Triumph Over Terrain: The Unyielding Spirit of Champions at the 2024 World Orienteering Championship
The Irish Orienteering team has once again proven their exceptional skill and determination at the World Orienteering Championships 2024. With a team composed of both seasoned athletes and promising newcomers, they have showcased the spirit of Ireland in the historic city of Edinburgh, a place where every alley and avenue tells a story.
The team, announced by Orienteering Ireland’s High Performance Manager, Jens Waechter, included a mix of sprint specialists and relay experts. Among them were Paul Pruzina, Josh O’Sullivan Hourihan, Cillin Corbett, Niamh O’Boyle, Niamh Corbett, Eadaoin McCavana, Kevin O’Boyle, Colm Moran, and Aoife McCavana. Each member brought their unique strengths to the competition, creating a well-rounded and formidable team.
The championships, held from July 11-16, were not just a test of physical endurance but also of mental acuity. Orienteering is often described as the “thinking sport” because it requires competitors to navigate through unfamiliar terrain using only a map and compass. It’s a sport that challenges the mind as much as the body, and the Irish team excelled in both aspects.
The backdrop of Edinburgh, with its UNESCO World Heritage sites and the iconic Edinburgh Castle, provided a stunning and challenging environment for the orienteers. The narrow alleys, intricate pathways, and the undulating landscape tested the athletes’ navigation skills to the limit. Yet, the Irish team navigated these challenges with finesse, demonstrating their preparation, teamwork, and the indomitable Irish spirit.
Their performance at the World Championships is a testament to the growth of orienteering in Ireland and the dedication of Orienteering Ireland to develop world-class athletes. The success of the Irish team serves as an inspiration to the orienteering community and sports enthusiasts across Ireland and beyond. It shows that with passion, perseverance, and teamwork, even the most intricate paths can lead to victory.
As we celebrate the achievements of the Irish Orienteering team, we also look forward to their future endeavors and the continued growth of the sport. Their journey at the World Orienteering Championships 2024 is not just a story of competition but one of camaraderie, national pride, and the pursuit of excellence.
For more information on the Irish Orienteering team and their journey, you can visit Orienteering Ireland’s official website or the World Orienteering Championships 2024 official page. Here’s to the team’s continued success and the adventures that await them in the world of orienteering. Sláinte!
WOC starting July 12th
The Irish Team is ready and super excited to start WOC 2023 in Flims/Laax, Switzerland.
Last preparation were completed today.
A big “thank you” to Ruth who has become our Team Official last minute.
You can follow the senior squad almost live on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/irishorienteeringsquad/
You can find all the latest updates on WOC here .
And of course for some in-depth analysis why not pop over to world of O.
And finally, may I introduce the athletes. Good luck to you all and have fun out there.
Jens | High Performance Manager
Name: Clodagh Moran
Instagram: @clodaghmoran
Age: 23
Hometown: Dublin
Currently living: Leaving Gothenburg, going to Frankfurt
Club: @3rockorienteering
@goteborgmajornaok
@orienteeringucd
No. WOCs: 2
2023 events: Middle, Long
What do you think of the WOC terrain: Hardddd. So much detail, really fun but will be tricky
Favourite biscuit: Custard Creams
Orienteering strength: Open mountain
Favourite Map/Terrain: Sand dunes
Result most proud of: JK W10 Bronze
Favourite Irish mountain: Djouce
Name: Paul Pruzina
Instagram: @ppruzina
Age: 26
Hometown: Comber, Down
Currently living: travelling for the summer, moving to Cambridge in September
Club: LVO, @real_drongo, @ifklidingosok
No. WOCs: 2
2023 events: Middle, Relay
What do you think of the WOC terrain: Really nice terrains, lots of detail to make it tricky. Some fast running but other places to really slow down and get things right
Favourite biscuit: Digestive cream
Orienteering strength: All-rounder. Not the fastest or the best navigator, but pretty OK at both
Favourite Map/Terrain: Fontainebleau, France
Result most proud of: JK 2011 mini relay gold
Favourite Irish mountain: Sliabh Liag. Lovely mountain with fantastic cliffs and some nice scrambling if you’re up for it.
Name: Ruairi Short
Instagram: @ruairishort
Age: 34
Hometown: Blessington, Wicklow
Currently living: Dublin
Club(s): @cnocorienteers , @oklinne
No. WOCs: 8
2023 events: Middle, Relay
What do you think of the WOC terrain: Very interesting detailed areas which will provide some great technical courses. Thick enough forest in places too so having the confidence to push through it will be key.
Favourite biscuit: Mikado
Orienteering strength: Navigation
Favourite Map/Terrain: Lunsen, Uppsala, Sweden
Result most proud of: JHI 2007 M18 1st
Favourite Irish mountain: Diamond Hill, Connemara. Great childhood memories from climbing it many summers.
Name: Colm Moran
Instagram: @colmmemaybe_yo
Age: 30
Hometown: Dublin
Currently living: Edinburgh
Club: @3rockorienteering, @interlopersedinburgh
No. WOCs: 5
2023 events: Middle, Long, Relay
What do you think of the WOC terrain: A fascinating blend of vague hillside and intricate rock detail, fun.
Favourite biscuit: Fox’s Golden Crunch
Orienteering strength: contours – nothing else matters
Favourite Map/Terrain: Aveyron limestone (Les Bouzigasses)
Result most proud of: WUOC 2016 Beer Relay Gold
Favourite Irish mountain: Big Gun (An Gunna Mór)
WOC 2020 Selection Policy
Details of the IOA selection policy for WOC 2020 can be found using the above link.
Darren Burke – Director of High Performance Orienteering
How to Train like an Elite by Nick Simonin
What 4 years of races and training camps looks like.
I was asked by Jeni to write some thoughts and ideas about how I train from pre-season all the way up until a major season goal of mine. In the last years this has been WOC in the summer time. To sum this up in a blog post only scratches the surface of training and being an elite athlete. It’s important to point out that this is what I find works for me. That’s what makes elite level sport so interesting. We are all trying to find the way that works for us.
The coming year always starts with me reflecting on the one that has just passed and looking forward to the season ahead, and what I want to aim towards as a goal/competition. Based on this I see what aspects I will need to work on to achieve this. Then the plan is laid down.
I’m going to split this up in two main training periods winter and spring. The analogy I would use is to think of yourself as a sportscar. At the start of every season it needs to be rebuilt to improve. During winter you spend your time building this sportscar and putting all the parts in place for the season ahead. Then the spring time is spent fine tuning the car and tweaking it to see what’s best to get the absolute most out of the car, which is you, the athlete. You know about the 3 cornerstones of being an athlete that need work: physical/mental/technical. All these 3 are equally important and depend on one another to make you into the best athlete you can become to reach your goals.
Consistency
This is something that I see is a key to improvement and moving in the right direction towards reaching your goals. It’s easy to put a in 1-2 weeks of 10/10 training then 2 weeks of 3/10 training. Think what is realistic training wise and aim to do it consistently. You also have to weigh up everything else that is happening in your life because everything has some effect on your training. Below is a graph which shows in general terms what I mean.
Training with Consistency
– Green line = consistently training during the season. Here you will see the benefits at the end
– Red line = Training well for a period and then not training well for a time. You will at best only sustain a similar level through out the duration of the season
– Blue line = It usually looks like this due to injury or sickness. This difference here is the top elite athletes refocus and get back on track.
Winter
So, my main goal during the winter is to be able to train well for a longer period of time and get plenty smart kilometers under my feet and also have a good fitness base coming into the spring time and competitions. Listen to your body everyday and what it’s telling you. One of my strengths is being able to tell whether my body is just sore from training or if it’s telling me an injury is coming and I need to ease off. This comes from doing enough consistent training to tell the signs. The best training is running, but doing good alternative training like pool running or strength is really important to build a strong base. I have tried to put some focus on what I think about in my 3 cornerstones below
– Physical training is a mixture of long and steady runs where I let my body recover between the 2-3 high intensity, high quality sessions I do during the winter weeks. If I manage to do these well then, I know I’m going in the right direction. If I’m not getting the results I’m looking for, or should expect, then I have to rethink my training.
– Mental training can be done during training sessions. Putting your mind in situations that you think you might face at JWOC. It can also be gathering information from the internet about your goal. Everything from maps to what kind of weather it will be. If you have done your mental training correctly then standing on the start line of JWOC should be familiar and relaxed but totally focused for the job in hand.
– Technical training. Getting out on good maps, either at home, or going away on trips. Getting experience in different types of terrain is really important. The chance that your main goal is in your back garden is pretty slim and therefore being able to adapt and understand what is needed for different terrain types is really important. Looking at what you need to improve on, and making a conscious effort to improve is also important. I find it’s also better do to 30-40min of fully focused orienteering and get lots of feedback rather than say 90min of semi-focused orienteering and not sure if the mistakes were made due to lack of technique or just bad focus.
WOC 2016: Final meters of one of my biggest goals of that year
Spring
By the time spring comes around I am always looking forward to seeing how my winter training stands against previous years and my competitors. I am a firm believer that the best form of training is racing. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to be in top physical shape for every race. During the spring I start to ease off on the overall mileage at times to be in better shape for some key races, and also to get even more out of my high-quality sessions. To finally get to the best shape of the year for my main goal I from a period from about 4 weeks out, up until 2 weeks/10day out from my main goal I train extremely hard (maybe the hardest I’ve done all year). I then spend the last few days doing very, very little training. These weeks before the race is are key. Training sessions are planned in great detail. There is method behind this madness. By doing all this high intensity training I put my body into a state of shock and it goes into over-drive to recuperate the energy lost. Then when I rest, my body it still in shock but the levels of energy keep building up so that on race day my body is more than ready for this extremely hard session it has been waiting for during the last week to 10 days.
Other things to take in to consideration when trying to get the most out of your body is. are:
– Eating well, and getting the correct foods into your body, to give you the best chance to recover and perform.
– Resting well. Sleeping consistently and putting your feet up from time to time. Going to for naps in the afternoon is also good (easier to do when you are a student!).
– Think smart and long term. It can be hard to skip a training session because of a slight sickness or niggle but think instead what is best for me 2, 3, 4 months down the line.
– Motivation. We all have days we might not be super motivated to train but, trust me, the satisfaction of getting sessions done on these days is much better then having to think about the sessions you weren’t bothered to do.
Many people have come up to me during the years and said it must be really hard to succeed as an orienteer from Ireland. My answer has always been that it’s the best place to come from because nobody expects anything from you, and you just keep surprising them. So, think positive and embrace the challenge. If it was easy it wouldn’t be as fun or as rewarding. I hope some things here have been of some benefit for the months ahead. Best of luck with your goals. See you all at the Irish Champs. If you have questions feel free to write to me via Facebook messenger or Instagram. You can also follow my training on Strava where I post all my runs and maps.
Goals and enjoyment can even be shared as a team in this purely individual sport
