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Meet and greet – Aston Key

If you haven’t already heard, Australia has a new Junior World Orienteering Champion (JWOC Sprint, Denmark 2019), and he’s just confirmed he will be back in Australia for Oceania 2019. Here’s what he is looking forward to…

I was really keen to race on Kangaroo Crossing, but I just had to lock away the last big Euro race, the World Cup Final in Switzerland, before coming home. Apart from getting home, it will be really fun to be amongst the crazy granite terrain around Beechworth, as it is definitely one of my favourite orienteering areas. I love the cypress pines and technical challenge but I have heard on the grapevine the new area for the Middle distance race is meant to be fantastic. 

If the World Champs “Wildcard” is up for grabs I will be going for the M21E class this year, but I know there are some genuine stars who’l be competing, so a hot field I guess. I heard Matt Ogden from NZ will be there, he won a JWOC Middle Distance a few years ago in really tricky terrain. Pete Hodkinson and Will Gardner from the UK, both are class WOC runners and are unbelievably fit. Simon Uppill from Adelaide is a master class amongst a pack of quality locals, so it’s going to be tough of course.

As a Victorian who loves granite terrain (which of us doesn’t?!), I have been asked what advice I can you give about how to orienteer in it, but that’s a tough one. I’m not really sure – just keep map contact as much as you can and have fun!

Oceania 2019

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