The athletes were quarantined in the Samakov Arena – a large complex with several levels. The warm up area was inside on the basement floor and the prestart was also inside the building. The athletes could hear the thunder outside and the earlier runners had the advantage of dry conditions. The heavy rain had spectators running for shelter and the tents could not cope with the deluge. The midfield runners did well to cope with the testing & slippery conditions. The ‘Samakov’ map had mixed urban and park areas.

Cameron Tier had a super quick run but unfortunately had a mispunch. Kayla Fairbairn was disqualified for stepping on to the road before the allowed crossing point and Helena Barnes also cut an out of bounds corner and was disqualified. Alice Tilley put in a great performance to finish in the top half of the women’s field.

Tim Robertson ran later in the day and the worst of the storm was through, his strategy was to hit out at the first few controls fast and to run as if the conditions were dry underfoot. When he finished, his winning margin was 6 seconds ahead of 2013 Long Distance champion Piotr Parfianowicz from Poland. We still had to wait 15-20 minutes for the last starters to confirm his gold medal. Needless to say a loud cheer went up from the NZ & Aussie members of the crowd when the results were confirmed.

It was a proud and exciting moment for the team at the opening ceremony when the medals were presented. Although the NZ flag was displayed ‘back to front’ it was wonderful to hear our national anthem played and see Tim at the top of the podium.

Sprint Results
Men 3.7km
1st Tim Robertson 14.41
21st Nick Hann 15.40
69th Shamus Morrison 16.26
103 Ed Cory-Wright 17.37
107 Callum Herries 17.40
Cameron Tier mp

Women 3.1km
1st Sara Hagstrom SWE 13.15
59th Alice Tilley 15.23
68th Becky Gray 15.48
70th Sonia Hollands 16.06
98th Sophie Harrison 16.55
Kayla Fairbairn dsq
Helena Barnes dsq

Orienteering NZ Media Release: Robertson Wins Gold – Media Release 23 July 2014