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Share  Tweet Friday 14th July 2017

World Trail Orienteering Championships - PreO Round 1

The first PreO round was held yesterday, Thursday, in the grounds of the Open-air Museum of Lithuania at Rumsiskes near Kaunas. It was a very picturesque venue, but unfortunately, the competitors had to endure almost continuous torrential rain throughout the morning, which made conditions very difficult at times.

The scoring was very close indeed in both Open and Para class and all four British team members did well, and currently, lie in the top 25.

The course initially had 21 controls but unfortunately, two had to be voided, leaving a course of 19. There are three competitors with all 19 correct, headed by the Ukrainian Vitaliy Kyrychenko followed by two Portuguese competitors. Only one point behind on 18 are a further ten competitors, including Charles Bromley Gardner in 11th place, followed by 20 competitors on 17, including John Kewley in 18th position and Ian Ditchfield in 23rd. With the second round on Saturday having a course of 28 controls, there is all to play for and performance at the tie-breaking timed controls may well be crucial.

In the Paralympic class, scoring is also close, Pekka Seppa of Finland currently leading the field on 18, with four competitors on 17. Dick Keighley currently lies 20th with 13 points.

Today is the Relay competition, with the second PreO course on Saturday. The team for the relay is Tom Dobra, Charles Bromley Gardner & John Kewley.

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