Multiple Countries Represented at the WOC Tour

WOC Tour attracted many orienteers from abroad. The World Championships, in particular, have drawn them here. Near the finish area, it was easy to chat with participants from various countries, both in competitive and open categories.

Christine Steck from Switzerland took part in the open classes. Her performance in the second stage had gone fairly well. “The terrain was rocky, and I had to run away from mosquitoes,” she laughed. The hilly landscape of Tahko made orienteering tough, as Steck’s home terrain is quite flat. She didn’t have high expectations for the rest of the week: the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy it – hopefully in better weather.

Marita Vilcina from Latvia was encouraged to come orienteering by her sister. “This is my first time in Finland and in this kind of terrain and event,” she said. The rocky terrain of Tahko was new to her compared to the forests in her home country, so she said she ran carefully. Her goal for the rest of the week is to improve her performances.

Tomas Kosicki from Poland found Tahko’s terrain very different from what he’s used to. “These are completely different terrains. Here it’s all bushes – back home we run in park.” He made a couple of mistakes during the second stage. He expects the rest of the week to be tough.

Riley Croxford (head picture) from New Zealand had a good race. He also mentioned the rocky terrain as a contrast to what he’s used to back home. Croxford had just returned from the Junior World Orienteering Championships: “This is a recovery week for me, so that’s why I’m running in the open classes.”