Sprint

The sprint started late in the day and so we had the whole morning at the hotel, waiting, re-packing our bags… We drove to Lebork after lunch and arrived at the quarantine area. First starts for men were at 2pm, and women at 2:30pm, so some people had a lot of waiting around if they started late. Toby even brought a bed with him. Scott was 4^th starter, so he was the first to leave out of the New Zealanders at 2:03. We were given a warm-up map of the pre-start area so we could have a jog around while waiting for our time. The first part of the course started with a few controls around a park area, with tennis courts, sandy areas and lots of impassable fences. Route choice was important here too. The men’s course then had a long leg over the river and onto the forested hill, with 2 more forested controls to follow. Near the end of the day tracking in the undergrowth helped a lot to lead people into the controls. Some easy legs through a park led to the compulsory taped route under the main road, and then we entered the city of Lebork. Control 11 had a dead-end alleyway to catch out unwary runners, and then there was a 50/50 route around a building to the spectator. Having crowds of people standing around cheering is nothing like orienteering in New Zealand. Back into the quiet streets for some more controls, including another dead-end route which caught out Tim and I. Some more route choice legs led us in a loop around the back of the arena all the way back to where we entered the city. Finally there was a 90m run in to the finish, down a chute lined with people all the way. Although route-choice was not over challenging over the course, there were many traps to punish people who relaxed too much. The heat of the day also had an impact on people’s performance, draining energy. The advantage of running early meant you missed most of the heat, but were forced to watch your name slip further and further down the board as more runners kept coming in. Unfortunately Scott managed to stand on a piece of glass while running and it went through his shoe into his foot. He didn’t think it was too bad though and kept running, only to find his shoe was soaked in blood. He was taken off to hospital and received 3 stitches. New Zealand had a stand-out performance from Angela, 6^th place meaning a spot on the podium! Matt also gained 21^st in the men. All of the men from New Zealand were in the top 80, which is a great result. Overall a great JWOC sprint, especially the atmosphere and results.

Results

Men

Matt 21^st

Toby 30^th

Gene 45^th

Scott 58^th

Nick 75^th

Tim 78^th

Women

Angela 6^th