Australian Orienteering Team: 2013

Sunday, July 14, 2013

The Relay....the end of now.

WOC 2013 came to an end today with the Relay.

However it wouldn't be fair if we didn't mention out great runs from yesterday from Simon and Hanny both in 33rd position in the middle final! Vanessa came 43rd and Jasmine 44th as well! Well done guys! (Bit slack last night with the blog)

Onto the relay. A photo diary..... cause the banquet starts now!

The men's start

Simon was on fire finishing first leg in 11th place only 54 seconds down. He is so calm and collected and just does it all with his token mmmeh!

Simon was so good in fact the doping control was onto him!

Julian spent the Relay commentating for the Universal Sports live coverage in the USA.

I want to see your peeeeee!!!

Simon was under close watch for the next few hours watching Josh and Bryan in action! He is so cool and calm he couldn't pee for 2 hours!

Josh, called up for the relay two days ago due to Lachy's ankle injury made a solid race and came back in 20th place!

Elin gives Josh's WOC debut the thumbs up!

Russia stormed through the last leg to take gold!

BJ was flying his Koptercam.fi kopters providing some great shots of the arena!

Ukraine take the cake for most excited team taking the bronze medal in the men! We were stoked for them too!

Breezer had a great last leg to maintain 20th and even nearly caught (the elbow) of Belarus!

Solid effort for 20th place for the boys and 2 places better than last year! It gives the guys a chance of getting 2 spots in the middle and long for next year's WOC. We need to be in the top 22 nations based on a complicated points system and the relay was worth double points! Now we wait for an O geek to work it out!

Bryan is famous in Finland!

Women start out of the arena!

Vanessa had a great first leg to finish 10th!

Aislinn was clean apart from one mistake and sent Hanny out in 16th!

Hanny 'felt the best she had all week' and finished strongly to bring the team up to 13th place!

Awesome work girls! 13th!

Our number one fan!

So that brings us to the end of the week and what fun it has been, now for some reviews from the coaches!

Thanks for your support all week.We are off to relax with our non-alcoholic beverages!

Single ladies.......ahh only one!

Catch yah next year!

Friday, July 12, 2013

The tipping competition...

In honor of the the new Orienteering Australia match-fixing policy which specifically bans all betting by Boomerang team members on orienteering we thought we would change the boundaries and invite some of you to a have a punt instead.
Not on the competition, cause with odds mentioned as low as 1-1 for the Men's race today it isn't worth a penny.
So what is worth a punt, a tip, a bet? Well who is rooming together in the Boomerang team that's what.

Check out the pictures below and write a comment on the blog with the names of the team members for each room 1 - 8. Remember some team members are staying alone, some in pairs. You have to work it out. To help we have listed all the team members on the right hand side of the blog.

The prize you ask? A signed Australian racing shirt from Trimtex (XS or M). Sent anywhere in the world to the lucky winner.

The prize....(yet to be signed)

So we'll find out..
1. If anyone reads the blog???
or
2. If people do read the blog but just don't leave comments anymore cause it ain't 2007...#getwiththetimeseveryone'sonInstagramthesedays...

The team in the rooms
The rooms

Room 1

Room 2

Room 3

Room 4

Room 5 (ignore the leg it's the photographer's)

Room 6

Room 7

Room 8

Good luck!

The technical test!

Today was the technical test of orienteering the middle distance. The final test will come tomorrow but there are many that didn't pass today's. For the Boomerangs four of our six runners made it through to tomorrow's final and this is how it played out in the middle qualification....

Jasmine (above) had a solid but cautious run and was right on the edge of qualifying. Many nervous minutes were spent warming down around the arena before Jas was finally confirmed in 15th place and into the final. This was a great performance from Jasmine in technical Scandinavian forest and she will race her first WOC middle final tomorrow.

After the qual

Next in was Ness who had a smooth run with only a few wobbles and hesitations. This terrain certainly suits Vanessa's skills with tough running and technical orienteering. She ended up in 8th place in her heat to be starting mid field in tomorrow's final. She will be beaming with confidence from this run!

Next up was Hanny who had the advantage of being in the know as soon as she finished with not many ladies left in the forest. Despite doing her best to provide some entertainment with the GPS on the first control she finally settled into the map and got into her routines and finished strong to place 12th in her heat. Watch out for Han in the final!

Coach Wendy delivers the happy news - Oh yeah!

Happy ladies!

Breezer!

First bloke to finish was Breezer. He had a tough day out there today and placed a valiant 30th place in his heat. It was a brutally technical course with big mistakes by the best in the world (check it out here) and Bryan is already out in the same forest building his confidence for the relay... so watch out!

Next in was Lachy who was having a storming run and was sitting in 23rd position in a very competitive heat until the second last control where he rolled his ankle badly and had to hobble into the finish to place 29th in his heat. This was a solid run for Lachy (until his injury) which he can take a lot of confidence from in the future but his ankle injury will be assessed by Elin tomorrow to see if he can back-up for the Relay.

Seconds count Simon....5,4,3,2,1....

To finish off the Aussies today Simon came into sight just in time. Watching him on GPS we knew it would be close...and we were yelling at him pretty loud in the finish chute.....but as usual Simon was calm as a cucumber and he waltzed into the final with 3 seconds to spare placing 15th in his heat. A solid run from Simon and we know his uber calm approach will suit the technical final tomorrow!

Simon close your eyes....Coach Tom's positive pose!

Coach Tom close your eyes....Simon's positive pose!

If you would love to see some entertainment from today we suggest you check out the GPS routes here.

The Middle Final tomorrow is on very similar terrain which we are sure even Thierry will love. With plenty of downhill legs and some tough climb thrown in for fun expect some great racing.

Tune in live here

Aussie's in action (AEST Friday)
Simon Uppill 20.11.30
Jasmine Neve 22.05
Vanessa Round 22.17
Hanny Allston 22.38

Cheer them on loud and proud!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

WOC in Finland...Then and Now

Grant Bluett, Troy de Haas, Rob Walt, Tommy Q...ring a bell?

Back in 2001, WOC was every two years, teams were larger, there was no live GPS tracking and there were four runners in the relay....yes it was only 12 years ago! Today on our rest day for that little bit of inspiration for the two big races that remain we take a look back at Australia's equal best ever result in a WOC men's relay, 6th place! We profile the four runners in the Australian team back in WOC 2001 in Tampere, Finland. This report has been compiled this week by the current team from contacting the guys from around the world where they currently live. (except Tom, cause he is here!) Thanks to the four of them for sharing their thoughts on their experiences on WOC 2001!

WOC 2001 relay arena...I think.

WOC 2001 Then and Now!

First Leg : Grant Bluett
Age: 40

Grant....then winning World Games and now as as father!

Hometown then: Sandviken, Sweden
Hometown now: Canberra, Australia
Training hours (per week) then: 12 hours +
Training hours (per week) now: 3 hours (more in summer)
Weight then: 70kg
Weight now: 80kg+
Thoughts about your race during the WOC Relay in 2001 when the team came 6th?
I remember really struggling to keep up in the first part of the race. Then towards the end feeling that I could run as fast as I wanted to. When I made a small mistake, I could catch back up to the leaders in no time. Then I ran away from the pack in the last section of the race. I was very happy to punch the last control first and soak up the atmosphere of the big crowd in the finish chute.I didn't really realise that Jani Lakanen was about to pass me before the change to TDH before it was too late...

How do you feel when you reflect back to the WOC Relay 6th place in 2001?
Great memories! Was such a great feeling to share a result like that with my mates. All four of us spent a lot of time together back then. Training, racing and lots of hanging out doing nothing (recovering...). Tom and TDH are a bit hard to hang out with these days as they live a bit far away, but its great Rob is basically part of the family these days.

Second Leg: Troy de Haas
Age: 34

Troy then competing for Turun Suunnistajat

Hometown then: Turku, Finland
Hometown now: Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Training hours (per week) then: 10-18 hours
Training hours (per week) now: 7 hours
Weight then: 63
Weight now: 69
Thoughts about your race during the WOC Relay in 2001 when the team came 6th?
It all happened very fast and seemed surreal at the time. None of the men's team ran particularly well during the week (couple of us cracked top 20) so we did not have high expectations going into the relay. All I remember is Grant running down the finish chute with team Sweden and Finland he just got pipped at the line by Jani Lakanen (Finland) and there I was thrown into the deep end, I could either choose to sink or swim!
Grant handed over my map and off I went, it all came very naturally after running at the front of the race at Jukola earlier that same year
(where we went on to win with Turun Suunnistajat) so running amongst world-class runners was comfortable. At a few stages during my race I hit the lead and broke away as I was so focused on my own race I did not notice at the time and handed over to Rob Walter in second place just a few seconds behind team Sweden and 30 seconds ahead of Finland. Apparently whilst a nervous Rob was warming up and waiting for the change over team Finland runner Juha Peltola (home country favourite) whispered to Rob that he was "going to kill him out there!". Which was not what Rob needed going out in front of the Finns in 2nd place all whilst on live TV. Both himself and Tom handled the pressure extremely well and managed to hold our position and record Australia's equal best performance ever in the men's relay at WOC which still stands today?!

Troy now as a travel agent to the world's cycling elite!

How do you feel when you reflect back to the WOC Relay 6th place in 2001?
Looking back it was not only a huge achievement for us as individuals but Orienteering in Australia. It was probably the first time Australian orienteers were recognized and respected to be competitive on the world stage of orienteering. We had all come from the other side of the world, committed to living in Scandinavia and being semi-professional at our sport and the rewards paid off. We had seriously challenged the Scandinavians at their own sport and in their own backyard.
I am very proud of the boys looking back and we will share this special experience and this bond for life.

Third Leg: Rob Walter
Age: 37

Rob then competing for Australia and now as a father in Canberra

Hometown then: Canberra, Australia
Hometown now: Canberra, Australia
Training hours (per week) then: 10-12 hours
Training hours (per week) now: 3-5 hours
Weight then: 76kg
Weight now: 81kg
Thoughts about your race during the WOC Relay in 2001 when the team came 6th?
Tom Q and I drove out to the race a bit later as we were running 3rd and 4th legs, we were listening on the radio and it was great to hear us going so well, we got there in time to see Grant storm up the finish in the equal lead with home favourites Finland.
Just before I was about to start the Finish 3rd leg runner came up to me and said "I'm going to kill you" I was too shocked to say anything back, but its fair to say I was pretty nervous even before that point.
Troy came back in the equal lead with Finland and running to the start I was that pumped that I trod on the Finnish runners heels I was so close behind him.
Unfortunately I made a small mistake, 45seconds or so, at the first control and that was the last I saw of Finland. The Swedish team caught me here and I battled with them for most of the rest of the race. I did a lot of small mistakes but was running very hard and in good shape which saved me a bit. From memory I came back around 5th place with quite a few teams around me, partly disappointed but also very excited we were in with a shot at the podium.

How do you feel when you reflect back to the WOC Relay 6th place in 2001?
Of all the races I did this is one of those that I think back to most. I was very new to running a relay in a high pressure situation and with the experience I have now I think I would have been a lot cooler heading out to the first control which could have changed the whole race for me.
I have also thought of a stack a things I would say back to the Finnish guy if I hadn't been so shocked at his comments at the time.
To run with Tom, Grant and Troy who are great mates and finish on the podium at the world champs was one of the best experiences I have had in orienteering but at the same I think about how much better it might have been if I had had a really good race like the other guys did.

Fourth Leg: Tom Quayle
Age: 37

Stylish Tom then posing for the cameras!

Hometown then: Sundsvall, Sweden
Hometown now: Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
Training hours (per week) then: 10 hours +
Training hours (per week) now: 1 hour
Weight then: 66kg
Weight now: 76kg
Thoughts about your race during the WOC Relay in 2001 when the team came 6th?
Got a good start after getting sent out in a great spot by Grant, Troy and Rob. Ran really hard through the spectator control and knew we were in for a good result. Started feeling the nerves on the final loop and made a mistake in a difficult section and was really relieved to find out I hadn't lost any places there.

Tom now as WOC team coach...still posing for the cameras...some things don't change!

How do you feel when you reflect back to the WOC Relay 6th place in 2001?
My strongest memory is how nervous I was before the start, listening to the guys going really well and trying to control my nerves was a real struggle, I just felt sick. I was so impressed with how the other guys ran and they inspired me.The coaches were also really good and did their best to help us. I am happy to have been a part of a great result together with such good friends.

The team will certainly be taking some inspiration from those interviews into the next set of races this week! Thanks boys!

In other news...the team had a very relaxing day with various restful things happening throughout, from a few laps in the heated indoor pool for Wendy and Aislinn to a few hills intervals for Felicity and Wendy (again). Watch out for Wendy at Aus Champs!

But the highlight was our supporters afternoon tea. This allowed us to thank the supporters who are here all week competing in their own spectators races and providing great support for the team out at the WOC races!

Elin, our Swedish physio also arranged a special competition which fits into our overall in-house team competition (more about this later) for the team and supporters which provided endless entertainment. I'll let the pictures and video speak for themselves!