Occassional thoughts about orienteering
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| okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering |
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Saturday, July 05, 2003 36 and 25In response to something I wrote a few days ago, Vladimir posted a quote from Bjornar Valstad:"... Jörgen is very much an orienteer. He's not that fast outside the forest; but, give him a map, and he will show maximum speed. Jörgen's strong side, in my opinion, is that he's not afraid of anything at all. His weak side may be that he's too much of an orienteer. He has been very good in Nordic terrains so far. ... I would like to see him make good results in Continental terrain as well, and prove his fitness throughout the whole season in the WC." I don't know either Rostrup or Valstad. I have a sense of how they think about orienteering from reading their home pages. Valstad's comment strikes me as very much what you'd expect. Last year, Valstad won the World Cup. Valstad is clearly very interested in handling different types of terrains. Judging by what he writes, he's done a lot of thinking about how to orienteer in continental terrain. He's written an article ophysiologygy. Rostrup, on the other hand, seems to focus big races that suit him. He had a less-than-impressive World Cup season last year. But, he's been as good as anyone in World Championships. I'd be very surprised to bump into an article on physiology and find Rostup's name as the author. It strikes me as a bit harsh to be critical of Rostrup for lack of results in continental terrain because focusing on nordic terrain -- through the 2004 WOC -- would seem to make a whole lot of sense. Maybe I'm miss reading Valstad's quote. Maybe he isn't being critical. Maybe he's just looking forward to watching Rostrup develop. When I read Valstad's comment, my first thought was "well, of course, Valstad is 36 years old and Rostrup is just 25." Valstad's quote -- and the things he writes on his home page -- sound like someone who is 36. Rostrup's approach to orienteering, and the things he writes on his homepage, sound like someone who is 25. I find both Valstad and Rostrup very interesting. I think, or at least hope, that reading what they've got to say has taught me something about orienteering. Not meaning to be disrespectful or critical in any way...I think it is worth keeping in mind that Rostrup is a kid compared to Valstad. It is also worth keeping in mind that while Valstad has been a great orienteer, he's not going to be the best ever. Rostrup has a chance -- maybe just a small chance, but still a chance -- of being the best there has ever been.* * Compare Valstad to Rostrup at the same stage in their respective O' careers. By age 26, Valstad had been at two WOCs. In 1991, his best individual result was 10th in the short/middle. In 1993, he was on the team but sick. By age 25, Rostrup had been at two WOCs. In 1999, he won the short/middle. In 2001, he won the classic. posted by Michael | 3:54 PM 
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