The first event of the Australian Championships carnival was held this afternoon at the Lady Alice Goldfield, near Para Wirra National Park about 50 km north of Adelaide.
The event attracted 571 competitors from all Australian states as well as New Zealand and Hong Kong.
The event area covered an area of gold mining in the late 19th century, with old diggings and many small ruins. Open eucalypt forest on the spur gully terrain meant for fast running. The area was largely a new map area not previously used for orienteering, and Orienteering SA is grateful for the support of the Department and Environment and Heritage and the Humbug Scrub Wildlife Sanctuary for access to the area.
The event is the Round 14th of the SILVA National Orienteering League. The women’s senior elite course of 4.9 km saw Anna Sheldon (Qld Cyclones) victorious in 35:09 min ahead of Natasha Key and Shannon Jones. Tracey Marsh led early but faded being overtaken by several runners to finish 6th. Best South Australian was Susanne Casanova 9 seconds behind Shannon. Julian Dent (NSW Stingers) continued in his winning way (31:14 for 6 km) in M21E ahead of Grant Bluett and Simon Uppill. Julian briefly surrendered the lead by a few seconds in the early part of the course, before pulling away over the faster latter part of the course.
The junior elite men’s course was won by Oliver Poland (ACT Cockatoos) and the women’s by Lillian Burrill (Qld Cyclones).
Local SA runners successful were Andrew McComb in M50A, Paul Hoopman in M60A. For full results click this link*
*Results no longer available
Vanessa Round at the Last Control