World of O News
The World Orienteering Championships starts Saturday at 09:01 CET with Sprint qualification in Lausanne – and the first medals are handed out in the evening after the Sprint final.
The championships continues through the coming week with 3 qualification races, 3 final races and one relay – the relay finishing it off next Saturday. There will be good coverage with live video, GPS-tracking, live blog and live results for the championships.
All individual events are also World Cup events. Below you find the key information you need in order to follow WOC 2012 in Lausanne, Switzerland. This page is planned to be updated with key information during WOC.
Updates:
- Saturday July 15th: WOC Sprint Qual Maps and Results
- Saturday July 15th: WOC Sprint Final Maps and Results. Gold for Niggli and Kyburz!
- Friday July 14th: Startlists sprint: Men and Women
- Friday July 14th: The LiveCenter has now opened
- Friday July 14th: The LiveBlog is live here
WOC 2012 Program
- Saturday 14th: Sprint Qual + Final (1 min start interval)
Sprint Qual: Women from 09:01, Men from 10:01.
Sprint Final: Women from 16:01 – Men from 17:11. GPS. Live TV (+ streaming). - Sunday 15th: Long Qual (3 min start interval)
Long Qual: From 13:01 (both men/women) – 3 min start int - Monday 16th: Middle Qual (2 min start interval)
Middle Qual: Women from 13:01 – Men from 14:11 – 2 min start int - Tuesday 17th: Middle Final (2 min start interval)
Middle Final: Women from 12:01 – Men from 13:41. GPS. Big Screen (streamed) - Wednesday 18th: Rest day
- Thursday 19th: Long Final (3 min start interval)
Long final: Women from 11:31 – Men from 12:02. GPS. Big Screen (streamed) - Friday 20th: Rest day
- Saturday 21st: Relay
Relay: Women from 11:30 – Men from 13:30. GPS. Live TV (+ streaming).
All times are CET. See more about each event below. Startlists are typically available after the teamleader meeting the evening before the event – expect to see them around 20:00 CET. For finals where qualification is several days earlier, startlists will usually be available earlier. From the qualifications, 15 runners go on to the finals in each heat.
Live services
There will be a lot of good options to follow WOC 2012 online:
- There will be GPS-tracking for all runners in the middle final, sprint final and long final – and for selected runners for the relay. There will be no GPS-tracking for the qualification races. The GPS-tracking will be live on the internet (not only for the TV coverage).
- There will be a full TV-production from sprint final and relay to be sent live at Swiss TV and Norwegian TV (other countries?). There will be a big screen production from the other finals. All these productions will be available for international streaming on the Internet against a fee (this article will be updated with the cost for streaming). For the four finals, a total of 38 camera position were originally planned.
- There will be live results from all events
- There will be a LiveBlog organized by the WOC 2012 organizers in cooperation with World of O
WOC 2012 Runner database
The WOC 2012 Team overview is set up at runners.worldofo.com in cooperation with the WOC 2012 organizers:
The WOC 2012 Team overview will be updated during the WOC week.
Startlists and results
Startlists and results will be published on the WOC 2012:
Results earlier WOC editions
Useful links
WOC Sprint
Both the sprint qualification and final are city sprints. The WOC sprint this year is special in that none of the gold medalists from 2011 are on start this year. The sprint distance is the most open race with 10-15 possible gold medalists in the mens class and 5-8 possible gold medalists in the womens class. The biggest favourite in the mens class are the Swiss and Swedish men – all 6 Swiss and Swedish men on start are potential gold medalists – Matthias Merz, Matthias Kyburz, Matthias Müller, Jerker Lysell, Anders Holmberg, Jonas Lenadersson. There are actually Swiss runners which would have been clear favourites for gold which are not on the start list! Outsiders in the mens class are EOC sprint silver medalist Kiril Nikolov, WOC bronze medalist from WOC 2010 Frederic Tranchand (although he has not been in sprint form so far this season), 5th on EOC sprint Scott Fraser and previous sprint World Champion Andrey Khramov (although not been in shape this season).
In the womens class, home star Simone Niggli is the big favourite – as in all the races she starts in at this World Championships. However, the sprint is still very open as a small mistake can be enough for the others to pass her on the results list. Along with Niggli, all Swedish women are among the gold favourites – Sweden took the Triple in the womens class at last years WOC sprint! And although Gustafsson is out, both Helena Jansson and Lena Eliasson are on the start with reigning long distance world champion Annika Billstam finalizing the team. Denmark’s Maja Alm is also a gold favourite after her 3nd place at EOC sprint earlier this year, 2nd place at the sprint World Cup in St Gallen in June and 4th place at last year’s WOC sprint. A gold favourite who is easily overlooked when looking at previous results is Norwegian Anne Margrethe Hausken. Just as Niggli she is back on the scene after childbirth – and at European Champs she was disqualified away from a bronze medal. Also count in the other Swiss women among the favourites – along with Finnish Venla Niemi who took the fourth spot in the St Gallen World Cup sprint.
Men 2011
|
Women 2011
|
.
.
.
Qualification
The qualification is held in a complex university campus. Investigation of the area in Google Earth points towards building of at least three levels (that is probably why Bulletin 4 says that simple “rain canopies” are not mapped) – who knows how the mappers will depict all these complicated buildings on the map? As every second counts in order to be among the 15 to go to the finals, expect several favourites to loose out due to partly tricky sprint orienteering.
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Dorigny | Men | A,B,C | 4.0 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 1:4’000 | 2.5 m |
| Dorigny | Women | A,B,C | 3.4 | 15 | 14/15 | 14 | 1:4’000 | 2.5 m |
Course planners: Philippe Ballif and Domenico Lepori
Final
The sprint final is held close to Lake Genova – with city and parks. Some more climb than in the qualification – 80 meter for the men and 60 for the women – points towards the slopes towards Lausanne centre being used in the courses.
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Ouchy | Men | 4.2 | 80 | 20 | 15 | 1:4’000 | 2.5 m | |
| Ouchy | Women | 3.0 | 60 | 19 | 15 | 1:4’000 | 2.5 m |
Course planners: Domenico Lepori and Philippe Ballif
WOC Long
The WOC long distance goes in typical Swiss “Mittelland” terrain – the qualification being better runnable than the final according to the terrain description. This “Mittelland” terrain suits the Swiss runners especially well – and the biggest favourites in this race are no doubt Swiss Matthias Merz and Simone Niggli. Merz won the Swiss long distance test race in an impressive manner – and must be counted as the main favourite along with EOC gold medalist Olav Lundanes. Reigning World Champion Thierry Gueorgiou will not run the long distance – but French bronze medalist Francois Gonon should be counted among the favourites. Also among the big favourites is young Matthias Kyburz who has shown impressive shape all spring and might very well take the gold medal if he can get manage to get out his maximum performance. And don’t forget the last Swiss runner Fabian Hertner: An unstable spring, but whenever he hits the controls, nobody is faster. Last years Finnish silver medalist Pasi Ikonen might also have a possibility. The Swedish men – with Anders Holmberg living in Switzerland as the biggest contender – are not among the biggest gold favourites, but they may be up there and fight as well!
Among the women, the long distance is the discipline where Simone Niggli is the biggest favourite. Here the fast-running Swiss can often afford to make some mistakes – and still be on top when the medals are delivered. However, Helena Jansson (Sweden) showed in early spring that she can fight on even terms with Niggli if her shape is on top again after several injuries and illness this spring. Tatiana Riabkina was the only one close to Niggli at the European Championships in Sweden – she may yet again be the main contender at the World Championships. Reigning world champion Annika Billstam is also among the favourites, although she has not shown as impressive results as last year. Minna Kauppi is a woman of big comebacks after mistakes on the orienteering course – it would be quite fitting for the Finnish star if she came back on top this year after the famous 1st control mistake at the World Champs long distance in France last year. And again: Anne Margrethe Hausken can surprise and be up there – so can Czech Dana Safka Brozkova who is always up there when it really counts.
Men 2011
|
Women 2011
|
Qualification
The qualification goes in typical Swiss “Mittelland” forest with distinct relief features. A lot of trails and roads – but as the terrain is said to have good runnability in most places, there will probably not be that many long route choice options around as in the finals.
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Bière / Ballens | Men | A,B,C | 12.2 | 280 | 23/24 | 59 | 1:15’000 | 5 m |
| Bière / Ballens | Women | A,B,C | 8.2/8.3 | 160 | 16/17 | 46 | 1:15’000 | 5 m |
Course planners: Roland Hirter and Dieter Hulliger
Final
The finals go in terrain with a lot of varied vegetation – according to looking at the old maps, big parts of it is with quite bad runnability making it necessary to use a lot of paths and road running to get fast from A to B. For each leg, the runners are faced with the question: Fight along the shortes route or run around and potentially loose time if the direct route has good runnability. You can never know if you took the right choice – and probably no runner will take the right choice for each leg. The biggest fighter who makes the least mistakes will probably be the winner at the end of the day. The terrain has some deep valleys and steep slopes.
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Jorat | Men | 18.3 | 450 | 31 | 96 | 1:15’000 | 5 m | |
| Jorat | Women | 12.4 | 370 | 23 | 80 | 1:15’000 | 5 m |
Course planners: Roland Hirter and Dieter Hulliger
WOC Middle
The middle distance terrain is very difficult from the long and relay terrain. This Jura terrain can be considered as a “light edition” of the terrain in France last year – the tricky parts being nearly up to the level from last year’s Savoie terrain although with somewhat better runnability, but with open, fast areas which should make speed adaptment very important.
With this terrain description, it is difficult to get around Thierry Gueorgiou as the big favourite. That is, if he is on the start line. Gueorgiou has struggled with an injury which has set the French “King of Middle” on the sideline since the European Championships in the middle of May. Even with nearly no running for close to two months, Gueorgiou will be the biggest gold favourite if he decides that he is on the start line. With uncertainty around the French technical mastermind, the fight for gold opens up. Olav Lundanes of Norway, reigning European Champion middle distance from Sweden, is probably the biggest runner up along with Swiss Baptiste Rollier who has prepared extremely well for this race, Swedish Peter Öberg who surprises year after year by coming from an outsider position and taking a medal, Valentin Novikov – the “EOC middle specialist” and Carl Waaler Kaas – the champion from Trondheim in 2010. But the list of potential gold medalists is even longer: Fabian Hertner, Tue Lassen, Francois Gonon, Marc Lauenstein, Oleksandr Kratov and several others have the potential to be up there on the WOC middle distance if they hit the jackpot.
In the women’s class, this is probably where Simone Niggli is the least favourite – but after 5 World Cup victories of 5 possible this season she is still the gold favourite. The middle distance is the best opportunity for gold for Swedish Helena Jansson. The third big favourite is Minna Kauppi of Finland – showing very impressive running on parts of the Swiss and Finnish WOC tests middle distance. Probably one of these three will take the title – with EOC medalist Tatiana Riabkina as an outsider – but behind these three we have several runners who might get to the top on a top day: Swedish Tove Alexandersson can either win a clear victory with a perfect race – or miss the finals if she has one of the races like she had a JWOC this week. Ida Bobach from Denmark – last year’s silver medalist is also one who can take it home. Also count in the other Swiss women.
Men 2011
|
Women 2011
|
Qualification
The qualification terrain is at lower altitude than the final terrain – featuring less open fields. The forest is dense with large depressions, stony areas and rocks. The visibility is often limited, and the speed is not very high – although significantly higher than in the extreme areas in France last year.
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Bois Rond | Men | A,B,C | 4.8/4.9 | 160-170 | 15 | 26 | 1:10’000 | 5 m |
| Bois Rond | Women | A,B,C | 4.1/4.2 | 120-130 | 17 | 26 | 1:10’000 | 5 m |
Course planners: Pierre-Alain Matthey and Luc Béguin
Final
The final terrain is in parts similar to the qualification terrain, but in addition offers meadows which are very fast runnable. Overall the running speed is significantly higher than in the qualification – although there are parts where the running is slow here also. Technically the terrain is expected to be very challenging in parts – but also easier in parts making it necessary to push up the speed.
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| La Givrine | Men | 6.5 | 240 | 20 | 35 | 1:10’000 | 5 m | |
| La Givrine | Women | 5.5 | 170 | 18 | 35 | 1:10’000 | 5 m |
Course planners: Luc Béguin and Pierre-Alain Matthey
WOC Relay
The relay goes in similar terrain to the long distance final – with the same finish area and maybe also partly the same forest will be used. The Swiss are big favourites among the men – with France, Russia, Sweden and Norway as runner ups. Finland and Czech Republic are outsiders. Among the women, it is more open, but Switzerland, Sweden and Finland are probably the biggest favourites together – each with their strength and weaknesses. Norway and Denmark must are outsiders along with last years silver medalist Czech Republic.
Men 2011
|
Women 2011
|
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Benenté | Women | 1,2,3 | 5.9 | 140 | 19 | 35 | 1:10’000 | 5 m |
| TOTAL | Women | 17.7 | 420 | 57 | 105 | 5 m |
| Maps | Sex | Courses | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Controls |
Winning time (min.) |
Map Scale | Contour interval |
| Benenté | Men | 1,2,3 | 6.9 | 180 | 20 | 35 | 1:10’000 | 5 m |
| TOTAL | Men | 20.7 | 540 | 60 | 105 | 5 m |
Course planners: Stefano Maddalena and Roberto Tettamanti
Embargoed areas
To get a feel for where the different races are held, take a look at the overview map with embargoed areas below.
HI
Ionut Zinca was 3º on European Mountain Champs. ;D
Will be a good guy to Sprint and Long!
RM
Ori-Estarreja – Portugal
http://www.pom.pt