Here is the list of the “lucky ones”:

The prizes to the winners will be delivered by post. The winners shall claim their prizes at jan@sportoftoday.com. The entries to the Martin Kronlund trophy and Jukola 2007 are transitional. However, the person who has won them shall indicate, in an email sent to the address jan@sportoftoday.com, name of the person who will claim the entry. This person shall claim the entry at the email address jan@sportoftoday.com.

Introduction of the sponsors:

Vavrys company: Producer of top elite orienteering clothing, shoes, gaters and other equipment, which is sold world-wide.

Virkiä Jukola 2007 in Finland: world’s best and biggest orienteering club relay, which will be held in exciting terrains around Lapua this year on 16th and 17th June.

Martin Kronlund Trophy in Spain: an international Orienteering event in Spain with the greatest tradition. This year it will be held in terrain around Peguerinos 80 km northwest of Madrid at the weekend of 10th – 11th March.

Orienteering Today: The world’s only international orienteering magazine covering Orienteering in all its forms, whereever it is done. The magazine was reorganized last year and is now published in Norway.

Jukola 2006 calendar: Lucie Navarová is the photographer of Orienteering Today and the photos in this calender for the year 2007 feature the highlights of the 2006 Jukola in Salo as seen through the lens of her camera.

Third in the “Junior of 2006″ category was the Danish Søren Bobach. Thus, also in the junior category there were two women on top, with the best man in the third place.

It was a close call, though – with Australian junior Hanny Allston being only 25 votes behind Niggli-Luder. Allston was actually the only one managing to beat Niggli-Luder in an individual World Championships distance this year – and nearly managed to do the same in the poll for the achievement of the year 2006.

Orienteering Today: Congratulations Simone! You have won 12 WOC medals in the senior class, which is something incredible and something which was also greatly appreciated by people who voted in the Poll and gave you over 400 votes… Is there any of these medals which you are specially proud of?
Niggli-Luder: I think the four gold medals I won in Switzerland were very special, but also the last gold is always special. For me this is the gold I won in Denmark in Middle distance. It was a very good race for me and again I won after tough fight against Marianne, and again this was followed by this huge crowd of people, which made the atmosphere even more special.

Orienteering Today: What do your days look now, in the middle of winter? Have you changed anything about your training or your preparations compared to the last years?
Niggli-Luder: Principally the training is the same, but every year I try to change something to make the training even better and of higher quality. I always try to find things to improve. Just a couple of days ago I came back from the Canary Islands from a training camp, where I was with my Swedish friends, which was very nice. The weather was sunny all the time, with temperatures about 25°C. Just perfect conditions for training. The only bad thing about it was that I am in Switzerland right now, where we have lots of snow and temperatures below zero. It was a hard change :-)

Orienteering Today: Do you need to do special thing to motivate yourself now during this period to go on?
Niggli-Luder: For me it’s not a big problem, I really like to train and if the weather is nice outside and I feel my body is ready and healthy, then I have really no problem to motivate myself for training. Perhaps it would be different if I got injured or something, but right now it feels really good to be out and training.

Orienteering Today: Are you hungry for the 2007 season to begin?
Niggli-Luder: Yes. I really am. Two weeks ago we had the first competition in Switzerland. And I really felt hungry and happy to be able to compete again. So I really look forward to 2007 and the challenges ahead.
(read the rest of the interview in Orienteering Today Issue 01/2007)

The best man in the “Orienteering achievement of the year 2006″ poll was Jani Lakanen of Finland. However, Lakanen is not disappointed by being beaten by the two women. - Third is a wonderful place! I think that Sime and Hanny have deserved their places in that list. Sime has been many years in a class of her own and Hanny surprised everybody by beating Sime :), Lakanen comments. And Lakanen also has his goals for 2007 ready: - My goal is to improve my middle orienteering. I still miss a WOC medal in middle distance (4. in 1999 and 2001) and I want to win Jukola and Tiomila!, just being back from his best training camp ever in South Africa.

For this achievement, Hanny Allston got 409 votes in the “Orienteering Achievement of 2006″ Poll – and claimed the second spot. Last year Allston showed the whole world that it is possible to reach for the absolute top in this sport even when you don’t live and train in Scandinavia or Europe. She got noticed when she achieved, as 19-year-old, a 6th place in the WOC Long distance in Japan. One year later she was back on the WOC scene and at the age of 20 she claimed WOC gold in Sprint!

In the “Best Junior 2006″ category, Tatiana Kozlova claimed the second spot with 172 votes. Kozlova is gold medalist from JWOC Relay in 2006, and holder of the 5th place from the JWOC long 2006. This Russian is exceptional in Ski-Orienteering too: three gold medals and one silver from the Junior World Championships in Russian Ivanovo last February are certainly a solid proof of her outstanding skills.

One spot left
Minna Kauppi, Emil Wingstedt, Simone Luder or Kajsa Nilsson? These are the 4 world class runners not being named yet in the “Achievement of the year” category – and there is only one spots left on the podium – the three others are no inside the Top-6! Tomorrow you will now who the orienteering community named for the “Orienteering achievement of the year 2006″ and the “Junior of the year 2006″!

• The website World of O delivers international orienteering news from more than 100 different orienteering pages – and with more than 100.000 visits a month is the major source for international orienteering news on the Internet.
• The magazine Orienteering Today is the largest independent international Orienteering Magazine – a magazine covering orienteering in all its forms, all over the world, in a way no other magazine does – with.

Read on below to see the drawn prizes among the webpages linking to the poll. The prizes for the voters will be announced shortly.

First prize: Norwegian Orienteering Federation
The first prize is a text add for two months on the front page of World of O under “Sponsored links” for any orienteering related site (must not be the one with the link to the poll on) + a one year subscription on Orienteering Today. In addition, they are entitled to an ad in the Orienteering Today magazine. Visit Norwegian Orienteering Federation webpage.

Second prize: FIF Hillerød club page
The second prize is a one month text add on the front page of World of O for any orienteering related site + a small ad in the Orienteering Today magazine. Visit FIF Hillerød webpage

Third prize: Emiliano Corona
The third prize is a one month text add on the front page of World of O for any orienteering related site + a small ad in the Orienteering Today magazine. Visit Emiliana Corona webpage

He also was part of Finlands silver team in the WOC relay. Back in 2000, Lakanen was the overall World Cup winner. For a long time he had been known as one of the World’s best runners in Long distance. He won countless national champion titles in the discipline on the home ground, but until Denmark, the most precious of the medals in this discipline from the World Championships had been missing in his collection – with the silver from 2001 in Tampere being his maximum. At the age of 30, Lakanen still has a few years of competing on the elite level ahead of him.

Minna Kauppi, Emil Wingstedt, Simone Luder, Hanny Allston or Kajsa Nilsson? These are the 5 world class runners not being named yet in the “Achievement of the year” category – and there are only two spots left on the podium! On tuesday you will all now who the orienteering community named for the “Orienteering achievement of the year 2006″ and the “Junior of the year 2006″!

Number 6 in the “Achievement of the year 2006″ category is the WOC Relay Champion of 2006, Valentin Novikov. As anchor bringing Russia to a historic world Championship gold in the Relay. Novikov’s run on the last leg was one of the highlights of the 2006 World Championships – but not enough to earn him the title for the orienteering achievement of the year 2006. See also the interview with Novikov.

In the junior category, Ingunn Hultgreen Weltzien took the 6th position. With age still a junior, she displayed great runs on the senior level too, the 5th place in Sprint at the European Champs in Estonia being her top. In the JWOC Sprint she confirmed her class in the discipline and became the 2006 Junior World champion. At the Junior World Championships in Kranj in Slovenia in Cross Country she achieved Gold in the Relay.

Prizes for linking to the poll
The prizes for linking to the poll will be drawn the coming days. If you have linked to the poll, and are not on the list below – please notify me as soon as possible to be in on the drawing for nice prizes!

• Orienteering Australia
• Alternativet.nu
• Martin Pongratz
• OPN.no
• Alession Tenani
• Øystein Kvaal Østerbø
• Simone Niggli
• SOLV Spitzensport
• Ivo Danailov
• Danish Orienteering Federation
• JAK TO VIDÍ BÉĎA
• Moscow Compass
• Sävedalen AIK
• Okansas
• OTTOBRE31
• OLG Rymenzburg
• IL Tyrving
• I-OL.nl
• De Laatste post
• FIF Hillerød
• Emiliano Corona
• Norwegian Orienteering Federation
• Hanny Allston

Interviews
Have you missed any of the interviews? Here they are:

• “Kajsa Nilsson
• “Minna Kauppi
• Thierry Gueorgiou
• Simone Niggli
• Emil Wingstedt
• Valentin Novikov

Go to the poll page and vote – and tell your friends and club mates about the poll!

Help us getting out to the corners of the o-world!
Have you got a web page in your orienteering club? Or a personal home page? Put up a link to the “Best of Orienteering 2006 Poll” – and make it possible for everybody to read about the fantastic achievements these fine nominated men and women have done this year – and to decide who really did the best achievement.

Sites linking to the poll
The following pages are linking to the poll or have written a news article about the poll, and are in on the drawing for Orienteering Today subscription and ads at the World of O (see more about prizes at poll page). Thank you to all of you! And for those not in: Link up – write an email to jan@kocbach.net, and I’ll put you on the list! But hurry up before the drawing of the prizes!
There is still about 10% chance to get a prize if you join in – and if you write about the poll today (January 18th), it is still time… Maybe the visitors from YOUR site will decide the poll!

• Orienteering Australia
• Alternativet.nu
• Martin Pongratz
• OPN.no
• Alession Tenani
• Øystein Kvaal Østerbø
• Simone Niggli
• SOLV Spitzensport
• Ivo Danailov
• Danish Orienteering Federation
• JAK TO VIDÍ BÉĎA
• Moscow Compass
• Sävedalen AIK
• Okansas
• OTTOBRE31
• OLG Rymenzburg
• IL Tyrving
• I-OL.nl
• De Laatste post
• FIF Hillerød
• Emiliano Corona
• Norwegian Orienteering Federation
• Hanny Allston

PS! If your site is missing on the above list, you have maybe forgotten to write me an email about it? Or to put up the link?

I think your preparation for the World Cup final can be described as extreme, regardig the amount of time you spent orienteering in the terrain. Were you not afraid to invest so much into it? That in case you didn’t succeed, it could be very stressful?
When you know that you are very well prepared… when you know you have done all the work before, then you feel very relaxed. It is exactly the same as it is at school. You have worked so hard in your preparation that you can’t see a question you would have no answer to.
After the World Championships in Denmark, before the World Cup, I ran through 1000 controls… and all the time, if I made a mistake, I tried to see what was wrong and find the answer. Before the World Cup started, I knew that I was the one who had the best feeling for the terrain, so it was just about taking the map and run. The only mistake you can do in situations like this is to forget to read the map, because of the stress, but once you find the right balance, nothing can be easier.

I see, but I still think it must have been difficult to handle the first event of the programme, the Sprint, which was a discipline in which you had the smallest advantage compared to the other runners as here the terrain was not that special and everyone could run well. Wasn’t it?
I got good results in every discipline, all kind of terrain. I am never afraid about terrain and format. And of course I knew this Sprint was very important because the terrain wasn’t so special and there the difference between runners wasn’t so much affected by the preparation and training. And same I knew Emil and Daniel are both top class orienteers in Sprint and I am not at their level in this discipline.
But these were the given facts I couldn’t change. On the other hand, I knew that to succeed in the overall World Cup, I couldn’t skip the Sprint. To win the World Cup was possible only if I was the best in all the disciplines.

Did you also train a lot for this Sprint or was it mainly Middle and Long you focused on? And what effect did it actually have on you that the schedule changed after the storm due to which the Middle distance final was shifted?
I trained for the Sprint most in the very final preparation. Before the schedule changed after the storm, I had hoped to run well the Middle and win points on Emil and Daniel, and then to keep the pressure on them before the Long Final. But when the schedule changed due to the storm, the Sprint became more important. And I’m quite sure if Daniel had won this first final race, the whole scenario of the World Cup Final would have been very different for me.

And my last question, what was it actually for you the experience of the stormy day, on which the Middle distance final was stopped and later on rescheduled for another day?
I came to the start and there I was told the race got canceled. I was really disappointed and really angry about the organizers… because I knew that I would loose the overall WC standing if they didn’t find the solution. But there was nothing to do about it. I packed my things and returned to the accommodation. I felt depressed and really hoped that the organizers would find a new solution in this situation. But there was one thing really good about it. This whole “storm affair” made me realize how important the race was for me. I understood that missing this competition would meant a lot to me and last thing I wanted was to have regrets when the Word Cup Final was over…

Thierry Gueorgiou – Achievement of the Year 2006
Nominated for: Three consecutive individual World Cup victories in France in Sprint, Long and Middle, securing him the overall World Cup 2006.
Other achievements: European Champion in Middle distance 2006.
Story: Thierry Guergiou has been the king of the Middle distance for several years. In 2003 he outclassed the whole World in this discipline at the World Championships in Switzerland and set new standards for orienteering in this most technical discipline. Since then, he had never lost to anyone in Middle distance at major Championships. Until this 4th August this year, when the Norwegian Holger Hott Johansen overtook the reign over the Middle distance throne. His 4th place in the middle distance at WOC 2006 in Denmark this year was certainly a huge disappointment to him, but also a great source of motivation. After Denmark, he put everything into the preparation for the World Cup final which took place on his home ground at Clermont-Ferrand in France in October. There on special and tricky lava terrain he completed a fantastic hatrick and won all the individual events and thus secured himself a premiere victory in the overall World Cup!

» Runner profile Thierry Guergiou
» Poll: Best of Orienteering 2006

Poll 2006 sponsor:

Since 2003 you have never lost Sprint to anyone at the World Championships, so I guess the night before the Long distance, in which you achieved your 11th gold medal must have been quite difficult.
Yes, it was. But not so much because I would have lost the Sprint to Hanny. I was still quite happy with the silver medal, even if not so much with how I had been orienteering in the race. All in all, in the evening before the Long I stayed up quite late and we were actually celebrating the medal a bit. But I felt quite tired in my head after Sprint and it was difficult for me to get this race out of my head and refocus on the challenge ahead. I needed time to recover mentally, especially when I got bad headache before I went to bed. I think the Sprint day had been more stressful than I could imagine. In the end I was really happy that the Long final was in the afternoon and so I had good time to recover mentally. I also talked to my sport psychologist, and together we again discussed the Sprint a little bit, but we also focused on what was important to do before the Long distance, which helped me a lot.

And then in the Long distance, I think for the first time you found yourself in a situation when some of the runners was able to get close to you even after you did a pretty good race… What was the feeling when you came to the spectator control and learned that Marianne Andersen was just a mere 20 seconds behind?
For me this certainly was special situation. I was happy that I heard I was in the lead and I knew I done a good race so far. But I also could feel a few times that some of the “micro” route choices I took were not the best. There were still a few little things I could have done better. And most importantly I knew that I had to fight on. I knew that my only chance to win this race was to focus on the map reading and avoid any big mistake, and run fast in places where orienteering was not so difficult and challenging. I knew that this was what I had to manage first if I wanted to hope for the victory.

On the other hand, despite winning with big margins must be nice, I guess that this time you must have been really proud of yourself that you managed to handle this situation, which I can imagine was far from easy for you?
Yes, exactly. I was very proud of myself in the finish. I might not have managed this a handle this pressure. It was the first time I found myself in a situation like this in WOC Long distance.

Were you actually surprised how close Marianne got?
I think was in a really good shape at the World Champs. Marianne took a big step forward. I think I had a really good speed in Long distance, but it is also true that in this kind of terrain, which is relatively easy physically, the differences between the runners are not so big. So I was aware that there were a few other runners who could run very well.

And then came the Middle distance, a race in which you conquered your 12th gold medal from World Championships… What had been your expectations of this race and were they fullfilled?
I really have to say that I found this race very interesting Middle distance. There were different types of terrain, many course variations. It was a really great race and really enjoyed it. Maybe also because I felt so relieved after the Long distance, with which I had completed my goals, which were to win silver and gold. And this time I was also fully confident about my orienteering technique. We knew what was ahead and I felt prepared.

How did you actually like these World Championships?
There was really good atmosphere at the champs, it really felt like being in World Champs, compared to last year for example. Last year was special because the event was organised in Japan, but on the other hand, running in atmosphere like the one at the World Champs this year definitely gives something extra to you as a runner. And personally, this year it was tougher for me to win all these medals. Last year I won the first the medal and then it just went on. But this year, there were quite many different kind of challenges. Not the best performance in Sprint, tough fights against Marianne in Long and Middle. And also the injury which happened to me in Relay. This year I could really feel all my medals were fully deserved.

Simone Niggli – Achievement of the Year 2006
Nominated for: With WOC gold medals in Long and Middle distances 2006 completing a collection of 12 gold medals from World Championships.
Other achievements: Overall World Cup winner 2006. Winner of all the World Cup Long distances in 2006.
Story: This 28-year-old Swiss is the most successful orienteer ever and her collection of 12 WOC gold medals is something unprecedented in this sport. For the first time she dominated the women’s orienteering world in 2000 when she won the overall World Cup, an achievement she confirmed ever since. Niggli’s first WOC gold came in the Long distance in Tampere in Finland in 2001. Her major achievements on the World Championship level took place in 2003 and 2005, when claimed gold medals in all the four disciplines – Sprint, Middle, Long and Relay. Her mission in Denmark this year was impressive again. With two gold medals, one silver and one bronze, she became the most successful orienteer at the Champs.

» Runner profile Simone Niggli
» Poll: Best of Orienteering 2006

Emil Wingstedt is at the moment Swedish best orienteer and thank to him the country won its only gold medal at the World Championships. For Wingstedt himself, this gold was 5th in the discipline from major Championships, which is something rarely seen in men’s orienteering these days. (Something only the amazing Frenchman Thierry Gueorgiou was able to achieve in Middle distance, in which he won three consecuite WOC title in a row and two straight EOC gold in addition.)
This race to the gold in Denmark and to fifth straight Sprint Championship gold earned this 31-year-old Swede nomination for the Achievement of the Year.

In the WOC Sprint final you won your fifth straight gold from major Championships.. How was this race from your point of view?
Compared to the previous Sprints at the Championships I won, this time I didn’t do a perfect race. But I managed the key moments on the course best, which I think was a reason, why I was at the top, even if this time, I have to admit I was very lucky too, as Daniel was so so close…

What was perhaps most spectacular was the way you handled the long route-choice to the 10th control. Can we get back to this leg and would you describe in detail how you orienteered there?
I think it all started on the leg to the 7th control. I was rather surprised about this leg. It was quite easy, only one route-choice and gave you time to prepare for the long leg to the 10th. It’s quite unusual in Sprint races nowadays. So once I was at the 9th control I could run straight away. I perhaps saved time in the start of the leg. I was running all the time without stopping at all. Once out on the horse track I saw opening on the other side and could run absolutely straight. I also had the feeling that this was the best route-choice, which also always helps you as it gives you self-confidence. While running, I had the time to check the other alternatives and saw them, but I still had the feeling that they were not so good. I didn’t see too many footprints in the ground at the start of the leg on the track, so I knew not many runners took the same option.

Even if got the second straight gold in Sprint, I think, you hoped for a medal also in other disciplines…
When I got the World Champion title in Sprint, I was naturally very glad and I hoped I would be able to keep my best shape for the Middle distance Final, but unfortunately it wasn’t so. Even if I did a very good race in the qualification, the final of the Middle distance was far from what I had hoped it would have been. My orienteering was too shaky and at few places I made really stupid mistakes. Perhaps it was impossible for me to get in 100% focus after the Sprint again. Which was perhaps a result of the long time I had to be out of training due to different injuries and illnesses this year.

I think generally you can be satisfied with this season. You won a title in two major Championships, you were a member of the bronze team in WOC Relay… On the other hand, with regards to the seasons ahead, what was perhaps quite disturbing were the many illnesses and small injuries which kept you out of training for relatively long time…
Yes. This was nothing nice and it was also a reason why I didn’t dare to try the Long distance at the World Championships, which is a discipline in which I would really like to achieve a good result one day. On the other hand, once I am sick, I simply do not want to take any risks and I don’t train until I am fully cured. This often is time consuming, but on the other hand, I really don’t want to gamble with my body. And as I told you earlier, I also believe that trainign while you are injured or sick, rather causes damage. I don’t think you should train when sick or not completely recovered after an injury.

WOC in Ukraine will be of the main focus for you next year I guess. Will you concentrate on Sprint again, or will you try to conquer the throne in other disciplines?
I am really looking forward to the programme of WOC in Ukraine next year, where Sprint is the last discipline of the programme. My main focus now will be on Middle and Long, both of which I want to be the main focus of my preparations. With good health I think I will be ready, but I have to be in good health, not like this year where I had to stop training for a couple of periods due to illnesses. What I also look forward to with regards to Ukraine is fast orienteering in terrain with good runnability. I like it when I’m able to run at full speed everywhere, which may be possible especially in the Middle distance.

Emil Wingstedt – Achievement of the Year 2006
Nominated for: Winning gold medals in Sprint at WOC and EOC at the World and European Championships. The gold in the World Championships was the fifth straight championship Sprint gold for this Swede.
Other achievements: Bronze medalist in WOC Relay. Sixth in the overall World Cup.
Story: The best Swedish orienteer of the recent past. The first time he won a major international event was at the European Championships in Hungary in 2002, where he dominated in the Sprint. Since then he has been always near the top in big international Championships. In 2004 he defended his European Champion title in Sprint and in 2005 in Japan he won his premiere World Championships gold in the discipline. This year, in 2006 the 31-year-old Swede living in Halden struggled with health problems, but managed to get in shape for both the European and World Championships, in which he claimed two more gold medals in Sprint. The gold medal from the Sprint in Mindenparken at the World Championships was his 5th straight Championships gold medal in the discipline.

» Runner profile Emil Wingstedt
» Poll: Best of Orienteering 2006

Poll 2006 sponsor:

Valentin Novikov is the most experienced Russian orienteer. At WOC Relay he took care of the last leg in the golden Russian team, with a style that earned him nomination into the “Achievement of the Year” category of the 2006 Poll. He was by far the fastest orienteer of the day and also thank to his smashing run Russia won their first Relay gold from World Championships.

I guess that when looking over, you must be satisfied with the 2006 season.
TYes, it was much better for me than the previous one and I was really glad I could take part in all the top events again.

The WOC 2006 ended up with your great performance in Relay, but before that in Long and Middle, even if you seemed to have been in your top shape, you two times lost great amounts of time at the end of the course, which twice cost you a medal. Have you analyzed that?
Well, the reasons were quite different. In the Long distance my main problem was that I had decided to use special athletic shoes, which were super light. However, the Long distance final was the first time I used them. I knew it was risk, but I was also aware that the Long distance would involve a lot of track-running this time, which was why I finally decided to take the risk. However, running in these athletic spikes required different running technique to which my legs weren’t used and after about 80 minutes on the course, I strted to suffer with cramps in my thigh muscles, which got really severe at the end of the course. When I got to the finsih shoot, I could barely move due to the pain and when I crossed the finish line, my legs were virtually powerless. And then, on the way back to our accommodation my stomach couldn’t hold anything, not even water. It was only in the evening I could eat my first food…

During the Middle distance you seemed to have been in full strength again. But again you missed a lot of time at the end of the course.
Yes, but this time the story was quite different. I arrived at WOC in great shape and thank to the one day of rest I had after the Long, I could regain my strength and recover completely. But what happened on the final loop of Middle distance course had nothing to do with my shape. At the series of very short legs in the open area with heather, my compass slipped along the map slightly and as a result when going to control 17 I started to orienteer as if I had been running towards the 18. And as you could see, here it was were I lost the chance to win a medal, maybe even the gold.

I think this must have been really disappointing, but it might have also been a reason for your outstanding run in the Relay. Did you get any extra motivation from this?
I would say so. I knew I was in my top shape at the WOC and with every event this shape was getting better and better, in fact I think it culminated in Relay. And of course, once you are running at WOC, you want to show your true class, especially when the whole orienteering world is watching you. And I knew I could do better than what I showed in Long and Middle, and Relay was my last chance in WOC to prove that. I think I have rarely run in Relay with greater motivation.

Valentin Novikov – Achievement of the Year 2006
Nominated forAs anchor bringing Russia to a historic World Championship gold in the Relay. Novikov’s run on the last leg was one of the highlights of the 2006 World Championships.

Other achievementsBronze medallist from Middle distance at the European Championships. 5th place holder from the WOC Middle distance. 3rd in the overall World Cup standings.

StoryValentin Novikov is Russia’s most experienced and one of the best orienteers. In 2004 he was Russia’s most successful orienteer in the World Championships, after he claimed silver in Middle distance and helped the country to another silver in Relay with solid run on the last leg. Last year, however, he missed the World Championships for reasons which are very well known. Things had calmed down over the winter and this year Novikov was back, competing for his country in major Championships. He won bronze in the Middle distance at the European Championships in Estonia. At the WOC in Denmark he competed in Long, Middle and he was also Russia’s anchor in Relay. If in the Long and Middle luck wasn’t particularly playing into his cards, in Relay he displayed a really out-of-this-world performance and with the best time on the last leg brought Russia to the premiere Relay gold medal in the history of the sport. He crowned his successful season with his best achievement in the overall World Cup, when he finished as third best in the overall standings of the series.

Written by:

» Runner profile Valentin Novikov
» Poll: Best of Orienteering 2006

Interviews

• “Kajsa Nilsson – Living the Dream”
• “Minna Kauppi – Finland’s golden element”

More interviews to come the next days! Go to the poll page and vote – and tell your friends and club mates about the poll!

Junior News
Some small notes about some of the juniors nominated for “Junior of the year 2006″:

• Søren Bobach, Olav Lundanes and Jan Benes are among the juniors who are in Australia preparing for the JWOC 2006. See newspaper article, this article by Kenneth Buch and the NSW Stingers homepage.
• Betty Ann Bjerkreim Nielsen is the best youth skier in “Tour de Ski” – finishing in a very strong 8th spot at the second part of “Tour de Ski” at January 2nd. See this and this article at NRK.no.
• Hanny Allston is
  awarded the Jörgen Mårtensson International Award.

Help us getting out to the corners of the o-world!
Have you got a web page in your orienteering club? Or a personal home page? Put up a link to the “Best of Orienteering 2006 Poll” – and make it possible for everybody to read about the fantastic achievements these fine nominated men and women have done this year – and to decide who really did the best achievement.
This is also a good way to spread orienteering as an elite sport out to the people doing orienteering in their small corner of the world – not really knowing much about the top runners. Feel free to take a few extracts from the poll description for some of the runners to tell what these achievements are really about. What’s in it for you? As you can see at the poll page, Among all orienteering related websites with on average more than 50 visits a day linking to the poll using the small image to the right or writing a news story about the poll, three prizes will be drawn..

Sites linking to the poll
The following pages are linking to the poll or have written a news article about the poll, and are in on the drawing for Orienteering Today subscription and ads at the World of O (see more about prizes at poll page). Thank you to all of you! And for those not in: Link up – write an email to jan@kocbach.net, and you are on the list next time. Still 10-15% chance to get a prize if you join in…

• Orienteering Australia
• Alternativet.nu
• Martin Pongratz
• OPN.no
• Alession Tenani
• Øystein Kvaal Østerbø
• Simone Niggli
• SOLV Spitzensport
• Ivo Danailov
• Danish Orienteering Federation
• JAK TO VIDÍ BÉĎA
• Moscow Compass
• Sävedalen AIK
• Okansas
• OTTOBRE31
• OLG Rymenzburg
• IL Tyrving
• I-OL.nl
• De Laatste post
• FIF Hillerød
• Emiliano Corona
• Norwegian Orienteering Federation
• Hanny Allston

PS! If your site is missing on the above list, you have maybe forgotten to write me an email about it? Or to put up the link?