Discussion: WOC Relay

The composition of the Team USA Relay teams has been announced today. The teams will be:
Men: Eric, Boris, James
Women: Sam, Sandra, Pavlina

And Team Canada will counter with:

Men: Mike S, Wil, Patrick

Not sure if the women are making their team composition public just yet.

Not sure its a good idea to have Eric and Mike on the same leg.!?

Watch out the crash at the start!

Hopefully, they will both be going in the SAME direction.

You never know, what with those Danish course planners.

At last year's WOC relay in Japan, I "ran into" Mike on a couple of occasions during the first leg, and we were going different speeds or directions, thus creating the (at that time unfulfilled) potential for spectacular collisions.

I suggest goalie helmets.

Jeff - they are masks dude - goalie masks.

The old style *masks* would be the best so that Eric could paint the stitches on like Gerry Cheevers.

Good luck to the North American teams tomorrow (with extra luck to the Canadians, of course).

... that's acceptable, Hammer, because the 'mericuns don't need luck. We've got Eric "The Wall" Bone set to knock over (or out) the competition.

don't get "caught in the trolley tracks....(by Bukeboom)"

Anyone get that reference?

Google and Attackpoint have done wonders for my hockey vocabulary.

Women's Teams now posted - Canada is Sandy; Louise, Pam.
$50 (US) says Canada beats the States -- loser pays the $ to the junior team of the winning country. Any takers? (just one please!)
Q - I have not been paying attention - what is the time difference detween DK and the west coast?
Thx.

Is 9 hours.

The Relay final will commence in several hours.

The women's competition will be first, starting with the 5.1-5.3 k , 305-320 m climb, 14 control course. The second and third legs will be longer at 6.4-6.9k, 400-410m climb and 19 controls. The expected winning time for all 3 legs is 128 min.

The men's relay will begin with a 6.8-7.1k, 405-425m climb, 20 control leg. The second and third legs will be longer also: 7.6-8.0k, 460-470m climb and 22 controls. The expected winning time for a men's team is 138 min.

There is 1 hour and 20 min left until the start of the Women's Relay (11:30am start). Men's Relay will begin at 2pm. There are 28 and 38 teams registered for the Women's and Men's Relay Races, respectively.

The weather is sunny, dry, 70F currently, with an expected high of 76F. The map is Himmelbjerget, 1:10,000, adjacent to the area used for the WOC Tour this morning. The terrain was rather thick, with a mixture of closely planted conifer, thick tall undergrowth, marshes, as well as open land and areas with scattered trees. The footing is soft, mostly dry, with some trail networks.

The Women's Relay has started, with Samantha looking strong out of the mass start.

The first intermediate control:
1. Switzerland Martina Fritschy
5. Canada Sandy Hott-Johansen
10. Samantha Saeger 2:19 behind

Spectator control:
1. Switzerland Martina Fritschy 16:29
6. Canada Sandy Hott-Johansen +2:03
13. Samantha Saeger +3:09

They are now in the very hilly area with some open woods, and patches of very thick tall undergrowth. TV control appears to be buried in the bushes...

Good job by Sam so far, looking strong

Nice run by Samantha!
Results after the first leg so far:
1. Jenny Johansson SWE 37:31,0 +00:00,0
2. Paula Haapakoski FIN 37:35,0 +00:04,0
3. Martina Fritschy SUI 37:47,0 +00:16,0
4. Nataliya Potopalska UKR 39:24,0 +01:53,0
5. Monika Depta POL 39:49,0 +02:18,0
6. Sarah Rollins GBR 40:01,0 +02:30,0
7. Julia Novikova RUS 40:02,0 +02:31,0
8. Jo Allison AUS 40:04,0 +02:33,0
9. Tania Robinson NZL 42:26,0 +04:55,0
10. Birte Riddervold NOR 42:32,0 +05:01,0
11. Indre Valaite LTU 42:32,0 +05:01,0
12. Capucine Vercelotti FRA 42:58,0 +05:27,0
13. Zdenka Stará CZE 43:00,0 +05:29,0
14. Mingyue Zhu CHN 43:03,0 +05:32,0
15. Samantha Saeger USA 43:40,0 +06:09,0
16. Annika Rihma EST 43:44,0 +06:13,0
17. Laura Scaravonati ITA 44:02,0 +06:31,0
18. Esther Gil Brotons ESP 44:05,0 +06:34,0
19. Sandy Hott-Johansen CAN 45:49,0 +08:18,0

Looks like Sam overtook Sandy after the spectator control.

Some areas shown at the TV control are extremely thick (over the runners' heads), you just see some movements in the bushes when the competitors are hectically trying to fight through.

Very solid result from Sam, what are her comments so far?

Leg 2. At the Spectator Control:
1. Kajsa Nilsson 54:55
17. Sandra Zurcher 66:37; +11:42
20. Louise Oram 71:05; +16:10

Sam commented that it was very thick in places, mostly for short stretches getting through to paths. More comments to come.

First finishers of the second leg are:
1. Kajsa Nilsson SWE 86:39,0 +00:00,0
2. Heli Jukkola FIN 89:15,0 +02:36,0
3. Vroni Koenig-Salmi SUI 89:57,0 +03:18,0
4. Marianne Andersen NOR 92:02,0 +05:23,0

We are waiting for Sandra and Louise to pass through the second TV control and then to the changeover area.

Results at the Leg 2 finish so far are:
Pl. Name Time +/-
1. Kajsa Nilsson SWE 86:39,0 +00:00,0
2. Heli Jukkola FIN 89:15,0 +02:36,0
3. Vroni Koenig-Salmi SUI 89:57,0 +03:18,0
4. Marianne Andersen NOR 92:02,0 +05:23,0
5. Irina Mikhalko RUS 96:54,0 +10:15,0
6. Vilma Rudzenskaite LTU 97:32,0 +10:53,0
7. Eva Jureníková CZE 97:32,0 +10:53,0
8. Alison O`Neil GBR 97:35,0 +10:56,0
9. Grace Elson AUS 97:52,0 +11:13,0

We are waiting for Sandra and Louise to go through the 2nd TV control in the next several minutes.

Sandra just went through the TV control in 17th place, going strong:
17. Sandra Zurcher USA 101:13 +22:02

Louise gained some time on Sandra:
20. Louise Oram CAN 102:38 +23:27

The North American Leg 2 runners just finished, still holding their respective spots:
17. Sandra Zurcher USA 110:31,0 +23:52,0
20. Louise Oram CAN 112:27,0 +25:48,0

Their last leg runners are Pavlina Brautigam and Pam James.

It looks like Pavlina's little tracking dot is running well.

Pavlina just passed through the spectator control.
17. Pavlina Brautigam USA 133:23 +26:36
Waiting for Pam.

Pam through the spectator control.
20. Pam James CAN 136:50 +30:03

Some comments from Sandra. She was overall happy with her race. She was running most of the race alone.

Minna Kauppi is at the last control, for the gold medal position for Finland.

US and Canada looking good!!

Pavlina through the 1st TV control:
19. Pavlina Brautigam USA 149:52 +32:56

Also--Men's Relay just started, with Eric B. and Mike S. running the first leg for their teams.

Preliminary results at the finish:
Pl. Name Time +/-
1. Minna Kauppi FIN 141:05,0 +00:00,0
2. Karolina A. Höjsgaard SWE 142:16,0 +01:11,0
3. Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 142:55,0 +01:50,0
4. Hanny Allston AUS 146:02,0 +04:57,0
5. Dana Brozková CZE 146:54,0 +05:49,0
6. Anne Margrethe Hausken NOR 147:00,0 +05:55,0
7. Tanja Riabkina RUS 149:51,0 +08:46,0
8. Sandra Pauzaite LTU 151:53,0 +10:48,0

Go Australia!

Pam through the TV control 1. Pavlina lost 2 places.
20. Pam James CAN 152:31 +35:35

What's happening now?

Eric and Mike just passed through the spectator control, pretty soon in their race. There was some forking in the beginning, and lots of runners came in large trains. Results at the spectator control:

1. Niclas Jonasson SWE 13:43 +00:00

24. Eric Bone USA 16:19 +02:36
26. Mike Smith CAN 16:28 +02:45

Pavlina just came through the 2nd TV control. Still 19th, no Pam yet.
19. Pavlina Brautigam USA 169:43 +40:14

Waiting for Pavlina at the finish, and at Pam at TV control 2. The results in Women's Finish so far:
Pl. Name Time +/-
1. Minna Kauppi FIN 141:05,0 +00:00,0
2. Karolina A. Höjsgaard SWE 142:16,0 +01:11,0
3. Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 142:55,0 +01:50,0
4. Hanny Allston AUS 146:02,0 +04:57,0
5. Dana Brozková CZE 146:54,0 +05:49,0
6. Anne Margrethe Hausken NOR 147:00,0 +05:55,0
7. Tanja Riabkina RUS 149:51,0 +08:46,0
8. Sandra Pauzaite LTU 151:53,0 +10:48,0
9. Céline Dodin FRA 162:10,0 +21:05,0
10. Dorota Kosinska POL 162:31,0 +21:26,0
11. Helen Bridle GBR 163:17,0 +22:12,0
12. Karin Schmalfeld GER 166:29,0 +25:24,0
13. Mariya Spasyuk UKR 169:42,0 +28:37,0
14. Anne Konring Olesen DEN 170:39,0 +29:34,0
15. Anu Annus EST 171:53,0 +30:48,0

Oh no. Pam seems to have lost some places, but there probably was forking on the course. New runners through TV control 2:
20. Eva Gil Sanchez ESP 173:11 +43:42
21. Thea Lillehov AUT 173:14 +43:45
22. Zanda Abzalone LAT 173:16 +43:47

Pam through TV control 2:
23. Pam James CAN 175:23 +45:54

Go Pavlina!! Top 20 - you can do it!!!

Eric and Mike through the TV control 1:
23. Eric Bone USA 27:00 +04:07
26. Mike Smith CAN 27:05 +04:12

At 5 seconds separation, plenty of opportunity for more head-butting.

17th!! Pavlina pulled up several places. Way to GO!!!

Weehaw! Great run, pavlina! Making up places at the finish.

Yeah!

Solid finish, Pavlina. Very desent race for the hole team

Go Australia!!!

Interesting to watch at the men's second tv control - people are taking two very different tacks leaving the control. Forking or route choice?

Great race for Pavlina! Finish results for all women so far:
1. Minna Kauppi FIN 141:05,0 +00:00,0
2. Karolina A. Höjsgaard SWE 142:16,0 +01:11,0
3. Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 142:55,0 +01:50,0
4. Hanny Allston AUS 146:02,0 +04:57,0
5. Dana Brozková CZE 146:54,0 +05:49,0
6. Anne Margrethe Hausken NOR 147:00,0 +05:55,0
7. Tanja Riabkina RUS 149:51,0 +08:46,0
8. Sandra Pauzaite LTU 151:53,0 +10:48,0
9. Céline Dodin FRA 162:10,0 +21:05,0
10. Dorota Kosinska POL 162:31,0 +21:26,0
11. Helen Bridle GBR 163:17,0 +22:12,0
12. Karin Schmalfeld GER 166:29,0 +25:24,0
13. Mariya Spasyuk UKR 169:42,0 +28:37,0
14. Anne Konring Olesen DEN 170:39,0 +29:34,0
15. Anu Annus EST 171:53,0 +30:48,0
16. Michela Guizzardi ITA 173:40,0 +32:35,0
17. Pavlina Brautigam USA 180:14,0 +39:09,0
18. Jenni Adams NZL 182:27,0 +41:22,0
19. Zanda Abzalone LAT 182:34,0 +41:29,0
20. Ildikó Szerencsi HUN 182:48,0 +41:43,0
21. Thea Lillehov AUT 182:58,0 +41:53,0
22. Eva Gil Sanchez ESP 183:23,0 +42:18,0
23. Iliana Shandurkova BUL 184:37,0 +43:32,0
24. Pam James CAN 188:47,0 +47:42,0

First finishers in the Men's Leg 1:
1. Niclas Jonasson SWE 40:09,0 +00:00,0
2. Øystein Kvaal Østerbø NOR 40:22,0 +00:13,0
3. Mats Haldin FIN 40:44,0 +00:35,0
4. Matthias Merz SUI 40:51,0 +00:42,0
5. Roman Efimov RUS 41:12,0 +01:03,0

We are waiting for Eric and Mike at the TV 2 and later at the changeover.

Eric in 23rd at TV2 on Leg1. Come on Eric.

Eric just passed 2nd TV control
23. Eric Bone USA 42:02 +08:07

Mike at TV 2: 27. Mike Smith CAN 44:10 +10:15 .
Seems to have lost one place.

TV2

23. Eric Bone USA 42:02 +08:07
24. Rob Walter AUS 42:16 +08:21
25. Lluis Ferrer Ferrer ESP 42:19 +08:24
26. Shigeyuki Koizumi JPN 43:34 +09:39
27. Mike Smith CAN 44:10 +10:15

They keep cutting away to interviews when the US and Canadian teams are in the finish chute. Phooey - I wanted to see the handoffs!

Great runs for Eric and Mike:
1. Niclas Jonasson SWE 40:09,0 +00:00,0
2. Øystein Kvaal Østerbø NOR 40:22,0 +00:13,0

23. Eric Bone USA 49:31,0 +09:22,0
24. Lluis Ferrer Ferrer ESP 49:36,0 +09:27,0
25. Rob Walter AUS 49:36,0 +09:27,0
26. Ross Morrison NZL 51:42,0 +11:33,0
27. Mike Smith CAN 51:51,0 +11:42,0

Just saw this text message:
"Romania is now sending their best woman Zsusza Fey out on the second leg" - on the men's relay.
Cool!

Some comments from Eric about his course. The course was not very root-choicy, mostly middle-like. The beginning of the course was tricky, in medium-green, possibly with more forking in the beginning of the course. There was a lot of contouring the hills, less going up-and-down. Eric saw Mike for most of the course.

More comments from Eric. "This is the race I was hoping to have.... Very few small mistakes, maybe 1.5 minutes lost, and another 30-40 sec due to bad route choice.... Very good race technically... It was dismaying to see this Estonian guy flying up the hill, but I decided that I could not keep this pace. Maybe if it was on the flat I could hang with him... It helped to know where I was going before I punched--I was working on this all year, and I had it here... Lots of heather, it could have helped to run more in the forest before running through the heather areas...."

18 runners through the spectator control so far, with
Daniel Hubmann (SUI) in the lead (59:37). Waiting for Boris and Wil.

Waiting for Boris through the spectator control. Perhaps, there was forking... Boris have lost some places.

Go Marc!!!

I think people are waking up and tuning in ... keep losing the video ...

Close race between Wil and Boris:
at spectator control:
27. Boris Granovskiy USA 76:27 +16:50
28. Andrei Zhuravlev BLR 78:29 +18:52
29. Wil Smith CAN 79:53 +20:16

at TV 1:
28. Boris Granovskiy USA 91:31 +22:17
29. Wil Smith CAN 92:06 +22:52

Very exciting battle for medals. Russia and Switzerland are 19 sec apart at the beginning of the 3rd leg: Valentin Novikov vs. Marc Lauenstein!

Leaders after the 2nd leg:
1. Andrey Khramov RUS 86:47,0 +00:00,0
2. Daniel Hubmann SUI 87:06,0 +00:19,0
3. Jarkko Huovila FIN 88:35,0 +01:48,0
4. Emil Wingstedt SWE 89:34,0 +02:47,0
5. Michal Smola CZE 92:31,0 +05:44,0

Marc is in 3rd, 3:34 behind Novikov at the first radio control. Go Marc Go!

Wil and Boris just passed through the second TV control:
28. Wil Smith CAN 107:16 +26:40
29. Boris Granovskiy USA 107:28 +26:52

Come on Boris - don't let Wil take you....

Boris just handed off 2 seconds ahead of Wil.

Looks like an exiting US v. Canada last leg. But, for some reason I don't see Patrick on the tracking. Bummer.

Because Wil mispunched.

That's what the results say. They've already listed Patrick as MP.

Yes, now I see it. Bummer.

And, James' tracking dot seems to be making a bobble It looks almost like he was reading the map from the start and heading toward number 4 instead of 1.

Oh oh. I just saw the MP in results. It was not yet posted here yet. Oh no.

Some comments from Boris: "I did not hose the course, but I blew the first half.... Bad mistake after the spectator control. Several mistakes. Green? It was all trails through the green... Feel terrible..."

There is a lot excitement here from the announcer about the great run from Novikov. He is the only one through the second TV control. Marc is still 3rd. Novikov is very soon to the prewarning.

I wonder if James will go left or right on the leg to 5. I'm guess left.

Dabbler, can you find out from Wil what happened?

Wil did not mispunch. It was a mistake--they checked and it was ok. I am not sure yet what additional details are. But their team is ok.

looks like they reinstated wil :-)

Cool!

Did they let Patrick start when Wil came in or did they stop Patrick?

I hope that glitch didn' t throw Patrick off at all.

They must have let him start cause he just went through the spectator control.

Patrick started without any glitches. Apparently they programmed Wil's course wrong, but he was confident that he did not mispunch, made them find his exact map, and they reinstated him. Way to go, Wil!

Looks like Patrick gained some time on James. Standings at the spectator control:
27. Patrick Goeres CAN 140:44 +34:40
28. Joaquim Sousa POR 143:57 +37:53
29. James Scarborough USA 144:23 +38:19

James made a mistake on his way to 1. He ran a bit too far on a trail, then stopped and had to turn around. At least that is what James' little tracking dot did.

I love this coverage - so entertaining. The race isn't over and they're selling the tents - "just right for small parties!"

I would really like to see the US and Canadian runners at least once on the course. So far, I only saw Eric in the crowd sometime after his leg.

But I do really think this is very exciting to watch!

I wish they hadn't turned off Canada's tracking.

Portugal is missing 20. Maybe James can get him. Spike that control, James. Whoops, I guess Portugal mispunched on the previous leg, so it doesn't officially matter. But it is still fun to see the dots fighting it out.

Noooooo ... we almost saw James finish .. but they cut away at the last minute.

It's a conspiracy!!

(I did see Eric's back at the start, and, as Maryann did, Eric and Hilly and who else after his finish)

Both North American runners came through the finish during the prize-giving ceremony. Between all of us, there should be photographs of everyone. More comments on the races are sure to follow from the runners themselves.

The final results so far (not yet official):

Pl. Name Time +/-
1. Valentin Novikov RUS 131:41,0 +00:00,0
2. Jani Lakanen FIN 135:44,0 +04:03,0
3. Mattias Karlsson SWE 138:22,0 +06:41,0
4. Marc Lauenstein SUI 139:25,0 +07:44,0
5. Petr Losman CZE 142:55,0 +11:14,0
6. Hans Gunnar Omdal NOR 143:14,0 +11:33,0
7. Martins Sirmais LAT 144:25,0 +12:44,0
8. Mikkel Lund DEN 145:25,0 +13:44,0
9. Yuri Omelchenko UKR 145:48,0 +14:07,0
10. Andreas Kraas EST 145:53,0 +14:12,0
11. Thierry Gueorgiou FRA 146:19,0 +14:38,0
12. Marian Davidik SVK 147:41,0 +16:00,0
13. Michail Mamleev ITA 148:02,0 +16:21,0
14. Jamie Stevenson GBR 148:08,0 +16:27,0
15. Leif Bader GER 148:53,0 +17:12,0
16. Gernot Kerschbaumer AUT 151:33,0 +19:52,0
17. Simonas Krepsta LTU 152:02,0 +20:21,0
18. Robert Banach POL 153:00,0 +21:19,0
19. Kiril Nikolov BUL 155:08,0 +23:27,0
20. Troy de Hass AUS 157:18,0 +25:37,0
21. Ádám Kovács HUN 158:57,0 +27:16,0
22. Javier Gomez Prada ESP 165:31,0 +33:50,0
23. Rob Jessop NZL 168:40,0 +36:59,0
24. Hiroyuki Kato JPN 171:37,0 +39:56,0
25. Alexey Marchenko ISR 174:00,0 +42:19,0
26. Patrick Goeres CAN 175:22,0 +43:41,0
27. Sergey Solodkin BLR 175:53,0 +44:12,0
28. James Scarborough USA 181:49,0 +50:08,0
29. Robert Theiss BEL 186:40,0 +54:59,0
30. Veronica Minoiu ROM 189:10,0 +57:29,0
Joaquim Sousa POR mp

I really love the way they show the winning performance in slow motion during the anthem. It brings tears to my eyes. They should do that during the Olympics. And speaking of the Olympics - why isn't orienteering in the Olympics? These events were thrilling to watch.

Very strong run from the Romanian women running 2nd & 3rd legs in the men's race.

A short answer to "why isn't orienteering in the Olympics?" is "the country with the most money is not interested". Shocking as it may be, that's what it boils down to. Sorry for the off-topic. Congratulations to everyone, but especially to Sam, Sandy, Pavlina, and Eric for impressive runs.

It seems that two of this WOC's participants finally got the golds they have been so close to for nearly a decade—Holger and Valentin Novikov!

Samantha, Sandra, Pavlina--nice result!

It looks like Hanny Allston had an incredible last leg for the Aussie women.

I think she had if not the best, then the second-best time on her leg in 2004 (at age 18), and everyone went "who is this?"

Sounds like it was exciting to follow. But I opted for the sleep thing. My "betting challenge" was answered anonymously (well anonymous to Attack Point readers, not to me) by a generous American orienteer. Based on the results of the men's and women's relay I will be donating $50 to the Canadian Jr. Team and this person will make a similar donation to the US junior Team. (hey every bit helps eh?; gotta get those kids to Oz.)

In Minna Kauppi's post-run interview, did anyone hear her use some colorful English describing her panic while floundering on the third last control? I thought I did, but I wasn't paying perfect attention.

Eric, yes you heard correctly. I was rather surprised too. Not the most tactful interview.

All right!
My ears and her mouth were working fine :-)
Still Minna's not quite in the same class as another Nordic sportswoman, Suzanne Pettersen, a Norwegian golfer, who, in her own excitement after her Solheim Cup heroics, laid a live press conference F bomb heard 'round the golf world.
I sense that people will say things in a foreign language, that they wouldn't say in their mother tongue, a little euphoria helps too. I noticed this with myself. Sh.., I mean shoot, I wouldn't say that in English, well not often, right Minna? ;-)

I thought it was appropriate language to describe the situation she was at the moment.

Absolutely, and it flowed out like she'd been using this phrase all her life.

Which leads my mind back to 1979, in Minna's home country, when O/yvin Thon, actually did this, under control, on the way to his first gold medal in the "individal". (confirmed to me from the horse's mouth a year later, on leg 8-9). The split times showed he lost ~45+ seconds.

The "on-color" question is, would he be able to get away with this in today's level of competition? This year's Oringen course re-run apparently suggested, maybe yes. My gut feeling is probably not, but I think he would have still medaled. I believe the data clearly show(s) that that the pyramid is much broader now (many more within X%), and that suggests the probability that the peak is a little higher as well. I'll easily believe ~1+%. I'll let Spike crunch the numbers for a better estimate.

Now back "off color", from '79 Finland, back to '06 Denmark. In the course of the research above, I rediscovered some mainstream Finnish newspapers covering WOC'79. Included, in the O-photos, were a disproportionate number of shots of women changing, well over the line by even current American press standards. One of the subjects, identified by name, and country, was the co-course setter of this year's Middle event.

If requested, this might be exhibited next Thursday, at DVOA's TNT training.

Is not it shameless attempt to attract more people to TNT ;-)
And considering the sky high prices of real estate in New York City, one may decide to not just join but move into DVOA country.