The JWOC 2023 in Romania kicked off today with the Sprint race, which took place in a residential complex that offered constant technical demands on a slightly long route for the modality (over 15′ winning times).
In the women’s class, the talented Hungarian runner Rita Maramarosi was the favorite to win and she did not disappoint with a clean run from less to more. In second place the Norwegian Pia Young Vik, followed by the Finnish Eeva Liina Ojanaho completed the podium.
In the men’s class, the German runner Anselm Reichenbach surprised by beating the French Guilhem Verove by just 8 seconds, with the Estonian Jurgen Joonas closing the podium only one second behind.
Women 20
3 800 m, 153 starting competitors
| Plac | Name | Organisation | Time | Diff | Km time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rita Maramarosi | HUN Hungary | 15:13 | 4:00 | |
| 2 | Pia Young Vik | NOR Norway | 15:37 | +0:24 | 4:06 |
| 3 | Eeva Liina Ojanaho | FIN Finland | 15:50 | +0:37 | 4:10 |
| 4 | Kristin Melby Jacobsen | NOR Norway | 15:52 | +0:39 | 4:10 |
| 5 | Viktoria Mag | HUN Hungary | 15:53 | +0:40 | 4:10 |
| 6 | Penelope Salmon | NZL New Zealand | 16:03 | +0:50 | 4:13 |
| 7 | Henriette Radzikowski | SUI Switzerland | 16:08 | +0:55 | 4:14 |
| 8 | Anna Karlova | CZE Czechia | 16:09 | +0:56 | 4:15 |
| 9 | Salla Isoherranen | FIN Finland | 16:14 | +1:01 | 4:16 |
| 10 | Hanna Sudol | POL Poland | 16:15 | +1:02 | 4:16 |
Men 20
4 300 m, 173 starting competitors
| Plac | Name | Organisation | Time | Diff | Km time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anselm Reichenbach | GER Germany | 15:47 | 3:40 | |
| 2 | Guilhem Verove | FRA France | 15:55 | +0:08 | 3:42 |
| 3 | Jurgen Joonas | EST Estonia | 15:56 | +0:09 | 3:42 |
| 4 | Matthieu Buehrer | SUI Switzerland | 16:03 | +0:16 | 3:43 |
| 5 | Sampo Sankelo | FIN Finland | 16:06 | +0:19 | 3:44 |
| 6 | Jakub Chaloupsky | CZE Czechia | 16:07 | +0:20 | 3:44 |
| 7 | Iver Dalsaune Thun | NOR Norway | 16:11 | +0:24 | 3:45 |
| 8 | Jim Bailey | GBR Great Britain | 16:12 | +0:25 | 3:46 |
| 9 | Dominic Mueller | SUI Switzerland | 16:14 | +0:27 | 3:46 |
| 10 | Aarni Ronkainen | FIN Finland | 16:15 | +0:28 | 3:46 |
Analyzing both courses, we can see that there were hardly any really decisive major route choices, but that the correct implementation and the speed of the race were the most decisive aspects. However, we do find a somewhat more decisive leg in the men’s course.
Men’s class: 13 – 14
Leg 13-14 was a very long leg with many artificial barriers on the shortest way, which made a real length longer than 600m. We can see many different options to choose from, and how the winner managed to implement the best one (with the best balance length/turns) at a very high speed.
Congratulations to the winners and good luck in the next races!
