The second stage as the main highlight of Friday

Friday’s program took the competitors into an uncompromising foothill forest, where the royal discipline long distance awaited the. Fortunately, the weather was kinder to the competitors, although it was still warm, the running conditions in the forest were much more reasonable.

The classic Šumava terrain gave no one anything for free. The courses were full of long steep hills and stony sections that demanded maximum physical effort and perfect concentration. The route to the finish line was enlivened for some competitors by a larger stream, but the main test of endurance was simply the rugged slopes, which tested the already tired legs of absolutely everyone.

An interesting feature of Friday’s race was the fact that some of the Czech O-Tour categories finished in the arena at the exact same finish line that belonged to the elite runners during the World Cup race the dat before. The world elite had a rest day today, so although the finish straight lacked yesterday’s roaring atmosphere, running a championship finish was still a great experience for many. In the arena facilities, the competitors were then delighted by the accompanying program, where a lighthearted orienteering palm reading made its premiere. The idea caught on, and it is quite possible that we will encounter this unconventional pre-race hint more often.

After an exhausting day on the hills, well deserved glory awaits the best. In the evening, the awards ceremony for both today’s and yesterday’s first stage took place in the monastery gardens in Vyšší Brod.

Winners of selected categories in today’s stage:

D14A: Among the girls, Lucie Ptáčková ran for the victory in an excellent time of 33:12, beating the runner-up by a mere 25 seconds.

D45A: The gold medal and first place were claimed by the experienced Olga Šimerková in a time of 53:56, with a lead of slightly over one minute ahead of her pursuers.

H21A: The demanding long distance in strong men’s competition was confidently dominated by Miroslav Kovář (76:59), who defeated the runner-up by almost 5 minutes.

H12: The younger boys category was dominated by Michal Vítek, who flew through his course in a winning time of 20:16.

Results E2

Livelox E2

Selection of photos from E2