Perfect Conditions

The races were top notch, dominated by the Scandinavians, the Czechs, the Swiss and the Slovakians.
Orienteering is a particularly enjoyable sport that combines physical activity with close contact with nature. Kosice was chosen for the 15th (already) edition of the World University Championship in the discipline.

The town is in eastern Slovakia and is the second-largest in the country. This is an important industrial, cultural and athletic centre for this region of Europe. It boasts three universities and regularly organizes major sports events.

The orienteering race is among these, and the organizers were very pleased to welcome the elite of University runners last August. These races traditionally attract a large number of teams, and this was again the case with 29 participating countries enrolling 223 runners. The races were run at top level, dominated by the Scandinavians, the Czechs, the Swiss and the Slovakians. 

Long Distance
After a magnificent Opening Ceremony organized in the historical centre of Kosice, the long-distance race started the meet.
The Czech runners made their ambitions very clear right away. For the women, Dana Brozkova was going to be hard to beat. In fact, this Czech athlete had won the bronze medal in the senior world championships just two weeks earlier in Denmark. In Kosice, she was defending the university title that she had won at home in Pilsen, in 2004, and she certainly outshone her opponents. Just 13 minutes into the race, she took the lead and from then on in, made it bigger. She crossed the finish line 3 1/2 minutes in front of British Helen Bridle! Russian Larisa Stanchenko came in third.

For the men, the scenario was similar. The current university champion, Michal Smola, left no room for challengers. He flew through the 13.9 km race in 72 minutes, 31 seconds, leaving the runner up, Swiss Matthias Merz, more than two minutes behind. Norwegian Oystein Kvaal Osterbo took the third step on the podium.  

Middle Race
The following day was for the middle distance race on a beautiful course near the village of Herlany (34 km outside Kosice). A geyser near the finish line, spewing mineral water in a spout more than 20 m high, lent a very special atmosphere.
For the women, Norwegian Line Hagman took the day, but she had to struggle for it, and the times were very close. Russian Larisa Stanchenko clocked in just 13 seconds behind her, and Finnish Maria Rantala came in only 38 seconds later. "The itinerary was not as easy as I thought" Line said just after the race, "but I made no errors, and that's what gave me this excellent score, the best of my career".

The men's race was undecided up to the end. Lithuanian Simonas Krepsta, French Phillippe Adamski and Norwegian Stig Alvestad fought it out to the end. They crossed the line in that order. An excellent race for Krepsta who managed to do his best in this magnificent but difficult course. 

Sprints
This sprints were held in the historical centre of Kosice, offering a magnificent show to the public who came enthusiastically to this unusual competition.

It takes real speed, and a sharp eye for orienteering to make the difference in such a short race (3.3km). Norwegian Oystein Kvall Osterbo managed beautifully. He started off quite comfortably, and accelerated later, speeding across the finish line in 14 minutes 7 seconds 1/10, 12 seconds ahead of Krepsta, who was also feeling very good. Swiss Fabian Hertnerm took third.
Dana Brozkova who had already done so well in long-distance, proved in the sprints that she is really a well-rounded athlete. This time she had to put up a fight to keep the lead over Swiss Seline Stadler. Dana was nervous and made a few errors, but she managed to overcome the pressure and won her second gold medal. Seline brought a second silver medal to Switzerland, an Italian Michaela Guizzardi won the bronze.  

Relays
The relays marked the end of the championship. 14 teams of four men lined up, and it would have taken a wizard to predict the outcome. Switzerland quickly stood out as the candidate for first place, but the second-place was a closer thing, and was only clear a few meters before the arrival of the last runners. Slovakian Lukas Bartak was nose to nose with Norwegian Oystein Kvaal Osterbo (one of the best in the discipline). Lukas pulled through for Slovakia, at the end of a suspenseful race. Matthias Merz, from Switzerland who had come in 40 seconds earlier took the gold medal for his country.

For the ladies, the trend was not as easy to follow, but once again, Switzerland seem to be in the winning position. Unfortunately, a stupid error at the end of a race gave the British team a small edge. The two Swiss runners finished second, and Finland pocketed third place. 

The Slovakian University Sports Association (SAUS) has always been very dynamic in FISU. In the past, it brilliantly organized many World University Championships, as well as the 1999 Winter Universiade in Poprad Tatry. The conscientiousness and cordial welcome, plus the legendary kindness of our Slovakian friends make this a choice destination for our competitions. This 15th World University Orienteering Championship was no exception to the rule …

We meet again in 2008 for the 16th World University Orienteering Championship to be held in Tatru, Estonia. 

Organizing Committee

Slovenská asociácia univerzitného sportu
Junacka 6
83280 Bratislava
Slovakia

Phone: ++(421.2) 49249175
Fax: ++(421.2) 49249203

e-mail: wuoc2006@tuke.sk
URL: http://www.wuoc2006.sk 

Results