Today in Bulgaria the Australian men had a great day in the long distance event which was held in very steep terrain with a lot of “green” areas on the map.
Brodie Nankervis and Oscar McNulty followed up their good results in the sprint distance event with in some ways even more impressive results today. Brodie finishing in 13th place (+8:20). He was one second behind 12th place. This is Australia’s best men’s result in the long distance event at JWOC since Simon Uppill 4th in Dubbo in 2007. To make it an even better day Oscar McNulty finished in 19th place (+10:28) to give Australia two runners in the top 20. This has not been done for a very long time. (Beyond my records). The other Australian men were Henry McNulty (+16:49), Matt Doyle (+26:08), Oliver Poland (+31:18), Ashley Nankervis (+57:02). The winner was Anton Johannsson (Sweden) in a time of 75:17. There was 3 New Zealanders in the top 30 with Tim Robinson following up his win in the sprint with a 16th place in the long.
Brodie’s comments after the race
“I don’t really know how to describe today.. Coming through spectator I had no idea that I was on a half decent run but with the amazing aussie support on the run through I was able to keep it together and run solidly in the last loop! To finish in 13th today is absolutely amazing for me and shows that perseverance after making mistakes certainly pays off.
This result has been a goal of mine for the past 3 years but I couldn’t have made it without the help of Michael Dowling, you have been an amazing mentor and have taught me many important lessons over the past few years. I would also like all those who helped with my preparations for JWOC 2014, including but not limited to; Hanny Allston (an amazing coach and mentor), Karen Blatchford and of course two of the most supportive parents you could ask for Kim Nankervis andDirk Nankervis!
Finally I would just like to thank all of the aussie support I have been receiving over the past couple of days and a special shout out to the boys who accompanied me in Bulgaria for final preparations over the past two weeks!”
The women’s course was a very challenging one as the winning time of 68:15 is 13 minutes longer than the expected winning time. The winner was Gunvor Hov Hoydal (Norway). The best Australian was Michele Dawson finishing 58th (+26:31). The others were Lanita Steer 86th, Olivia Sprod 88th, Asha Steer 97th, Anna Dowling 103rd, Nicola Blatchford 105th.
Tomorrow will be a day for rest and recovery in preparation for the Middle Qualification heats on Friday.