Lucy Walker about to start the final leg. Lucy ran for a non-competitive mixed ("IOF") team, with Emma Louise Arnesen and Kaja Winsnes Nordhagen (both Norway). She started in 21st (all teams) and finished 20th, 2 seconds behind Latvia and 7 seconds ahead of Germany, photo: Rob Lines
The European Orienteering Championships forest relays were held on Tuesday 20th August. Nations could enter multiple teams, and the highest placed would count. As usual it was the big countries' teams who were fancied: Sweden 1, Switzerland 1, Norway 1, Finland 1, Sweden 2 and Sweden 3.
Like the other days the temperature was above 30, but the terrain was different, somewhat reminiscent of southern England thought some of the Brits.
The men ran first and the top-6 were indeed Norway - Sweden - Switzerland - Finland - Sweden 3 and Sweden 2. Sweden 3 and Sweden 2 do not count for the official results though, and Czechia and France filled 5th and 6th on the podium. The GB teams were well matched with each other, finishing a few seconds apart in 23rd and 24th, being 14th nation.
In the women's race the top-6 were Switzerland - Norway - Sweden - France - Finland - Hungary. France and Hungary were delighted with their results, as they had been in taking top-6 places in the World Champs Sprint Relay last month. The GB team of Jo Shepherd, Chloe Potter and Grace Molloy was 9th nation, 14th finishers.
We thank Rob Lines for most of the pictures here and in the previous reports of these Championships.
His albums on Flickr have more photographs.
European Champs 2024 - Relays Results
World of O,European Champs Relays - Maps, Results and Analysis
Lucy Walker, Jo Shepherd, Chloe Potter and Grace Molloy, photo: Eszter Kocsik
Style of Racing
The terrain and courses were less technical than earlier in the competition. The forking did cause some to lose time, especially control 5 it seems. But with the visibility being good,and the running being fast, the fields did not split up quickly. There were some route choice legs. Control 6 to 7 was a big one for the men.
the men's course, illustrating the choice for leg 6-7
Runners chose left (south, up) or right (north, down) here, and the proportions changed on the different legs. On leg 1 most want (or have been instructed) to do what others are doing.
In practice it seems that "execution risk" in "ordinary" routes seemed more important than the route choices we saw in the long race two days ago, or the fine navigation needed in the detailed rocky areas of the middle.
Of course running the last leg in a championship relay you find the fastest guys in the world. Kasper Fosser, Emil Svensk, Joey Hadorn and Miika Kirnula for the big countries on this occasion. This is a shot of the tracking on leg 3 when the fastest times for the 6-7 leg were set, one on the right route (Svensk), one on the left route (Fosser). It was not plain sailing for everyone on this leg though. Hadorn lost time on the right route, going too high after passing control 10. And earlier Viktor Svensk, brother of Emil, lost time on the left route by going out of 6 too high (admittedly he was leading the race at the start of the leg, so others had more help.)
screenshot from GPS tracking for men's relay leg3
Men's Race
Ruslan Glibov of Ukraine was first to the changeover line on leg 1. Finland, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden were in the next 10 seconds. They led a stream of teams. The British teams were three minutes back, Peter Molloy 12 seconds ahead of Nathan Lawson, with five runners in between (including new World Knockout Sprint champion Riccardo Rancan running for Switzerland 2.)
The GB men's teams were close together throughout the race, in positions in the low 20's of the 57 teams. It was basically a case of going a bit slower than the teams ahead, and a bit quicker than the teams behind.
Pete Molloy and Nathan Lawson running the arena passage near the end of leg 1, photo: Rob Lines
Peter Bray running leg 2, photo: Rob Lines
Luke Fisher running leg 2, photo: Rob Lines
Luke Fisher finished 45 seconds ahead of Peter Bray at the end of leg 2.
Jonny Crickmore running leg 3, photo: Rob Lines
And Jonny Crickmore finished 11 seconds ahead of Alastair Thomas at the end of the race.
Alastair Thomas running leg 3, photo: Rob Lines
Apart from the big four the other countries ahead of Britain were Czechia, France, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, New Zealand and Latvia.
Women's Race
The runners on leg 1 spread out more in the women's race than they had in the men's, but there were still many runners near the front at the end of the leg - 15 teams in 45 seconds.
First back was a non-competitive runner: Alma Svennerud, with a World Ranking outside the top-500, but a Junior World Champs bronze medallist this year. She was not in one of the Swedish teams but instead led off "IOF Mix 4". She ran at the front for much of the race with Ines Berger of Switzerland 1, who lost a few seconds on a forking in the short loop after the arena passage and finished 6th. Ines will be 21 later this year. Berger's teammates were Natalia Gemperle and Simona Aebersold, currently numbers 2 and 1 respectively in this year's World Cup. In the team lists nominated the day before Paula Gross had been down to run leg 1, but speculation is that was in recognition of her terrific 5th place in the middle final three days before rather than any intention of her actually running given the leg injury she sustained at the penultimate control in that run. Or maybe it was to help Ines sleep better?
Alma Svennerud and a running cameraman, photo: Eszter Kocsik
Jo Shepherd ran leg 1 for the GB team. Jo was 10th at control 6, but lost places on the next section especially the second route choice (controls 9-10) and came in 22nd.
Chloe Potter ran leg 2, coming in 17th.
Grace Molloy ran leg 3, coming in 14th. Britain was 9th nation.
Jo Shepherd, Chloe Potter and Grace Molloy with Pippa Archer, photo: Rob Lines
Lucy Walker, photo: Eszter Kocsik
On the last leg Simona Aebersold, Andrine Benjaminsen, Tove Alexandersson and Venla Harju were battling, just like the World Champs Sprint Relay in Edinburgh last month.
Switzerland won. Norway were second. Sweden were third.
For fourth Cecile Calandry of France pipped Venla Harju by 0.2 secs. Ivarnational said that this was France's first ever top-6 (podium) place at a forest relay at a major champs. And the young Hungarian team (21, 21 and 19) took sixth. Denmark and Czechia were the other countries ahead of Britain.
Hungary 6th, photo: Ezster Kocsik