It’s OK to share the gold

Søren Bobach (17) from Denmark and Jan Benes (18) from Czech Republic had exactly the same time on the middle final.

– It’s good to share the gold, says a very glad Dane.

– This is like a dream. Before the championship my goal was to be among the 20 best on the middle, says Søren Bobach.

– It’s a dream to win, Jan Benes also says.

The two shared the gold and were very glad to do so. It was terribly tight in the men’s class in the middle distance.

Denmark also won a medal in the women’s race. Signe Klinting, who is only 16, took the bronze.

The Danish winner had the strength to sometimes take things calmly and to stop if that was the smart thing to do. He is the first Dane to win gold in the men’s class. Søren lives in Silkeborg and is from an orienteering family.

The same goes for the Czech winner

– I started orienteering when I was six years old. My parents took me orienteering, says Jan.

The Czech trains six or seven times a week and lives in Jizin.

My biggest win ever

Betty Ann Bjerkreim Nilsen has been a star the whole year, but her biggest win so far is the gold in the middle distance.

– Yes, yes there’s no doubt about that. This was my last chance to win an individual gold in a World Championship for juniors, says Betty Ann.

The junior from Norway won her tenth medal in a Junior World Championship. The gold in the middle was her fifth medal in orienteering. She also has five in cross-country skiing. Three of the medals are gold from relay.

Last year there were high expectations for the Norwegian, but individually it didn’t go at all well in Switzerland.

– Last year I felt nervous. Now I was focused on what to do and the orienteering felt so simple. It was just follow the compass and pick details, says Betty Ann.

JWOC in Lithuania was her big goal for the orienteering year. Now will she concentrate more on cross-country-skiing.

– I will always do orienteering, but how much will depend on how my cross-country skiing goes in the coming winter, she says.

Stories: Erik Borg