Sild and Mironova won the gold medals in the middle distance
The World Military Championships in Orienteering commenced with the middle distance race in the Mustalampi terrain. Altogether 158 men and 56 women challenged themselves in the drizzle and temperature of 15 degrees Celsius.
Corporal Timo Sild from Estonia and Lieutenant Svetlana Mironova from Russia celebrated the gold medals. The Estonian was a happy man in the finish. Although he was the last one to start among the pre-race favorites, after 5,8 kilometres of orienteering he crossed the finish line 43 seconds faster than the silver medalist Olli-Markus Taivainen.
- This time I was able to control my performance better than ever before in my career, Sild commented on his achievement in the finish.
He knew what to expect in the forests of Hamina. This felt like at home.
- It was very easy to make mistakes along certain parts of the course and therefore it was necessary to remain careful, the winner revealed as the secret of his success.
Tomorrow Tuesday the race continues with the long distance. Timo Sild’s objective is to do well, but he knows that he is not the only one wanting the gold medal.
- Tomorrow is a new day and everyone is given a new chance, Sild said.
Lieutenant Svetlana Mironova from Russia dominated the women’s race by winning the gold medal 50 seconds ahead of Ursula Kadan from Austria.
The winner expected easier orienteering, but the challenging 4,5 -kilometre course was a positive surprise.
- The terrain and the course were a nice combination of very detailed orienteering and featured some variable flatter and unclear parts as well, Mironova said.
She didn’t think about the victory even though she was one of the pre-race favorites. Instead her goal was to do a clean race, control her speed and always know her position on the map and in the terrain.
According to Mironova, the winner is always the athlete who is able to perform most optimally regardless of the results in the earlier races.
- Every race is like an empty piece of paper on which history will then be recorded, Mironova told.
- I’m looking forward to the upcoming races. This terrain is trickier than expected, she continued.
The host nation Finland had a good day on Monday. Sergeants Olli-Markus Taivainen and Miika Kirmula took the silver and bronze medals. Taivainen was very happy as he was finally able to fulfill his long-time dream at the World Military Championships in Orienteering.
- I have been competing here since 2009, but before today I haven’t won an individual medal. With this medal I also want to thank the Finnish Defence Forces for having offered a great support during my career in orienteering, Taivainen said.
Finland’s Miika Kirmula won the bronze medal only nine seconds behind Taivainen.
- I’m satisfied with this result even though the seconds were not on my side today, he commented.
Kirmula admitted that he lost those nine seconds many times during the race. He made his biggest mistake at the very end of the race.
- Maybe I lost my concentration when I noticed that there was no longer that much left and I was already approaching the finish, Kirmula told.
The next race will be the long distance on Tuesday.
