Today was the qualification heats for the middle distance final to be held tomorrow. After a rest and recovery day yesterday which included a get together with all the Aussie supporters in Bulgaria and also the NZ team and their supporters, the team was faced with what promised to be a very technical middle distance qualifier. The top 20 from each of the three heats progresses to the “A” final.

Our men continued their very impressive performances at this JWOC with three qualifying for the A final. Oscar McNulty and Brodie Nankervis continued their great form with Oscar finishing 11th in his heat and Brodie finishing 17th in his heat. Oliver Poland had a much improved performance in his heat to finish 11th and easily qualify for the A final.

This is the most men (3) who have qualified for the A final in the last ten years. Henry McNulty in his first JWOC had a steady run to finish in 23rd place in his heat.

Unfortunately the women have not managed to make the A final tomorrow. The best performed were Anna Dowling and Michele Dawson who both finished 25th in their heat.

The start times for the A Final Men are Brodie Nankervis 10:22, Oscar McNulty 10:54 (wearing GPS), Oliver Poland 10:58.

The maps from the long distance event are available on the JWOC website

http://www.jwoc2014.bg/index.php?name=maps

It is worth having a look at the map and especially the legs 3-4 and 7-8 for both the men and the women. It is not hard to see why the winning time for the women was 13 minutes longer than expected.

You can also see the old map of the middle qualification and final. Some very interesting contour detail.