For more than half a year, the Norwegian male juniors have worked hard to get success at the Junior World Championships relay.

–The preparations are the answer to why we did well, say the three winning boys, Gaute Hallan Steiwer, Eskil Kinneberg and Vegard Danielsen.

In December last year a relay project was started for the boys in the national team. They have had both physical and mental relay trainings on six training camps since then. Since then there has also been information available on where the stadium will be, and the trainers and the runners have been discussing how the courses will look like. What they expected was just what they got.

Team work

All the runners in the national team have been very active in the relay work with Gaute Hallan Steiwer, the double champion, as a motor. Before the prize giving the national coach Frode Balchen suggested that the second team, that finished as number five, could join the first team on the podium. All the athletes agreed, and then all the boys taking part in the Junior World Championships from Norway entered the highest place on the podium.

Even if Norway had more than one minute gap to Sweden on second place in the end it was a tough battle all the way. Sweden was leading after the two first legs, but Norway was just behind. On the last leg the Norwegian Vegard Danielsen and the Swedish Johan Runesson were very close in the forest, but when the Swede made some mistakes Danielsen could secure the victory to Norway.

The relay was organised close to Skørping, 30 kilometer south of Aalborg in Nordjylland in Denmark. The hilly terrain is something the Norwegian athletes are used to and like.

 

Photo: Erik Borg