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News
Less than three weeks since the World’s best Orienteers returned home from the World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland, the World Cup competition continued in Czechia with both Sprint and Forest races.
Individual Sprint Race
The first race of the event took place on Wednesday 2 August. The Individual Sprint had more than 28 nations taking part in the race which was held in the historic town of Česká Lípa. Great Britian’s Ralph Street kept his cool throughout the 4km course to comfortably win by 14 seconds, storming ahead of Gustav Bergaman (SWE) and Yannick Michiels (BEL) who finished in third, just one second behind.
Cheered on by his fellow teammates as he approached the finish line, the excitement and elation were palpable. Competitors finishing in 4th–6th place were also separated by a small margin, emphasising the dominance that Ralph Street had over the field that day.
Images L-R: Cheered on by his team mates, Ralph Street powers through to the finish line of the Individual Sprint Race. Jumping for joy: Ralph jumps mid air in elation following his first World Cup win. Three giants of orienteering: Gustav Bergaman of Sweden, Ralph Street of Great Britain and Yannick Michiels of Belgium. Images are credited with thanks to Dan Hubman and Robert Lines
For the rest of the Men’s Sprint team, overall, it was a largely successful day with five of the six athletes finishing inside the top 22, and Jonny Crickmore just outside the top 10.
For the women, a late injury during model training forced Charlotte Ward to unexpectedly withdraw from the competition. Grace Molloy finished first for the team in 34th place following closely by Cecilie Andersen in 35th place. It was Tove Alexandersson (SWE) who took centre podium at the end of the event, followed by Natalia Gemperle (SWISS) in 2nd and Sara Hagstrom (SWE) in 3rd place.
Individual Sprint Results
| Womens | Mens |
|---|---|
| Grace Molloy – 34th | Ralph Street – 1st |
| Cecilie Andersen – 35th | Jonathan Crickmore – 12th |
| Laura King – 54th | Chris Smithard – 19th |
| Rachel Brown – 75th | Peter Molloy – 22nd |
| Chloe Potter – 88th | Nathan Lawson – 22nd |
| Charlotte Ward – DNS | Freddie Carcas – 97th |
Images L-R: Chris Smithard makes his way through the gardens of the Individual Sprint Race, Grace Molloy approaches a control point mid-race, and Jonathan Crickmore turns a tight corner as he makes his way away from a control point. Image credits: Robert Lines.
Mixed Sprint Relay
The sun had replaced yesterday’s rain as the teams lined up for the mixed sprint relay, eventually won by Switzerland after a fierce Swedish/Swiss battle. After the second leg, yesterday’s winner Ralph Street came into the exchange in third position but unfortunately GBR 1 was disqualified after a mis-punch. The team of Laura King, Chris Smithard, Nathan Lawson and Rachel Brown finished the highest GBR team as 17th Nation.
The event will now move to the Sandstone Forests for the Middle and Long Distance on Saturday and Sunday where the World Championships took place 2 years ago.
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