After a 'jerky' race, Louise finished in a time of 44:17. Here are the results, and the maps for heat A (Louise ran in this heat), heat B, and heat C.
In the men's race, Damian, Eric, and Jeff all had good races, but not enough to make top 15 in their heats. Here are some comments from each of the guys:
Jeff: "Today’s course relied a lot on compass bearings, which aren’t my biggest strength. The first 3 controls were great, but big mistakes on 4 and 5. I didn’t refocus well after that, and just stumbled along...The race reinforced the things that I really need to work on."
Eric: "I was as ready as I could have been at the start of the race. I did tons of preparation to be ready for this race, but right after starting there were a couple things that happened that I hadn’t prepared for, so I was off my game quite soon into race. I did the best that I could have done today."
Damian: "I made some mistakes in this race. I found it tricky to find the controls in the dark green. You could be very close to a control yet still miss it. I had some good legs; first 3 controls were good, but had problems with my forth control."
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| Map from men's heat B |
Thierry Gueorgiou, current world champion and middle master, won his heat. Only 3 days ago did he decide he was fit enough to race in the middle distance, as he's been fighting an injury. Since he's current world champion he automatically got a spot in the qualifications, so didn't take away the chance from a team mate. When interviewed after the race, he explained that even though he was injured, he wasn't concerned about his fitness, because he's been pool running ~ 78 times in the last 45 days! As a side note, Emily Kemp joined Thierry for some pool running sessions as she battled tendinitis over the past few weeks. Note to all up and coming orienteers ~ no excuses not to train when you're injured... try pool running!
In the women's race, Simone Niggli won her heat, and is favourite to take the middle gold. These will be exciting races to watch!
The middle final takes place tomorrow, Tuesday. Louise is starting at 12:01 Swiss time. (that's 6am EST and 3am PST). You can follow online with GPS tracking, TV coverage (cost ~$4), and results at the official live site, or follow discussions on the World of O and Attackpoint. So set your alarms and prepare to watch some of the best orienteers in the world battle out for gold!
Wednesday is a rest day, then Thursday is the long distance final, where Louise will once again be running for Canada. We'll bring you the details soon.
Go Canada Go!
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Bravo Eric, Jeff & Damian and Good Luck Louise - if you had a jerky race and still qualified who knows what can happen!
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