WORLD ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Kathryn Ewels Shines at WOC 2009 in Hungary Wendy Read
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USTRALIAN Boomerangs member Kathryn Ewels (VIC) went within seven seconds of a medal in the Sprint final at the World Orienteering Championships. Starting in the first third of the field, Ewels clocked 16min 0.9sec for the 2.62 km course, which put her at the head of the leader board for over 15 minutes. Four competitors eventually bettered her time, with victory going to Sweden’s Helena Jansson in 15min 7.8sec. Swiss Simone Niggli was third, just 6.2secs ahead of Ewels.
RESULTS Sprint Qualification Heat A – Shannon Jones Heat B – Kathryn Ewels Heat C – Hanny Allston
Sprint Final 1. Helena Jansson (SWE) 15:07.8 2. Linnea Gustafsson (SWE) 15:49.7 3. Simone Niggli (SUI) 15:54.7 4. Signe Soes (DEN) 15:58.3 5. Kathryn Ewels (AUS) 16:00.9 6. Anni-Maija Fincke (FIN) 16:01.5 Middle Distance Qualification Heat A – Hanny Allston 11th Heat B – Grace Crane 11th Heat C – Jasmine Neve 24th
The tranquil surroundings of the Miskolc Zoo turned into an exhilarating Orienteering Sprint championships arena. Participants in the Hungaria Cup flocked in great numbers from their own midday Sprint event in downtown Miskolc to the sunny zoo parklands to watch the excitement of the Men’s and Women’s Sprint Final unfold. With temperatures still close to 30degC at 5:30pm, Australia’s hopes rested solely on the shoulders of Kathryn Ewels, the twentieth starter in the women’s Final. And what a performance! Kathryn had Russian competitors starting immediately before and after her. “A Russian sandwich,” was the description given by team coach/manager Rob Lewis of Kathryn’s start position. At the first television checkpoint, the excitement began to build as the race commentator announced, “Kathryn Ewels is the new second best time!” Kathryn had caught Galina Vinogradova who had started one minute ahead of her. The Russian had placed 4th in the WOC Sprint in 2008 so Kathryn was indeed running well. By the first spectator control, Kathryn was holding 3rd place, but as only the twentieth starter from a field of 45 many top quality runners were yet to finish. The split timing results showed an amazing performance in the second half of Kathryn’s race, with an incredible burst of speed from the #11 control through to the finish, which secured her 5th placing. The 2006 World Sprint champion, Hanny Allston (TAS), missed the final after a major mistake midway through her course when, on a leg of around 150 metres, she lost 2min 10sec to the leader and dropped from 4th to 18th, where she finished overall. Only the top 15 in each heat go into finals. In other results, Grace Crane (15th) and Hanny Allston (18th) put in strong performances in the Middle Distance final. For some time the Australian girls held first and second place on the results board, causing excitement and anxiousness amongst the Team, Aussie supporters and especially the commentator. And in the Long Distance final Hanny Allston and Kathryn Ewels finished 19th and 22nd respectively.
16th 9th 18th
Photo: Peter Hobbs
Middle Distance Final 1. Dana Brožková (CZE) 2. Marianne Andersen (NOR 3. Simone Niggli (SUI) 4. Minna Kauppi (FIN) 5. Merja Rantanen (FIN) 6. Helena Jansson (SWE) 15. Grace Crane (AUS) 18. Hanny Allston (AUS)
37:09 37:19 37:58 38:20 38:59 39:07 42:12 43:01
Long Distance Qualification Heat A – Grace Crane Heat B – Hanny Allston Heat C – Kathryn Ewels
17th 5th 5th
Long Distance Final 1. Simone Niggli (SUI) 2. Marianne Andersen (NOR) 3. Minna Kauppi (FIN) 19. Hanny Allston (AUS) 22. Kathryn Ewels (AUS)
77:26 79:18 79:36 87:49 89:39
Relay 1. Norway 2. Sweden 3. Finland 4. Switzerland 5. Czech Republic 6. Russia 9. Australia 9.1 Grace Crane 9.2 Kathryn Ewels 9.3 Hanny Allston
2:13:10 2:13:28 2:15:25 2:16:12 2:16:26 2:20:10 2:32:23 39:43 (4.9km) 55:42 (6.9km) 56:58 (7.2km)
Hanny Allston chosen to read the Athletes’ Oath A proud moment for both Hanny Allston and the Australian Boomerangs Orienteering Team as she was invited to read the Athletes’ Oath during the official opening of the 26th World Orienteering Championships in Miskolc, Hungary. Accompanied by one of Hungary’s best orienteers, Gabor Domonyik, the Oath was recited in both Hungarian and English on behalf of all athletes.
DECEMBER 2009 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 25
