Swedish team for WOC 2006

All the runners in the Swedish Team for WOC 2006 have the capability to take home an individual gold medal - and the swedes are thus also among the hottest favourites for relay gold both in the men and women categories. If I have to pick two names from this strong team as my favourites, I would take Emil Wingstedt and Kajsa Nilsson - both running for Halden SK, Norway.

Karolina Höjsgaard at EOC 2006. Photo: Henrik Skoglund

Always on top when the pressure is high
Emil Wingstedt (result history) focuses on only a few races every year, and always manages to show his best in these races - an ability which has given him international medals in all diciplins, winning the last three EOC sprints and the WOC-sprint in 2005. Of his six triumphs in World Cup races, four are from the EOC and WOC - the other two are from back in 2000. This winter, Emil struggled with a lot of illness, and he was not sure if he would get in shape in time for the EOC. However, he got in shape just in time to qualify for the Swedish EOC Team, and returned with a gold medal at the sprint distance.

The other swedish men are not far behind Emil.
• Jonas Pilblad - winner of this years Elitserien in Sweden definately has to be counted among the favourites.
• So does David Andersson, who did a fantastic relay at the last leg at EOC 2006. In addition, he has a 4th place from the middle distance at WOC 2005.
• Niclas Jonasson won the 2004 WOC sprint - and also the Swedish selection race over the long distance.
• Mattias Karlsson has a silver medal from WOC 2004 in Sweden - and was a very important part of the swedish golden relay team from WOC 2003 in Switzerland.
• Martin Johansson is a young and promising swedish runner. He has a bronze medal at the sprint distance from the Open Nordic Championships in Notodden in 2005. He is also a good skier - he got lots of TV time at this years Vasaloppet as he was in the leading group for most of the race.
• Tobias Noborn (formerly Andersson) is the least experienced championship runner in the Swedish team - but has lots of routine from the big relays, and is also probably the best night orienteerin runner in Sweden.

Match for Simone?
Kajsa Nilsson (result history) had a dream start of the 2006 season with victories in the two first Park World Tour races of the season in march in Italy. Since then, she has shown that she has a speed which can match Simone Niggli - and that she will definately fight for a gold medal in Denmark - at least at the sprint distance. - I have learned from the men, and try to always look for the fastest and most direct route, instead of looking for the safest way to find the controls, Kajsa describes her winning strategy.

Everybody can win
If Kajsa should not succeed at the WOC in Denmark, all the other swedes are ready to take the step onto the top of the podium:

• Karolina Arewång-Höjsgaard (result history) is maybe an even bigger favourite than Kajsa. Karo has an individual gold medal from the long distance WOC in 2004, in addition to several other WOC medals.
• Jenny Johansson (Result history) has an individual EOC gold medal from the middle distance in Ukraine in 2000, and two individual WOC silver medals on the middle distance from 2001 and 2005.
• Emma Engstrand (Result history) has won several World Cup races, and also has a silver medal from EOC in Roskilde, Denmark in 2004
• Anna Mårsell (result history) still waits for her first international medal - but has a fourth place (middle 2005, Aichi, Japan) and a fifth place (sprint 2004, Västerås Sweden) as her best World Orienteering Championships results. Anna has however struggled with an injury through winter and spring 2006.
• Lena Eliasson (result history) is the weakest of the swedish girl based on previous results, but she has nevertheless a bronze medal from the sprint distance at the Open Nordic Champs in Notodden, Norway last year, and thus also is a medal candidate at WOC in Denmark.
• Helena Jansson (result history) is first year senior this year, and has several medals from JWOC (not all included in the results history yet). One time top 10 (8th middle) and 11th position (sprint) at EOC in Estonia this spring was a very good start of her senior career - and gives good promises for the future.

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Orienteering is a sport where you run in the forest and find your way between control points using a map.
(C) 2006 Jan Kocbach