- I was a turbulent child who discovered orienteering at the age of 4, Thierry Gueorgiou says in this interview. Gueorgiou is known as The King of Middle Distance, but this year there was even more attention around the “lost” gold medal in the WOC Relay. Gueorgiou however worked hard mentally, and managed to get back in the top at the World Cup in Sälen only days after the tough WOC Relay experience. Below Gueorgiou is presented for the nomination “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

• Remember to vote for “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ between Nov 18th and Nov 25th!

Interview with Thierry Gueorgiou

Give a short presentation of yourself.
I was a turbulent child who discovered orienteering at the age of 4. And thought it should be fun to become World Champion when I saw, by my own eyes, the legendary Kent Olsson winning the World Championship in France (1987). Since that day, I pursued my dream with commitment. The 08th August 2003, my dream came true and then realized that I had now to continue to challenge myself as long as possible. I knew I could be even better and that’s what still pushes me forward today. You’re only bitter if you reach the end of your life and you’re filled with frustration because you feel you missed out something. You’re bitter because you regret not accomplishing things you could have accomplished. I won’t be a bitter old man.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
Well, there is no other race which has the same flavor that WOC races. All top orienteers peak their preparation to be at their very best at that time. So, I should answer that the middle distance in Stara Ves forests was the highlight of my season. But I also liked my performances at the middle distance in European Championships, as well as the long distance at CISM. For some diverse reasons, if I would have bet before the races, I would never have gambled a single euro on me… This is always the greatest emotions to beat your feelings and thoughts.

You’re bitter because you regret not accomplishing things you could have accomplished. I won’t be a bitter old man

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
I suppose that it’s probably better to be in the nominate list than getting no mail from you at this time of the season. But, to be honest, 2008 is already behind and I am now fully focused on 2009.

What are your main goals for the future?
Hopefully, I still have couple of goals to achieve. I think the biggest is probably to perform at my best at the World Championships 2011 (France). But up to there, I’ll try to compete with some decent level as well. I still miss the long distance and relay gold to complete my WOC greatest hits. So, I might put some energy on trying to achieve those goals.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
Well, I have been lucky to visit many marvelous places to orienteer. I am a little addict to Trøms terrains (Northern part of Norway). But as a French orienteer, I could only recommend to visit the Aveyron’s terrains (where 2008 French days took places). This is a must for me, one of those few places in the World where you get the feeling that your brain is definitively hopeless…

• See this Routegadget from Stage 3

Can you describe your toughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
Since a while (before 2003), I decided to not record my training in a diary. The reason for this choice is that I put too much energy on just counting hours, but not much on analyzing my feelings. So unfortunately, I can’t answer precisely to this question. But, as far as I remember, it should be a week with around 20-24 hours of trainings (mostly running/orienteering). I don’t consider those « record week » as primordial to perform at my best. The most important thing is to have good basic trainings that you keep for every single week during all the winter (like uphill intervals or special orienteering sessions for example).

I am a little addict to Tromsø terrains (Northern part of Norway)

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
Yes, I am a professional orienteer since 2004. My evaluation of my trainings hours per year is around 700 hours.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
My priority is always to try to be an orienteer who will perform well at the coming World Championships. So, I evaluate the aspects that I consider as primordial to handle. If I think that next WOC race need to be especially good in some style of running, I will include it during my basic trainings. But as I am also passionate about orienteering techniques, I must say that I am also training a lot in orienteering just to enjoy the feeling when you are on the edge and close to your limits of controlling your orienteering.

I never ran 3000m or 5000m seriously.

Marianne Andersen has grown to become one of the big profiles in international orienteering with individual World Championship medals 3 years in a row. Below Andersen is presented for the nomination “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

• Remember to vote for “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ between Nov 18th and Nov 25th!

Interview with Marianne Andersen

Give a short presentation of yourself.
I’m 28 years old, live in Oslo, but come from Drammen. I have been orienteering since I was 16. The last four years I have run for Nydalens SK, but next season I’m going to run for my home club Konnerud IL again.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
Because I was injured most of the winter and spring, WOC in Czech Republic became not only my main goal, but in many ways also my only goal this season. That I managed to get in decent shape for WOC and get a silver medal and a 4th place there, was the highlight of the 2008 season for me. But the best race of the year I did in the Norwegian long distance Championship in august.

The best race of the year I did in the Norwegian Long Distance Champs in August

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
I am a bit surprised, because I hadn’t thought I would be nominated for something like that. But I’m also really happy about it.

What are your main goals for the future?
My main goal is to become a better orienteering runner. My main goal for 2009 is to win a gold medal in WOC in Hungary.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
My favorite terrains are some of the forests around Eiker and Kongsberg. But I like to orienteer in almost all kinds of terrains - the variation of terrains is one of the things I like with orienteering

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
I don’t feel that I had any really though training weeks in 2008. Because I couldn’t run from January to April, my legs weren’t ready for really though running this summer. But I trained quite a lot in the last part of April and in May. This was short after my Achilles tendon had become so well that I could start running again, and therefor I still did a lot of alternative training. Here is a typical training week in this period:

• 21/4: I: Aqua jog 2h 5min II: Running 35min
• 22/4: I: Aqua jog: Warm up 20min, 15*3.15-3.20min intervals (I-3), 30sec recovery, cool down 15min. II: Orienteering 35min + Roller skiing (using only my arms) 1h
• 23/4: I: Aqua jog 2h 25min II: Cycling 1h 35min
• 24/4: I: Aqua jog 2h II: Orienteering 35min (9 + 6 min fast). Strength training 20min.
• 25/4: I: Aqua jog: Warm up 20min, 15*3.20min intervals (I-3), 30sec rec, cool down 10min II: Running 40min III: Cycling 1h 25min
• 26/4: I: Aqua jog 2h II: Orienteering 40min. Strength training 30min.
• 27/4: I: Skiing (using only my arms) 1h 20min II: Running: Warm up 10min, 5*4min hill intervals (I3-4), 1min rec, walked down. III: Cycling 1h 25min

I think all the alternative training I did when I couldn’t run, was the main reason that my shape became as good as it was at WOC.

I will now put priority on running in the forest

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
I work 40% at the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority. This year I will train about 850h. At the most I have trained about 950h.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
The last couple of years I have put priority on running on road/track to improve my skills on this area. But this has led to more injuries than before. And with the next two WOCs in hilly terrains in Hungary and Norway, I will now put priority on running in the forest. My PB in 3000m is 9.50.

• Follow this link to go to the voting page
• 10 prizes from Trimtex will be drawn among all voting

Nominees “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″

Rules and prizes

The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering. Prizes will be drawn among the voters:

1. A person can only vote once in each of the categories (if several people share one internet connection, only one can vote, as the IP address is used to identify the voter along with the email-address of the voter).
2. Among all people voting, 10 prizes (Trimtex Extreme shirts and Trimtex Extreme pants) will be drawn. We would like to thank Trimtex for making available the prizes.
3. The winners will be made public after the poll closes at World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

Spread the news

Help making the poll as representative for the international orienteering community as possible! Spread the news about the poll, by publishing an article about the election on your website, and encourage people participating. Please use this link:

• http://poll.worldofo.com/poll2008.html (voting will be opened from here)

Of all websites with on average more than 50 visitors/day who link to the poll after it has been opened for voting, five websites will be drawn who will get a free “Sponsored Link” at either World of O or Ultimate Orienteering. Websites with on average more than 200 visitors/day will count triple when linking to the poll. Send an email to Jan@Kocbach.net with the sites address if you want to be part of this draw for free sponsored links. Sponsored links may be to any orienteering related page or product - must necessarily by the website drawn. Please use one of the following images when linking to the poll:

Siri Ulvestad took the Bronze medal at the Junior World Champs Long in Gothenburg this year. Below Ulvestad is presented for the nomination “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

Interview with Siri Ulvestad

Give a short presentation of yourself.
My name is Siri Ulvestad and I am 20 years old. I grew up in Oslo and started to run orienteering when I was about 8 years old. At the age of 11 I also started competing in cross country skiing, and have combined those sports ever since. Last year I moved to Trondheim and started to study civil engineering at the Norwegian university of science and technology.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
The international highlight was the bronze medal at the long distance in the junior world orienteering championships. On national level there has been many highlights wining 5 gold medals in the Norwegian championships and the overall national cup.

On national level there has been many highlights wining 5 gold medals in the Norwegian championships

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
I think it is great to be nominated among so many other good junior orienteers.

What are your main goals for the future?
My main goal in the future is to achieve good results as an senior orienteer, and have fun while practicing and competing in orienteering.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
I do like typical Nordic terrains the most, and I really enjoy running orienteering in the forests south of Oslo (for example at Siggerud where the World Cup was held)

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
I guess I have a few though weeks in front of me as the cross country skiing season is coming up, but so far my hardest training week is maybe O-ringen.

• Mon: 1. Orienteering competition (1:55) 2. Roller ski (0:30)
• Tue: 1. Orienteering competition (1:15) 2. Running (0:20)
• Wed: 1. Orienteering competition (1:35) 2. Running (0:25)
• Thu: 1. Orienteering competition (1:05) 2. Running (0:20)
• Fri: 1. Orienteering competition (1:35)
• Sat: Rest day
• Sun: 1. Cycling (4:45)

I like to look at my self as a professional orienteer

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
I like to look at my self as a professional orienteer. I study 75% compared to a full study, and train about 550 hours a year.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
I do almost all of my running in the forest, but ran 3000m a few times in 2006-2007. My PB in 3000 m is 10:24.

Results

• Results are available at the organizers page
• See also PWT 2008 preview article

Men Elite - Part

Men Elite

Women Elite

Silje Ekroll Jahren had a bad winter with a lot of sickness, but surprised herself with a silver medal at the Junior World Champs Sprint in Gothenburg this year. Below Ekroll Jahren is presented for the nomination “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

Interview with Silje Ekroll Jahren

Give a short presentation of yourself.
I’m Silje Ekroll Jahren, born in 1988 in Nordkisa (east of Oslo airport Gardermoen). I have always been running orienteering, and also cross country skiing. Until 2008 have i been competing on high level in both sports, but now i have decided to do a little less cross country and more orienteering. I am now studying physics in Gothenburg.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
The international highlight was the silver medal in JWOC sprint, on national level i got gold and silver in the norwegian championships, and second in the overall national cup.

Now i have decided to do a little less cross country and more orienteering

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
It is very nice to be nominated among so many good runners, and specially after a very bad winter with a lot of sickness. I never thought this season would give me any JWOC medals, and now i am even nominated for the ultimate junior orienteer of 2008.

What are your main goals for the future?
My main goals is to be as good as possible, and hopefully that is enough to fight for senior medals. Taking a gold medal is definitively a dream. Next year my main goal is Nordic championship.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
I really like to orienteer in Norway and Nordic forests. Here the terrains are very different from place to place and the orienteering training gets very varied. Personally i like the forest in Løten, but also the terrain around where i come from is very nice.

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
This year i have had no though weeks. The year has been characterized of sickness, because i have had problems with sinusitis. Because of that I have trained less then before, and i have been focusing on training after how much my body could take, and i tried to train so i would be in best shape as possible at JWOC. I think that my focus on JWOC had specific impact for my results, because i really wanted this medal.

My thoughest week this year looked like this:

• Mon: 1h 30min slow running on map (orienteering training)
• Tue: 1h slow running on map (orienteering training)
• Wed: 1h 30min slow running
• Thurs: 20min warming up then 40min intervall where i ran 2+4+6+6+4+2min with breaks that is half the time of the last fast period. That means 2min fast then 1min break, 4min fast 2min break …
• Fri: 1h slow training and some strength training.
• Sat: 1h 35min slow running
• Sun: 1. Competition in Switzerland middle distance. 2. 1h slow running in the evening

This gave me 10h10min that week. This was week 24, and I ran a lot on low intensity. This was because I still needed to train basis training to train me up after the bad winter. JWOC was in week 27 so week 25 and 26 i trained less and harder.

The year has been characterized of sickness, because i have had problems with sinusitis

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?

I was studying 75% school year 2007/2008, now i am studying 100%, but my studies are easier so i think it will be almost the same. I will call my self a professional orienteer, because i am serious, I really like running orienteering, and my year, and almost all i do is, planed after the training and orienteering season. The lasts years i have been training around 400 hours each year. This year the plan was around 450 hours, but because of all the sickness i trained only 300 hours.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
I train a little bit of everything, but i basically run intervals on roads or smaller tracks in the forest, while i try to run all the long and slow trainings on softer ground to save the legs. I like to put some running tests in my training to control if my training is correct, these tests are around 20 minutes long and uphill. The last years i have not been running so much track and field as I wanted to, but that is something i will do more in the next seasons. My PB in 3000m is 4 years old, and is 10:42. I have been running more 1500m, here my PB is 4:45.

Results

Men Elite
1) MUELLER MATTHIAS –SUI- 13:08
2) GONON FRANCOIS –FRA- 13:46
3) KARI TUOMAS –FIN- 13:48

Women Elite
1) STALDER SELINE –SUI- 12:09
2) JURENIKOVA EVA –CZE- 12:21
3) ELIASSON EMMA –SWE- 12:43

• Results will be available at organizers page
• See also PWT 2008 preview article

Men Elite - first part

Men Elite - complete course

Women Elite - complete course

The Fridays race is a qualification race ; the best 10 runners in the qualification will qualify for the Final on Sunday. In addition the invited runners have a wild card and will go directly to the finals. The first start in the qualification Friday is at 11.00 CET - last start is at 12.10 CET. The map extract to the right is from the final on Saturday.

Saturdays race promises to be a very interesting race. Many of the top runners will travel on to the Venice Street Orienteering after the race on Saturday, which is staged in Venice on Sunday.

• PWT 2008 webpage
• Bulletin 3: Runners pre-qualified for Finals
• Bulletin 4: Latest info
• Startlist

Information from the organizers

Countdown for the 2008 final
In the Palladian year - the 5th century from the birth of Andrea Palladio - Lonigo (Vicenza) hosts the Park World Tour final 2008 of Orienteering: sport, environment, tourism and culture in a city marked by the great architect.
On Nov. 14 and 15 with the single stage in Lonigo (VI) returns to Italy the Park World Tour International Orienteering circuit that from 1996 brings the best world athletes of the Sprint specialty to compete in major parks and historic city centres. The event in Lonigo, opening leg of the third edition of Orienteering Adriatic Meeting to be disputed is the first stage of qualifications on Nov. 14 in the Berici Hills and the finals the following day in the city’s historic district and the park of Villa San Fermo before the final event on Sunday in Venice.

Not only a weekend of sports, but also of culture, tourism and gastronomy, with visits to the Palladian Villas, the Basilica and the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, tasting of typical specialties based on polenta and baccalà, the sports festival of the schools in Vicenza, awards to the local athletes, Davide Rebellin and Tatiana Guderzo, Beijing Olympic medalists, mapping and photography exhibitions, conferences on sports-culture and the importance of orienteering at school.

There are nearly 500 foreign athletes so far entered the Park World Tour Lonigo representing 18 nations, amongst them, the world orienteering champions Dana Broskova (Czech Rep.) and Thierry Gueorgiou (France) and the Chinese national team(with 10 representatives), in confirmation of orienteering as an emerging reality. Particular attention was dedicated to social and schools with paths for the diverselyabled and the involvement of 800 students of primary and secondary schools also come from outside the region (Puglia). The event in Lonigo, promoted by asd Sphera in collaboration with Park World Tour Italy, is also an occasion to celebrate the thirty-year anniversary of the FISO Vicenza Guidance(1978-2008).

Lonigo, lying at the foot of Berici hills, counting numerous villas, palaces and scenic squares, is a city of wine (there is the largest winery in Europe) headquarters of the oldest Exposition, The Horse Fair of Italy and home of the speedway: spectacular motorist discipline, in which skeleton motorbikes, with no speed change and brakes powered by methyl alcohol, run on oval tracks. Lonigo is well worth the visit for three major works of the’500’s: the Villa Pisani Bonetti in Bagnolo, country residence designed by Palladio, the Rocca, small “Rotonda”, by Vincenzo Scamozzi, a pupil of the most famous architect Palladio and Palazzo Pisani, attributed Michele Sanmicheli.

Ulf Forseth Indgaard won two medals at the Junior World Champs in Gothenburg this year: Silver over the middle distance and bronze in the relay. Below Forseth Indgaard is presented for the nomination “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

Interview with Ulf Forseth Indgaard

Give a short presentation of yourself.
I am 19 years old, and I live in Levanger in Nord-Trøndelag. I am going the last year at a sport school in Steinkjer.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
The Norwegian Championship relay (senior) where I ran in to silver for my team together with two other juniors (including my younger brother) was one of the big highlights. The other highlight was JWOC in Göteborg with silver at the middle distance and bronze at the relay. Norwegian championship for juniors, middle and long distance where I managed to take two gold medals is another highlight.

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
I am very satisfied with my own results and races this season, and I am happy that others notice these good results.

I am very satisfied with my own results and races this session, and
I am happy that others notice this

What are your main goals for the future?
JWOC in Italy is my main goal the next season. For the future I have a dream to run WOC in Trondheim in 2010, since its only one hours drive from where I have grown up.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
This summer I was in Italy to train for next years JWOC, and I really liked the terrain there. The sand dunes in Murcia is also one of my favourite orienteering places.

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
One of my toughest weeks in 2008 was in the winter where I do a lot of my training at low intensity and on skis. I try to train some orienteering through the winter, even if it usually is some snow in the forest.

Here is the training week:

• Monday: Cross country skiing low intensity 2h
• Tuesday: Cross country skiing low intensity 3h
• Wednesday: Intervals 5×6min high intensity 1,5h + Cross country skiing low intensity 1,5h
  
• Thursday: Orienteering low intensity 1h
• Friday: Strength (to prevent injuries), power 1,5h + Running low intensity 2h
• Saturday: Orienteering medium intensity 1.5h + Running low intensity 2h
• Sunday: Intervals 5×8min medium intensity 1,5h

The sand dunes in Murcia is also one of my favorite orienteering places

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
I am taking the third year at high school over two years to get better time for training and studying. This is my last year at school. This year I trained about 500 hours.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
Most of my training at low intensity is in the forests, but usually I run intervals on tracks and roads. The last years I have not tested myself on 3000m, but two years ago I ran at 9:11.

Beata Falk won three medals at the Junior World Champs in Gothenburg this year. Below Falk is presented for the nomination “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

Interview with Beata Falk

Give a short presentation of yourself.
I’m nineteen years old, was born in the “heart” of Sweden 200 km vest of Stockholm in a town called Örebro. That is where I grew up, but four years ago I moved to Eksjö in Småland to go to an orienteering college. Now when finished school, I’ve moved to England to work as an au-pair throughout the winter, which has been a great experience so far. Of course a lot of my spare time is spent on orienteering, and I really love to stay outside doing different kind of sports. I also like seeing my friends, to go for some shopping or just sit down talking in a cosy café. In the future I would like to have time to both study properly and try to reach as far as I possibly can in orienteering. At the moment I think I would like to study medicine, but I don’t know what future will bring.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
The whole year has been just amazing. I’ve enjoyed almost every second of it, but JWOC in Gothenburg was probably the highlight of the year. It was great fun to take part in such a big competition held in your native country! The feeling of coming into the finish on the relay with all people cheering is something I’ll never forget. But there have been lots of other nice moments throughout the year. I love the feeling of running when the body reacts in the way I want, when it feels like you could go on forever. To me those moments are real highlights, no matter if they occur on a huge competition or when I’m just out training.

I love the feeling of running when the body reacts in the way I want, when it feels like you could go on forever

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
It is a great honour. I mean I’ve just had fun out there and if that has made other people think that I’m worthy this nomination… that would be incredible.

What are your main goals for the future?
My main goal for the future is, since a couple of years, trying to become as good as I possibly can. I mean I can’t do anything about my competitors, all I can change for the better is myself. I find it very exciting trying to find as many things as possible to improve; there is so much to learn! That is what inspires me, but of course there are also some short-term goals. I would love to go to JWOC and Italy next year, and performing some really good runs while enjoying everything around.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
Oh, what a question! Of course Sweden is a really nice place for orienteering. I love the terrain around, and south of, Stockholm as it’s quite tricky with a lot of details. The north of Sweden is very nice too, although I’ve not been there very much and Kilsbergen, just west of Orebro where I live is wonderful too. It’s a very tough area physically but it gives you a great deal of strength.

Apart from Sweden and the Nordic countries, which are also very nice, I loved orienteering in the south of France, Le Caylar. I think everyone should go there! There maps are varying from almost totally flat to really steep mountains and provides tricky orienteering from beginning to end. It’s impossible to get tired of it!

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
The toughest training weeks, except from those on camps, come during the winter and they often look quite the same so it’s hard to pick out just one, but this one was probably one of the toughest.

• Monday: 1) morning spinning, 1 hour . 2) afternoon strength, 1 hour
• Tuesday: Orienteering, long distance in a slow pace, 2 hours
• Wednesday: Intervals uphill, 1,5 hour (including warm-up)
• Thursday: 1) morning strength, 1 hour afternoon 2) long distance running both in forest and on tracks and in forest, 2 hours
• Friday: 1) morning cycling intervals 3min*10, 1 hour including warm-up 2) afternoon swimming, 1 hour
• Saturday: sprint orienteering + “springiness” , 1,25 hour
• Sunday: Resting day

I think, and hope that the winter training gave me a good base for the coming season. I think that the long distance orienteering in the forest is really important in order to get the strength needed for the competition season, and important races, especially when the terrain will be as tough as it was in Gothenburg.

I love the terrain around, and south of, Stockholm as it’s quite tricky with a lot of details

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
I’m not a professional orienteer, and I don’t think I would like to be that. At the moment I’m working as an au-pair in England and I have all time needed for the training I want to do, but except from training and taking care of the children there is not much time left to do other things. I think that unless you are a full time pro, that’s the way life would be no matter if you’re working or studying.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
I think both are important, especially when more and more of the big international races are held in continental terrain, where speed is essential. But running in the forest gives you great strength and endurance that is as necessary as the speed. An other part of the cross country or long distance running is that you learn how to push yourself further and further and continue even though you thought you couldn’t go on and that might be the most important part of it.

To be honest I’ve never run either 3000 or 5000 meters so I don’t know what my time would be. The only thing I have run are a couple of cross country competitions, but I would love to try it.

Søren Bobach started the spring season of 2008 very good - with very good runs on both 10Mila and Jukola. Injuries made preparations for JWOC less than ideal, but Bobach still returned home from Gothenburg with two Bronze medals at this years Junior World Champs. Below Bobach is presented for the nomination “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

Interview with Søren Bobach

Give a short presentation of yourself.
My name is Søren Bobach and I’m 19 years old. I come from Denmark and live in a small town called Virklund. It lies next to some of the best and toughest terrains in Denmark, it’s the area round Silkeborg. I’m still at high school and have almost 2 years left. When I’m not training you probably find me together with some of my friends or in front of the TV. I like to grab a beer with my friends or go to party in the weekends. My friends are very important to me. I also do other sport activities like football, volley and handball.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
The highlight of 2008 got to be JWOC. I knew that I could manage the terrain and before I got injured, I was in a pretty good shape. But coming to a championship without knowing whether you are running or not, is odd. But hopefully my leg was fine and I could run without pain. I got two medals, which was awesome. But I’m not totally satisfied with my performance. I made too many mistakes, but most of the time I acted like I should, and that was very important to me.

I like to grab a beer with my friends or go to party
in the weekends

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
I’m surprised to be nominated for this award, it’s a very nice surprise, but it wasn’t expected. I know I had a very good spring season, with good runs on 10mila and Jukola. But I have missed half the season due to an injury in my leg.

What are your main goals for the future?
My main goals for next year are JWOC. Next year is my last as a junior and I will use most of my energy preparing for JWOC. I want to take some medals and definitely gold on the long distance. It’s the only distance where I haven’t been on the podium. Some smaller goals are getting on the 1st Team in 10mila and Jukola and helping the others to win those relays, and I would also like to run the WOC in Hungary, but it would be a bonus because my focus is still JWOC. In some years my goal is to be among the best runners in the world, and I want to win several gold medals.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
That is a hard question. I have been to so many places. But there are some terrains I just think you HAVE to visit. One of my favorites is the terrain in San Bernadino where the JWOC 2005 relay was held. I think it’s a very nice terrain. Another area that I think exciting is Clermont Ferrand in France. It is very difficult orienteering and that’s why I like it so much. I was there on a training camp last year. The last area I will mention is the area in which JEC 2007 was held. I can’t remember the name of the area. It’s very open forest with bushes and stone formations.

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
I think my toughest training week in 2008 is when I was in Portugal with Halden SK in the beginning of February. I had 7 training days with two trainings each day and totally 14 hours.

• Day 1: 2 technique trainings and I ran fast on the first one. 1:52 altogether.
• Day 2: This day included the first competition at Portugal O’meeting. It was a middle distance. In the afternoon we had technique training. 2:11 altogether.
• Day 3: The second day at POM was a short long distance with a winning time on 70min. Just 1:30-2:00 after finishing the competition we had technique training. 2:14 altogether.
• Day 4: Another short long distance. I was starting to be exhausted but I kept pushing my self to run fast. Then technique training in the afternoon. 2:33 altogether.
• Day 5: The last competition day was a middle distance again. And again we had technique training in the afternoon. 1:58 altogether.
• Day 6: We drove to Spain to have a day there with trainings. We ran to technique trainings, and I took it bit easier this day. 2:02 altogether.
• Day 7: The last day for me. Two technique trainings and the last was a sprint, so I ran fast again. 1:37 altogether.

I was very exhausted when I got home. These training weeks did that I was in a good shape when the season started. It made me more tough which I needed for JWOC in Gothenburg.

One of my favorites is the terrain
in San Bernadino where the JWOC 2005 relay was held

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
I don’t think I can call myself a professional orienteer. I don’t study fulltime but I still have a lot to do with school. I’m using 4 years on something that normally takes 3 years. And I don’t have time for a job.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
I have had many training hours on roads and on tracks. Most of my intervals have been on a track. But now more and more of my trainings are in the forest. But I still run trainings on roads, for example 4min intervals. I need to be strong in the forest. PB 5000m: 15.48

Emma Klingenberg surprised everybody - including herself - by winning the gold medal at the Junior World Champs Sprint in Gothenburg this year. Below Klingenberg is presented for the nomination “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ through an interview made by World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

About: Two of the major sources for international orienteering news on the Internet - World of O and Ultimate Orienteering - are organizing a poll to name “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ and “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering after all nominees have been presented. Starting November 12th we present all nominees on a day-by-day basis. The poll is sponsored by Trimtex. Voting will be possible after all nominees have been presented from the voting page. See also all nominees in the initial press release.

Interview with Emma Klingenberg

Give a short presentation of yourself.
My name is Emma Klingenberg. I’m 16 years old, born in ‘92. Both of my parents, my two sisters and my brother run orienteering, and we’ve been running for the past 10 years, tough I fell like I’ve been running my whole life. We run for Faaborg OK, and we travel quite a lot, especially in Sweden and Ireland (I’m half Irish).

I have just started a three years education at a “gymnasium” (like high school or grammar school). Besides orienteering I like to play the guitar, and I enjoy spending my Friday afternoons with my friends from school.

What was the highlight of the 2008 season for you?
This year’s highlight is without comparison my win at the JWOC sprint! I became the youngest junior world orienteering champ. It was completely unexpected, and therefore even more overwhelming. What I remember best is the thrilling minutes standing among the Danes, while waiting for the last runners to head to the finish. And the euphonising felling of happiness that almost blew me away, when it was finally announced that I was the new junior world champ! Now several months after JWOC I’m not even sure I have completely understood what happened that fantastic day.

In the months between JWOC and EYOC I thought a lot about how I would tackle my nerves. Over and over again I tried to imagine myself standing in the start box at EYOC. My mental training seemed to have worked, because I felt surprisingly calm and concentrated during the races at the youth European Championship.

It was completely unexpected, and therefore even more overwhelming

What is your thought about being nominated for the orienteering achievement of 2008?
I am surprised but of course very happy to bee nominated as “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″. It’s a great honour even to be considered as worthy for the title.

What are your main goals for the future?
I am still quite young, and I am not completely sure what my main goals are in the long run. Though, I hope to get on the podium again at JWOC 09 in Italy (sprint or middle-distance). But if not next year, then hopefully in 2010 when JWOC is in Denmark.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer - where you would advice our readers to travel?
A few weeks ago, (just after EYOC) I was on training camp in the very mountainous Bellinzona, South Switzerland. The terrain was amazing with its step slopes, soft curves and big areas with very few details. On almost every training course there were several hundred meters of increase, and that of course made the training very physically demanding.

Can you describe your thoughest training week in 2008 (day-by-day)? Did that have any specific impact for your great achievements in 2008?
I think the training camp in Switzerland has been my toughest but also the most exciting week of training this year. The technical and physical challenges that I meet in Bellinzona, has defiantly been good preparation before next years JWOC in Italy.

My mental training seemed to have worked, because I felt surprisingly calm and concentrated during the races at the youth European Championship

Are you a professional orienteer? How many percent is your work/study that you do besides orienteering compared to a full position - and how many hours do you train each year?
I don’t really look at myself as a professional runner. I run orienteering because it’s the best thing I know in the world, and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. Two years ago I started to train on a more serious level than earlier. It’s difficult to say how much I train each year, because the amount of training is continuously increasing. Two years ago I trained 4 times a week - today I train 7 times a week. Of course it takes a bit of planning to fit my training with my studying, but until now I have managed to get along with both, without big complications.

In your training: Do you put priority on running in the forest or on the road/track? What is your PB in 3000m/5000m?
I prefer to run with a map and as far as possible I always run in the forest. In a normal week of training I run at least 50 % of the time in intensity zones 4 and 5 (86 – 100 % of max). Instead of long trainings sessions, I prefer to run with high intensity. My training sessions are seldom longer than 60-70 min.

The most important thing for me to remember when I run orienteering is that I have to enjoy what I’m doing. And I do – I love to run orienteering. Of course it is great in the periods were you get good results and you fell like everything is going well. But if you can still be happy whit your sport, even when you fell in bad shape or your technique fails – that’s the most important!

The poll will be open in the following categories after all nominees have been presented in detail at World of O and Ultimate Orienteering:

• “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″ - Men and Women separately
• “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″ - Men and Women separately

In the vote for “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″, the best achievement of the year is to be named - and not necessarily the best orienteer of 2008. In the vote for “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″, the best junior orienteer of 2008 is to be named. Voting will be opened from http://poll.worldofo.com/poll2008.html.

Nominees “The Orienteering Achievement of 2008″

Nominees “The Ultimate Junior Orienteer of 2008″

Rules and prizes

The winner in each category is decided in a vote amongst all the readers of World of O and Ultimate Orienteering. Prizes will be drawn among the voters:

1. A person can only vote once in each of the categories (if several people share one internet connection, only one can vote, as the IP address is used to identify the voter along with the email-address of the voter).
2. Among all people voting, 10 prizes (Trimtex Extreme shirts and Trimtex Extreme pants) will be drawn. We would like to thank Trimtex for making available the prizes.
3. The winners will be made public after the poll closes at World of O and Ultimate Orienteering.

Spread the news

Help making the poll as representative for the international orienteering community as possible! Spread the news about the poll, by publishing an article about the election on your website, and encourage people participating. Please use this link:

• http://poll.worldofo.com/poll2008.html (voting will be opened from here)

Of all websites with on average more than 50 visitors/day who link to the poll after it has been opened for voting, five websites will be drawn who will get a free “Sponsored Link” at either World of O or Ultimate Orienteering. Websites with on average more than 200 visitors/day will count triple when linking to the poll. Send an email to Jan@Kocbach.net with the sites address if you want to be part of this draw for free sponsored links. Sponsored links may be to any orienteering related page or product - must necessarily by the website drawn. Please use one of the following images when linking to the poll:

The supersprint in the Grand Bazar is one of the main attractions for the Istanbul 5 Days orienteering - along with the fact that stages are being held both in Europe and Asia, the Island stage on one of the Princes Islands - and of course the great boat party at the Bosphorus with free drink and food after the final stage. It is rumored that some come mostly for the party …

More than 6000 shops

The Grand Bazar has more than 58 streets and 6000 shops according to Wikipedia - most of it with a roof. The Bazar gets between 250.000 and 400.000 visitors daily, and the area is fairly crowded during daytime. Not so at night. For the supersprint the Grand Bazar is only opened for orienteers - the number bib serves as the entrance ticket. - It is very expensive to hire the Grand Bazar for an event, according to Alen Gavar in the organizing team. - However, the state supports us, and for us the price is reduced to a sum it is possible to afford based on the start fee, Gavar explains.

The special thing about the Grand Bazar from an orienteering perspective - is that the map is “multilevel”. That is, part of the controls are on the upper floor - controls on the upper floor being drawn in green to make it clear for the competitor on which floor to search for the control. Very few runners got through the courses without mistakes - most leaving at least two minutes in the maze of small shops. - I made many irritating mistakes. At least two minutes in total. This was my chance to beat him, Nick Barrable (GBR) said after being beaten with nearly a minute by Swedish junior Gustav Bergman in the mens elite - the fourth victory in a row for the upcoming Swedish JWOC competitor.

Gustav Bergmann also took the overall victory in the mens class - including the $400 prize money set up for the winner of the WRE race at the third stage. Iliana Shandurkova (BUL) took a solid overall victory in the women elite category.

Below you see the mens elite course. For maps from the other competitions, see the bottom of the page.

Final stage in Asia

The first three stages of Istanbul 5 Days were held in Belgrade forest in Europe - a big and hilly forest starting at the city boundary of Istanbul, around 20 km to the north of Istanbul. The area gives some route choice challenges due to varying vegatation (with some thorny areas) and hills. See maps from the first three stages at the bottom of the page.

The final stage was held on one of the Princess Islands located in Asıa - a little more than one hour boat trip from Istanbul city center. The terrain was much faster this last day, and with the increasıngly warm weather (around 25 degrees the last day), a cooling bath at the beach was very welcome among many of the competitors. See the map from the last Island stage at the bottom of this page.

Pictures

Some pictures to let you in on the great atmosphere of Istanbul 5 Days.

Maps

Map with men elite course of the other 4 stages of Istanbul 5 Days.

Results

For full results and more information about Istanbul 5 Days, see

• Istanbul 5 Days webpage

Kauppi Queen of Olomouc

After Anne Margrethe Hausken’s (NOR) fantastic EOC and O-Ringen dominance - and clear Overall World Cup victory, many have forgotten that Minna Kauppi (FIN) was actually best when it really counted: At the World Orienteering Championships in Olomouc, Czech Republic. Kauppi took the Gold medal in Middle, Silver medal in Sprint and another Gold medal in the Relay. Adding last years Gold medal at the WOC long distance, this is enough to give Kauppi the top of the World of O Ranking 2008 at the end of the season - with a clear lead ahead of Anne Margrethe Hausken. Heli Jukkola (FIN) is third overall after having injury problems at the WOC (but a strong EOC), while Simone Niggli who is now back in Swiss Elite orienteering winning competitions is still number four on the ranking based on her 2007 results.

• World of O Ranking: Women Overall

Brozkova on Long distance

Taking a look at the rankings for the various disciplines, Hausken is obviously on top over the Sprint distance - and Kauppi is a clear number one in Middle. Over the Long distance, Dana Brozkova (CZE) has a clear lead ahead of Marianne Andersen (NOR).

• World of O Ranking: Women Sprint
• World of O Ranking: Women Long
• World of O Ranking: Women Middle

Dream season for Hubmann

Daniel Hubmann (SUI) has had a dream season, winning the WOC gold medal over the Long distance, winning the overall World Cup - and now also heading the World of O Ranking at the end of the 2008 season. However, Gueorgiou is only 25 small points behind Hubmann - mirroring the close call in the World Cup. Hubmann is heading both the Sprint and Long distance rankings - whereas the King of Middle distance - Gueorgiou - of course has a clear lead in the Middle distance Ranking.

• World of O Ranking: Men Overall
• World of O Ranking: Men Sprint
• World of O Ranking: Men Long
• World of O Ranking: Men Middle

Note! For the first version of this article, World Cup races at O-Ringen were not included in the rankings for the individual disciplines. They were however included in the overall rankings. This is now fixed.