JWOC ~ Middle Final

Today at the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC), Team Canada participated in the middle final. The middle distance is the only race at JWOC that has a qualification race. All the runners are split into 3 groups for the qualifications. Within each group, those who place between 1st and 20th go on to the A Final, those who place 20th - 40th go into the B Final, and the rest go into the C Final. Alex, Jen, and Kendra raced in the B Final, with Adam, Robbie, Trevor, and Pia racing in the C Final.

Today was a mixed bag for the Canadians, some had their best race of the week and others had problems and mistakes in the rocky and very difficult slope. Alex did a great job, finishing 49th in the B final for the men. In the C Final, Robbie finished 24th, Adam finished 37th, and Trevor finished 41st.

Adam finishing strongly!

"The race went great after I got across the boulder fields, but boulders were big and they tripped me up." --Adam

Alex in the finish chute

Robbie bringing it home in 24th!

 "I was a lot more focused today and it really paid off."  --Robbie

Trevor killing that finish chute!

On the women's side, Kendra ran a fantastic race to finish 19th in the B Final. Jen finished 52nd, and Pia finished 13th in the C Final.

Pia looking fast!

Kendra ran a great race today!

Go Jen Go!

"Rocks are mean! " --Jen
 
Please join us in congratulating our athletes on their races today!

Spectator arena!

It was a beautiful day where a large crowd followed the Women's and Men's finals on the big screen in the arena, complete with GPS tracking and TV controls in the terrain. The race will be broadcast on Czech TV tomorrow Thursday.

You can view the full results, maps, GPS tracking (for A Final only), and check out the photos on the JWOC website. 

Tomorrow, Thursday, is a rest day. There will be a prize giving ceremony for the middle and long distance races, as well as a chance for the athletes to practice on the sprint and relay model maps. The next race is the sprint on Friday. All the women will wear GPS trackers, so you can follow along online, or re-watch the action if you don't want to get up early!

Stay tuned to the Team Canada blog for all the behind-the-scenes action! You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can catch all the JWOC action on their website, and also on Facebook.