A joyful time for Minna
Posted on | July 17, 2012 | Category: Arena
Minna Kauppi didn’t hide her joy today just after she had finished. The Finn knew she had run a specially good race.
Just a few small mistakes were made on the 5.5 km long course, with 18 controls. “It is maybe the most demanding course I have ever run. All the time there was orienteering and you had to be focused. There was no place where you could take it easier or get a rest”, she says.
For the soon 30-year-old Finn this was her ninth World Championships gold. It was the third time she has won the Middle distance. In the relay she has five victories, and she has won the Long distance once.
Had to take a break
For three months in the winter Minna Kauppi didn’t run at all. She felt very restless. “For three months I didn’t train at all. I had no power for that and there was no definite reason why my pulse was so high, but probably it was some kind of a heart inflammation”.
At the end of January she started training again, and it has been fast progress even though she didn’t push hard at all at the beginning. She was just running slowly – in her kind of slow running.
“Every gold is different”
– Is the gold this time bigger than any before due to what happened in the winter?
“No, every gold is different”, she smiles.
After she started up again the training went very well and the golden girl had a big ambition. “It was a win I was going for”, she says.
The junior Tove Alexandersson took silver, ahead of the veteran Tatyana Ryabkina, and in fourth place was last year’s silver medallist Ida Bobach.
“Last year there was so much detail and it was very demanding because of that. This time there were fewer details, but it wasn’t easier. You had to be so accurate with directions”, the Dane says.
The favourite Simone Niggli had tears in her eyes after the race. She had been navigating towards the wrong control at one point during the race.
The best girls: Tove Alexandersson, Minna Kauppi and Tatyana Riabkina
Photo: Erik Borg
Minna Kauppi – a third Middle distance gold medal.
Photo: Erik Borg
|| Print page ||Search
IOF Main Sponsor
IOF Sponsors
World Championships
Other Upcoming Events
IOF Partners
RSS