Rauturier crosses the finish line in Genoa with the battle for silver behind her. (Photo by Kristina Lindgren/IOF)
Czech Tereza Rauturier and Guilhem Verove of France are Knock-Out Sprint world champions after an eventful and thrilling afternoon in central Genoa.
The women were sent out first in their quarter-finals, which, like the men’s, consisted of courses with a three-loop butterfly forking early in the course.
Here, the athletes had the opportunity to try their hand at the relatively hilly urban terrain and a particularly tricky control in the southernmost loop cost time for a number of athletes.
Most of the favourites advanced, but in the quarterfinals, Grace Molloy of Great Britain, Natalia Gemperle of Switzerland, Jonatan Gustafsson of Sweden, Eirik Langedal Breivik of Norway, Joey Hadorn of Switzerland and the Swiss defending world champion Riccardo Rancan were knocked out, among others.
The semifinal courses will undoubtedly go down in history, because the complex multi-level course along the way put the athletes’ map-reading skills to overtime.
In several races, the races came to a complete standstill, while the athletes tried to get an overview of the intricate route choices to control 5.
In the first women’s semifinal, one of the favorites and Tuesday’s world champion Simona Aebersold of Switzerland was knocked out after she shortly ran towards the finish line instead of the arena passage. On the other hand, compatriot Lilly Graber advanced after an insistent sprint, overtaking Czech Lucie Dittrichova, who seemed to have slowed down too early.
The next race was just as dramatic, as the big surprise of the spring, Hedvig Valbjørn Gydesen of Denmark, came into close contact with Sweden’s Karolin Ohlsson in the sprint for the important second place. The race referee judged that Gydesen had impeded Ohlsson’s path towards the finish line, so Ohlsson got the final place, while the Dane was disqualified.
The men’s semi-finals were the last stop for Kasper Fosser of Norway, who ran wrong on the very last legs after leading semi-final 2, which also became dramatic because Zoltan Bujdoso of Hungary jumped a control, while Fabian Aebersoldof Switzerland was disqualified for having passed an out of bonds area.
In addition, Finn Tuomas Heikkilä and Czech Tomáš Křivda and Yannick Michiels of Belgium also were knocked out in the semis.
Sprint finishes
The final courses were more straightforward and the finals were as close as one could have hoped.
In the women’s race, they split up several times along the way, but it ended in a decision between five women. And here Tereza Rauturier was fastest in the decisive meters, while Karolin Ohlsson of Sweden, Norwegian Pia Young Vik and Malin Agervig Kristiansson of Denmark ended up sprinting for the silver medal.
Ohlsson was fastest and defended her silver from the Knock-Out Sprint final in Edinburgh two years ago, while Pia Young Vik just made it across the line for bronze, while the Dane had to settle for fourth place.
The men’s final also featured with many different route choices and an intense finish, where everything was decided on the last controls.
A three-man group with Swede Isac von Krusenstierna, Finn Akseli Ruohola and the later World champion Guilhem Verove of France stood out towards the end and after von Krusenstierna stumbled on the way to the last control, Verove went to the front and held the lead all the way to the finish. It was silver for Akseli Ruohola of Finland and bronze for the unlucky Swede.
Behind them, Timo Suter of Switzerland tried a different route choice for the last control, but did not quite catch up and ended up in fourth place.
The World Orienteering Championships in Italy conclude with the Sprint Relay later today.
Results, Finals
Women
1 Tereza Rauturier, CZE 10:02.90
2 Karolin Ohlsson, SWE +0:00.60
3 Pia Young Vik, NOR +0:00.89
4 Malin Agervig Kristiansson, DEN +0:01.10
5 Cecile Calandry, FRA +0:06.20
6 Lilly Graber, SUI +0:23.30
Men
1 Guilhem Verove, FRA 8:21.90
2 Akseli Ruohola, FIN +0:00.80
3 Isac von Krusenstierna, SWE+0:01.89
4 Timo Suter , SUI +0:03.60
5 Cooper Horley, AUS +0:21.90
6 Mathieu Perrin, FRA +0:32.79
