchronization is done in 3DRerun with the HeadCam/GPS synchronization feature.

You can click anywhere on the map with the left mouse button while holding down the ctrl-key, and let the video jump to that position

• View video + GPS in 3DRerun – WOC Long final – part 1
• View video + GPS in 3DRerun – WOC Middle Qual
• See also video + GPS in 3DRerun from WOC long qualification

HeadCam runner for both all three videos is Matthieu Puech. For the long distance Mr. HeadCam run in 26 minutes – 8 minutes slower than Thierry Gueorgiou. This included mistakes at the 3rd and 6th control. To the first control he was 30 seconds slower than Annika Billstam – the winner of the womens class.

For the WOC Middle distance qualification Mr. HeadCam run through the women’s qualification heat A with a time just around the winning time of Minna Kauppi. In the video you also see Eric Perrin (course setter of the long distance final and qualification) who started at the same time and run one of the other qual heats. Note that there were unfortunately no controls in the forest – and there are some small inaccuracies for the GPS in some places. Still you should understand a lot about how it is in the forest. As you can see, there is a lot of running and paths were all you have to do is to keep the speed high – and then you have to get your speed down in the forest were the runnability is variable – in some areas even very bad.

Technical information

The synchronization is done in 3DRerun with the HeadCam/GPS synchronization feature. You can easily do a similar comparison between GPS position and HeadCam video from your own trainings using 3DRerun by registering on the site and uploading your route.

• More information about using HeadCam video and synchronizing with your route
• Screencasts with instructions about how to use 3DRerun – including a screencast about HeadCam analysis

The WOC middle distance will be an intense event featuring live GPS tracking, live results, webTV and LiveBlog to make this a great experience. The first start in the womens class is at 13:31 CET – in the mens class at 15:10 CET. The women will finish just around 15-20 minutes before the first men start.

• Startlist middle final
• All you need to know about WOC 2011
• You find all live services here (Live webTV, GPS-tracking, live audio, live results)
• WOC 2011 webpage
• LiveBlog – see the bottom of this article

Other interesting WOC links:

• WOC long: GPS illustrations
• WOC Long final: Map, results, interviews
• WOC Sprint final: Map, results, interviews
• HeadCam video from WOC Long Qual synchronized with GPS – experience the WOC terrain like the stars
• HeadCam video from WOC Middle Qual synchronized with GPS
• WOC 2011 Team overview with pictures of most runners who have started so far in the World Champs
• Route of heat winners from WOC Long Qual and WOC Middle Qual

LiveBlog

You find the LiveBlog either in the window below – or as a separate page here. There is also a mobile version of the LiveBlog

We have seldom seen this kind of spreading of chosen routes on the way to the first control in a World Championships. Many seemed to be tricked into taking a more risky direct route than the optimal one due to the good runnabillity in the forest to the first control – but most lost a lot of time on it.

Below some illustrations and an initial analysis for the first part of the course is included from the WOC long distance – I will try to make a more complete analysis this evening. I hope to get both interview with the course setter and correct times from the split-times (times given now are from the GPS-data). Thus this is preliminary data – but it will still interest some of you I am sure. Due to the jumps in GPS data I have only managed to make illustrations for some legs in the start for now – I will try to get something also for the later legs this evening.

There will also be a HeadCam video with 3DRerun coupling from the first 6 controls available later today.

See also routes of the top 6 runners here:

• Thierry Gueorgiou, Pasi Ikonen, Francois Gonon, Baptiste Rollier, Daniel Hubmann, Olle Boström
• Annika Billstam, Dana Brozkova, Helena Jansson, Eva Jurenikova, Heidi Bagstevold, Anni-Maija Fincke

Women – Start-1

The best choice was obviously to do like Billstam. Use the path as long as possible, then find the correct place to take the small path down. This part still had very good runnability. Then the key was to know exactly where you were when you crossed the big path – if you didn’t you were “dead”. This part at the other side of the big path was really tricky, here most of the best had to stop several times to read the map.

Billstam was fastest already to the first control – and never let anybody else come up in the lead. The spreading we see here is extraordinary! And Minna Kauppi is not even included as she never reached the first control…

Women – 3-4

Here you could to either direct or up. It seems like it is approximately equal to go up on the path or stay in the slope – but the risk is lower if you go up.

Women – 5-6

The long leg in the women’s course – the same as in the mens. Going left was clearly the best choice – although the route planner thinks that the right choice is equivalent when thinking all of the course as one, as you save some height on this route. On the other hand the orienteering is easier on the left route, so you save your head for later in the course.

Men – Start-1

Similar to the women’s first leg – but the men where a bit better than the women. Still a lot of spreading – and still following the path was better.

Men – 3-4

Here it was – in my opinion – quite obvious that you had to go down to the path. Still it is interesting to note that a few went direct in the slope.

Men – 10-11

Similar to the women’s 3-4 – but for the men it was clearly better to stay in the slope.

Men – 12-13

The long leg for the men is the same as for the women. Again left was clearly faster – and for the men fewer choose the other options than for the women.

Thierry Gueorgiou and Annika Billstam both won very clear victories in the WOC Long distance today. Gueorgiou was the big favourite before the race – and he also managed to live up to the expectations – now being the first men to win gold medals in all individual disciplines. Billstam has been doing some of the last preparations with the French team – and it did not seem to hurt…

Gueorgiou had set enormous pressure on himself ahead of this World Champs – and winning the gold medal took a lot of pressure off his shoulders.

- I am very  happy to win this long distance race here at the World Champs on homeground. It was very tough race. Now I am heading to middle and relay with hope to take more gold medals.

In the end he was 4:27 ahead of Pasi Ikonen in second spot – and more than 6 minutes ahead of Francois Gonon in third spot.

- I am completely wasted, Gueorgiou said after finishing the race of his life. Can “The King of Middle” get down on the ground again ahead of the middle distance on Friday?

Even clearer victory

Billstam’s victory was even bigger than Gueorgiou’s victory – it was 4:28 down to Dana Brozkova in second spot and another three minutes down to Helena Jansson in third.

- I am very happy. My plan today was to take safe route choices all the way, and push the best i could, a smiling Billstam said after the race. – I sometimes thought I maybe run too far around, but it looks like it was the winning strategy today.

Billstam did not run a perfect race – but it was not far away from it either.

- I did some small mistakes, but I stuck to my plan. In total I made maybe 1.5 – 2 minutes mistake, but I think that is good in a long distance race like this.

When asked about how long she had prepared for this race, the answer was surprising to some.

- I started to prepare for this race when the selection for the World Champs were made. I had hoped to run the sprint, but was not selected for the sprint. From then I prepared fully for the long distance. I did also run some good long distance races in this type of terrain this spring, so I think I was very well prepared.

The world champs has been a fantastic success for the Swedish women so far. 5 medals out of 6 possible!

Maps and courses

The courses were very though – the winning times were more than 10 minutes longer than expected. The heat was part of the reason for this – but the courses were also very technical – and with big variations in difficulty and orienteering challenges. Below you find map and GPS coverage.

• Map men (GPS tracking)
• Map women (GPS tracking)

Results

Men

1   GUEORGIOU Thierry FRA 1:47:29 0:00

2   IKONEN Pasi FIN 1:51:56 +4:27

3   GONON François FRA 1:53:35 +6:06

4   ROLLIER Baptiste SUI 1:55:26 +7:57

5   HUBMANN Daniel SUI 1:57:05 +9:36

6   BOSTRÖM Olle SWE 1:57:40 +10:11

7   ADAMSKI Philippe FRA 1:57:47 +10:18

8   LAUENSTEIN Marc SUI 1:57:48 +10:19

9   FÖHR Tero FIN 1:59:28 +11:59

10   LUNDANES Olav NOR 1:59:43 +12:14

11   KRATOV Oleksandr UKR 2:00:38 +13:09

12   TCVETKOV Dmitrii RUS 2:00:56 +13:27

13   BORTNIK Alexey RUS 2:01:09 +13:40

14   NOVIKOV Valentin RUS 2:04:59 +17:30

15   KAAS Carl Waaler NOR 2:05:27 +17:58

Women
1   BILLSTAM Annika SWE 1:22:26 0:00

2   BROZKOVA Dana CZE 1:26:54 +4:28

3   JANSSON Helena SWE 1:29:55 +7:29

4   JURENIKOVA Eva CZE 1:30:58 +8:32

5   BAGSTEVOLD Heidi Østlid NOR 1:31:57 +9:31

6   FINCKE Anni-Maija FIN 1:34:06 +11:40

7   SøES Signe DEN 1:34:51 +12:25

8   RANTANEN Merja FIN 1:35:56 +13:30

9   SKRASTINA Aija LAT 1:36:34 +14:08

10   NOVIKOVA Yulia RUS 1:37:05 +14:39

11   FRIEDERICH Rahel SUI 1:37:50 +15:24

12   WIGEMYR Tone NOR 1:38:11 +15:45

13   INGHAM Lizzie NZL 1:39:42 +17:16

14   VOLYNSKA Nadiya UKR 1:39:45 +17:19

15   AEBI Bettina SUI 1:41:32 +19:06

• Full results

Thierry Gueorgiou is the big favourite among the men, but in the women’s class it is more open in the WOC long distance which starts at 12:30 CET in Savoie, France today. Can Gueorgiou live up to the expectations he has set for himself? Can the Swedish women continue their success from the sprint – Annika Billstam was very strong this spring…

The long distance is a race for the though men and women – and the orienteering is expected to be a combination of tricky orienteering and easier orienteering – adapting the speed to the orienteering challenges and keeping up the concentration will be important to take home the gold medal today.

Women

• The Swedish women impressed this spring. Annika Billstam did some extraordinary good races this spring – but has she kept her shape? Helena Jansson was also very good this spring, but she might not be 100% back after her injuries in May/June. Emma Claesson took the bronze medal in Trondheim last year – and with gold medalist Simone Niggli and silver medalist Marianne Andersen missing on the startlist, Claesson is the one on the startlist with best result in last years WOC long distance – but is she strong enough in the French terrain? If I should choose one of the Swedes, Annika Billstam would be my choice.
• Signe Søes is a runner which it has not been talked much about, but she has gotten closer and closer to the absolute top the last years. Last year she struggled with injuries, but still did several good international races. This years she has been without injuries since February, and impressed a lot in OOCup in July. The silver medalist from EOC middle in Bulgaria last year said a few weeks ago that she does not have full control in this terrain, but then who has…?
• The Czech women – and especially Dana Brozkova – must be watched closely in this long distance final. Brozkova does always bring out something extra in the World Champs races – so don’t be fooled by the fact that we have not seen the WOC 2008 long distance champion much in the top earlier this season. Eva Jurenikova is also one of the outsiders.
• The Finnish women are also among the favourites. Minna Kauppi has done good qualification races, but is probably not 100% back after the problems this spring. Merja Rantanen is in the outsider group, but not one of the big favourites for gold.
• Two Norwegian women are outsiders to the medals – Tone Wigemyr and Mari Fasting. Wigemyr impressed in the World Cup in France last year – and has also impressed in races in relevant terrain – should take a medal with a good race today.

Men

• The French men impressed in the qualification races – each winning one heat. Thierry Gueorgiou is the big favourite – it will be very difficult to beat Gueorgiou if he has a perfect race – and thus his biggest challenge is to manage the pressure. Philippe Adamski has been very close to Gueorgiou lately – and could be a runner up for gold if  Gueorgiou fails – Adamski will anyway be in the fight for the medals. Francois Gonon is just back after injury problems this spring. It looked like he is nearly back were he was based on his qualification run, but the 4th man from WOC long 2011 is still only the third choice among the French men.
• The Norwegian men won the double last year. The reigning World Champion Olav Lundanes has been very strong in nordic terrain this spring, but not 100% stable in the French terrain although he has done some top races. Anders Nordberg has been more stable and looks very determined – my biggest favourite among the Norwegians although Lundanes could very well be the new World Champion as well. Carl Waaler Kaas and Audun Weltzien are also among the outsiders.
• The Swiss men did not impress that much in the qualification races, but have shown earlier this year that they can master the terrain well. Baptiste Rollier is my biggest favourite among the Swiss men. Daniel Hubmann will also mix in on the fight for the medals, but two sprint races yesterday have probably cost a bit. The last Swiss - Marc Lauenstein – is the dark horse among the Swiss. He did not perform very well in the Swiss selection races, but still qualified for WOC. He says that his shape is good, and that the mix of technical and less technical terrain expected should fit him well.
• To complete the list of outsiders, I also put up the Danish Tue Lassen who has run well in technical terrain – but is it technical enough? Also the Finnish Pasi Ikonen should be on the list.

The WOC long distance is going to be a very interesting event to follow – live GPS tracking, live results, webTV and LiveBlog will make this a great experience even if it takes more than 4 hours from the first start until the medals are decided. The first start in the womens class is at 12:31 CET – in the mens class at 13:00 CET. The last start is Philippe Adamski at 15:12.

• Startlist long final
• All you need to know about WOC 2011
• You find all live services here (Live webTV, GPS-tracking, live audio, live results)
• WOC 2011 webpage
• LiveBlog – see the bottom of this article

Other interesting WOC links:

• WOC Sprint final: Map, results, interviews
• HeadCam video from WOC Long Qual synchronized with GPS – experience the WOC terrain like the stars
• HeadCam video from WOC Middle Qual synchronized with GPS
• WOC 2011 Team overview with pictures of most runners who have started so far in the World Champs
• Route of heat winners from WOC Long Qual and WOC Middle Qual

LiveBlog

You find the LiveBlog either in the window below – or as a separate page here. There is also a mobile version of the LiveBlog

Linnea Gustafsson and Daniel Hubmann took the victories in the WOC sprint final in a Swiss and Swedish day here in Chamberly, France. In the womens class three Swedish women topped the results list – Helena Jansson and Lena Eliasson followed on the next places. In the mens class Anders Holmberg (SWE) was closest to Hubmann, with Matthias Müller (SUI) in third.

Daniel Hubmann was very happy with another gold medal. – I feel great, I had really good race. It was a very nice sprint, and it was a very nice feeling for me to run this competition.

- Sprint was the first discipline I was successfull in when I was young. I am happy to take the gold medal again, and I hope I will be ready to win again tomorrow.

- Of course the sprint took some energy, but I think winning the gold medal gave me the extra energy I need to fight for the victory tomorrow.

Linnea Gustafsson did not believe that she was really World Champion. – It is fantastic. I don’t believe it, Gustafsson said after her race. – I did have some problems in the start of the race, but then it went very well.

- I had perfect preparations, and I know exactly what to do to get in good shape, the Swedish golden girl said to orientering.se.

Maps and courses

Below you find the maps from the WOC Sprint final – including GPS-tracking. Some characterized this as a “runners course” – but there were also several technical challenges in the narrow streets of Chamberly. We will try to get uploaded a HeadCam video from the course for tomorrow.

• Map women part 1 – part 2. (GPS tracking)
• Map men part 1 – part 2. (GPS tracking)

Results Women

Rank   Name Nation Finish Time Behind

1   GUSTAFSSON Linnea SWE 13:14.3 0:00.0

2   JANSSON Helena SWE 13:22.7 +0:08.4

3   ELIASSON Lena SWE 13:28.5 +0:14.2

4   ALM Maja DEN 13:54.4 +0:40.1

5   TIKHONOVA Anastasiya RUS 14:00.3 +0:46.0

6   FINCKE Anni-Maija FIN 14:01.1 +0:46.8

6   KLINGENBERG Emma DEN 14:01.1 +0:46.8

8   VINOGRADOVA Galina RUS 14:04.5 +0:50.2

9   FRIEDERICH Rahel SUI 14:05.7 +0:51.4

10   JURENIKOVA Eva CZE 14:10.8 +0:56.5

11   INGHAM Lizzie NZL 14:12.3 +0:58.0

12   EGSETH Elise NOR 14:19.5 +1:05.2

13   ROLLINS Sarah GBR 14:21.4 +1:07.1

14   SHANDURKOVA Iliana BUL 14:22.5 +1:08.2

15   SKRASTINA Aija LAT 14:23.1 +1:08.8

Results Men

Rank   Name Nation Finish Time Behind

1   HUBMANN Daniel SUI 13:11.8 0:00.0

2   HOLMBERG Anders SWE 13:37.8 +0:26.0

3   MUELLER Matthias SUI 13:41.2 +0:29.4

4   GRISTWOOD Graham GBR 13:58.8 +0:47.0

5   ZINCA Ionut ROU 14:05.1 +0:53.3

6   MERZ Matthias SUI 14:07.1 +0:55.3

7   MERL Robert AUT 14:11.6 +0:59.8

8   PROCHAZKA Jan CZE 14:13.0 +1:01.2

9   FRASER Scott GBR 14:14.8 +1:03.0

10   TRANCHAND Frédéric FRA 14:15.7 +1:03.9

11   ØSTERBØ Øystein Kvaal NOR 14:17.9 +1:06.1

12   STRAIN Murray GBR 14:18.9 +1:07.1

13   TERVO Tuomas FIN 14:19.6 +1:07.8

14   STEIWER Gaute Hallan NOR 14:22.1 +1:10.3

15   KOVÁCS Ádám HUN 14:23.6 +1:11.8

• Official results

The Swiss men and the Swedish women are the biggest favourites in the WOC sprint – but it is difficult to point out THE big favourite both in the mens and the womens class. Can Kyburz impress the same way he did early this spring? Is the quite flat Chambery sprint made for Lysell? Is Helena Jansson 100% back from her injuries?

The sprint is the most difficult discipline to predict the winner as it is really tight – and a small mistake can often be enough to loose the gold medal. I’ll still give it a try – but can’t even be 100% sure that the winner is on my list.

Women

• The Swedish women have been very strong this year. Linnea Gustafsson (startnumber 1) has to be on the favourite list based on her victory in the first World Cup race – and she has also impressed in other sprint races this season. Helena Jansson is the only one of last years medalists on the startlist – and had a very good season opening before she was injured and struggled in May and June. She was back in training in late June, and showed at the Swiss O-week that she is in good shape again. But will it be good enough for gold? Lena Eliasson has also been strong earlier this year (2nd and 3rd in the first World Cup races), but is probably not as big a favourite as the two other Swedes.
• Galina Vinogradova was very strong in the KnockOut sprint in Göteborg – and has taken steps all the way towards the top.
• The Danish women are also very strong in sprint. Maja Alm was 9th at WOC 2010 sprint, took the bronze in EOC 2010 sprint, and had a good start in the World Cup. Ida Bobach is still a junior – winning JWOC sprint – and she also took a third place in the World Cup final sprint last year. Ready for the podium?
• Eva Jurenikova is also one of the outsiders – getting closer and closer to the medals. Is this Jurenikova’s year?
• The Norwegian women are not the hottest gold favourites, but both Elise Egseth and Betty Ann Bjerkreim Nilsen are up there fighting for the medals.
• The Finnish women have not impressed that much earlier this season – Anni-Maija Fincke might also be one of the outsiders.

Men

• The biggest question is if someone can beat the Swiss? 5 men on top in the first sprint this year – and they did even not find room for Fabian Hertner who took silver last year. Matthias Kyburz was very impressive in the first World Cup race this year – and also did well in the qualification races. Daniel Hubmann nearly always takes a medal if he is in good shape – but the gold medals have not come that easy for him. He still is among the biggest favourites. Matthias Merz was second in the first World Cup race behind Kyburz – also a big favourite. The last Swiss – Matthias Müller – is actually the reigning World Champion in sprint. He has performed very well this year – but still he is probably the outsider among the Swiss – that about says it all…
• Andrey Khramov is a man for the big occations. He has gold medal from all the last 6 World Championships – either in sprint, long or relay. He can very well take another one on the sprint this year.
• The Swedish must be included among the favourites – especially Jerker Lysell who won the KnockOut sprint in Göteborg and has impressed in flat sprints earlier. But is it maybe too technical? William Lind should also be remembered.
• Also don’t forget the French home favourite Fred Tranchand.  Very impressive bronze medal last year – but is his shape still that good? We will know more after the qualification.
• Øystein Kvaal Østerbø is very hungry for a medal after beeing close on homeground. He is one of the outsiders for a medal – but the gold medal might be too difficult. Don’t forget him though – if he gets the perfect race…
• Scott Fraser is a very fast British runner who has steadily been getting closer to the absolute World elite.

Earlier sprints

Looking at the two sprints which have been run in the World Cup this year, we had Matthias Kyburz (SUI) and Linnea Gustafsson (SWE) on top at the first. In the mens class we did even have 5 Swiss men first – Kyburz ahead of Merz, Hertner (who did not qualify for the WOC sprint), Müller and Hubmann. The best non-Swiss runner was William Lind in 6th. Among the women we had three Swedish women on top – Linnea Gustafsson, Lena Eliasson and Annika Billstam. In 4th we had Signe Søes and Rahel Friedrichs in 5th.

In the second sprint of the World Cup – which was a KnockOut sprint, Jerker Lysell (SWE) and Galina Vinogradova (RUS) topped the list. In the mens class Hubmann, Kyburz, Fraser, Tranchand and Merz were the next 5 on the list – among the women Gustafsson, Eliasson, Alm, Billstam and Fasting.

Looking at last years WOC, we had Müller in top ahead of Hertner (not running this year) and Tranchand – Østerbø and Johansson were just outside the medals. The women’s sprint was won by Simone Niggli (not running) ahead of Jansson, Marianne Andersen (not running), Minna Kauppi (not running) and Elise Egseth.

Thanks to Tam for help setting up the list of favourites.