The Third Šumava Stage

The third stage of the Czech O-Tour summer series in Vyšší Brod offered competitors a challenging test on the middle distance. After two physically grueling days, the bodies of many orienteers started to feel the fatigue, so the shorter middle distance was welcomed by many. However, Šumava once again proved it can be demanding. It showed no mercy to the competitors, serving up an extremely hilly terrain.

The main dominant feature of Saturday’s stage was the rocky hilltop. It was exactly here that the course setters placed several tricky controls that tested precise map reading. Complex rock formations and extremely technical sections demanded maximum concentration and quick decision making under physical pressure. A minor mistake or an underestimation of the final approach to the control could result in a fatal loss of time here.

Just like on Thursday, Saturday was marked by a fantastic orienteering atmosphere, highlighted by the concurrently running World Cup, where a historic success was born on the elite runners’ middle distance! Domestic fans watching on screens and directly in the arena had a massive reason to celebrate. Tomáš Křivda ran for victory with a fantastic performance, and Lucie Dittrichová claimed an excellent 3rd place!

The evening program in the monastery gardens in Vyšší Brod was crowned by the awards ceremony for the third stage of the Czech O-Tour and World Cup. During the early evening, the highly anticipated draw for the Czech Orienteering fan jersey competition also took place. All it took was a little effort. Just sharing your Czech O-Tour experiences on Instagram and tagging the series account. The lucky winner will thus wear a brand new fan jersey for Sunday’s final stage!

Winners of selected categories in today’s stage:

D18A: The demanding middle distance among the older girls was dominated by Matilda Tomášková in a time of 37:14, with a lead of more than four minutes over the runner-up.

D65: The category of experienced female runners was confidently dominated by Iva Knapová (28:57) with a lead of more than two minutes.

H21A: In the men’s A category, Vojtěch Netuka claimed the gold medal with a time of 48:58, beating the second-place Jan Kolín by less than a minute.

HDR: Even in the children’s category, the youngest orienteers and their accompaniment fought a thrilling race. Although the fastest one achieved a time of 26:35, in this category, every child who successfully reaches the finish line is a winner.

Results E3

Livelox E3