Top 25s for Graham Gristwood, Ralph Street and Hollie Orr in the World Orienteering Championships - Middle distance race in Sweden.

Photo:  GBR Hollie Orr racing into the Finish in the World Orienteering Champiionships Middle distance.

The first forest race of the championship saw a number of good performances from the athletes taking part. The courses set were challenging with a good variety of route choices taken by all the competitors. Both courses really required you to orienteer through to the end with a tricky last section in green forest.

The highest British finisher of the day was Graham Gristwood in 19th place. Graham started very well but landed badly and this unfortunately meant that he couldn't deliver quite the race he wanted.

"A good start to the race with the first six controls going well. At this point I jumped down a cliff and landed badly on my right ankle. It was very painful however as it was the World Championships I pushed on. I could run as I wanted except in the rocky areas and descending. After a couple of minutes I managed to get into a nice rhythm. Approaching the arena I hit my shin on a rock which required stitches at the end and that affected me again. It was tough mentally with both legs painful as my technique got scrappy and I worked to stay running. I was technically a bit disappointed with the last loop but gave it everything I could. The result was not what I was hoping for but given the circumstances I am happy with my performance and that I could finish the race."   Graham Gristwood

Ralph Street performed well finishing in 22nd place in his World Orienteering Championships debut at the Middle distance. A solid race showing that there is great potential for future results in the discipline. 

"Last year I would have needed favourable terrain and a very good run to get four minutes behind the winners on a Middle distance. So for me to be just under four minutes behind with a reasonable, but definitely improvable run is very encouraging. In retrospect I probably should have taken a few different route choices which would have saved me some time, and I lost a few seconds over a few controls as well. But I am pretty pleased with my technical performance."  Ralph Street 

Hector Haines unfortunately had some early misses in the course and this meant he finished in 41st place.

"Obviously disappointed with my performance but it was merely reacting to the pressure of the race. I know that I have done the hard work and preparation to get a better result and I am going to put the Middle race behind me and look forward to the Long distance race." Hector Haines

In the women's race Hollie Orr was top Brit in 25th place.

"Yesterday was a day of highs and lows and unfortunately the latter outweighed the former. Although initially full of frustration at not having the discipline to carry out my race plan on reflection there were a number of positives to take away and use to fuel me in the Long distance."  Hollie Orr
 

Photo:  Great Britain athlete Hollie Orr

Jessica Tullie was the next Brit finishing up in 39th place.

"The middle race turned into a tough day for me. I started with a couple of wobbles, not quite settling into the terrain quickly enough. My heavy legs were weighing on my mind and the whole way felt like a bit of a fight! Overall a disappointing day, but I'm looking forward to fighting back for the relay."  Jessica Tullie

Jo Shepherd in her debut World Orienteering Championships performed well finishing in a creditable 47th place. 

Results

Men - Middle distance results

Women – Middle distance results

The full list of results from the Middle distance are available here.

Item posted by Jennie Taylor, Marketing Manager.