The Long Final in this years World Orienteering Championships was held in beautiful forest near Silkeborg, Denmark.
Hanny Allston approaches the spectator control.
After the elation of yesterday, Hanny Allston was unable to re-capture the form she showed in the sprint. We tend to forget after her latest success that she is still a junior and her 12th in the long course race is one of Australia’s best ever results. Simone Niggli-Luder, the Swiss super-star was back to her winning ways with a narrow win over the “training-machine” Norwegian Marianne Anderson. Anna Sheldon appeared to never find great form but put in a strong performance finishing the final in 44th.
The men’s race was a tough battle with less than 5 minutes splitting the top 10 over 105 minutes. The winner was Jani Lakanen (FIN) ahead of Marc Lauenstein (SUI). Some Australians may be familar with Lauenstein who posts all his training on Attackpoint. No Australian men qualifiied for the final.
Tomorrow is a rest day at WOC before the middle distance finals on Friday, featuring Australian team-members Jo Allison, Grace Elson, Anna Sheldon, David Shepherd and Rob Walter.
Women’s Long Distance Final
| 1. | Simone Niggli-Luder | SUI | 79:50.4 |
| 2. | Marianne Anderson | NOR | 80:16.1 |
| 3. | Dana Brozkova | CZE | 82:42.4 |
| 12. | Hanny Allston | AUS – TAS | 86:32.9 |
| 44. | Anna Sheldon | AUS- QLD | 111:02.0 |
Men’s Long Distance Final
| 1. | Jani Lakanen | FIN | 105:01.0 |
| 2. | Marc Lauenstein | SUI | 106:10.5 |
| 3. | Andrey Khramov | RUS | 106:41.2 |
Full results can be found here.*
Remember to check out the insightful and entertaining Australian team blog.
*Results no longer available