Euromeeting 2016 in Latvia
Posted on | September 21, 2016 | Category: News
Coming up this weekend, Euromeeting opens a series of major competitions in Latvia. Elite runners will get the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the terrain before Latvia hosts a World Cup round next year and the World Orienteering Championships in 2018.
During the next few years, Latvia will be a centre for top elite orienteering. The first of three major events in Latvia is Euromeeting, which starts on Friday September 23 with a Middle distance. The weekend will be followed by a Long distance on Saturday and a Sprint on Sunday.
The forest races take place in Gauja River National Park, close to the city of Cēsis, located 90 kilometers outside Riga. The competition area at Euromeeting will be in close proximity to where the World Cup round will take place next year, and not far from the terrain for WOC 2018. In short, this Euromeeting will be extremely relevant for the next years’ events.
The Sprint at Euromeeting will be in the northern part of Cēsis, while the World Cup Sprint will be in the city centre. The WOC 2018 Sprint, on the other hand, will be in the old city centre of the capital Riga.
Useful for both young talents and the more experienced
The event gathers elite runners from all over the world because of the relevant terrain. Finland is one of the countries with the most participants. Finnish runner Marika Teini took part in her first Euromeeting back in 2009 in Switzerland. Since then, she has been to Euromeeting several times and has experienced the different purposes of Euromeeting, depending on where you are in your career:
Marika Teini has never been to Latvia before, which makes Euromeeting even more interesting this year, she thinks. Photo: WorldofO.com
–When I was younger and did not have so realistic chances to get into the Finnish WOC team, Euromeeting was mainly a good high-level competition and an opportunity to experience different terrain types, Marika Teini says, who was a part of the Finnish relay team who won bronze in the women’s relay at WOC in Strömstad.
As a more experienced orienteer, Marika Teini now uses Euromeeting in her long-term planning towards WOC:
– Now Euromeeting is the beginning of my preparation for the WOC two years ahead. At Euromeeting, you can get some clues of coming WOC terrains and consider your strengths and weaknesses in that particular terrain type. It will be easier to start preparations towards a new WOC straight after a previous championship when you already have a clear idea of next year’s physical and technical challenges and requirements, she says.
Euromeeting can be followed live with GPS-tracking and online results on the Euromeeting webpage.
Programme:
23/9 Friday 14:00 CET: Middle distance
24/9 Saturday 12:00 CET: Long distance
25/9 Sunday 11:00 CET: Sprint distance
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