Young orienteering athletes from four different continents are competing at the ISF (International School Sport Federation) Gymnasiade held in Bahrain these days.
The games in the small Arab state on the Southwestern coast of the Arabian Gulf includes 25 different sport disciplines and has participation of of approximately 5.000 athletes representing around 70 countries.
The School Sports Games “Gymnasiade” are held every two years under the supervision of the International School Sport Federation, and the Kingdom of Bahrain has the honor of hosting the 11th edition. The first Gymnasiade was held in Brussels in 1990.
Within ISF, Orienteering was first organised as a separate event at School World Championships only, without other sports present. But with the implementation into the Gymnasiade, our sport is a part of big family and our athletes enjoy the program.
Bahrain is a very unique location for orienteering and the Gymnasiade races are the first ever orienteering races taking place in the country.
After the picturesque opening ceremony, the first race took place on Saturday in the Zoo, where Iryna Klymeniuk (UKR) and Vlad Percec (ROU) took the wins in the U18 Women’s and Men’s class respectively.
The participants must be born in the years from 2006-2008 and athletes from Brazil, China, Croatia, Hong Kong China, Morocco, Philippines, Romania and Ukraine are all present to compete.
Sandy middle race
The second day of competition featured a middle-distance event on Monday. The terrain was mostly sandy, making it difficult to run, but that didn’t deter strong Ukrainian runner Iryna Klymeniuk, who secured victory in the girls’ race once again.
In the boys’ race, Ervin Nandor Vigh (ROU) pushed himself to the limit, bouncing back from a less-than-stellar performance in the sprint race to deliver an almost flawless run this time. Both winners noted that the race was challenging; maintaining a high speed while navigating the bushes and keeping track of the controls required intense focus and effort.
The prize-giving ceremony was attended by Abdulla Abdulsalam from the Bahrain Sports Committee and Sophie Bordet, a member of the ISF Executive Committee and Chair of the Integrity Committee. Additionally, she is a member of the IOF Ethics Panel.
Mixed team race on Tuesday
On the third day, unofficial mixed team competitions were held. In these competitions, a boy from one country teamed up with a girl from another. They had to cooperate, align strategy, and run to the finish line together. This friendly event allowed young athletes to get to know one another and build new relationships, which will hopefully last as they progress to the elite level.
Mr. Abdulla Abdulsalam has expressed his interest in the development of orienteering in Bahrain. In IOF, we look forward to future cooperation, educational seminars, and upcoming competitions in this new area for orienteering. Prior to the Gymnasiade in Bahrain, there was little knowledge of our sport.
To prepare for the event, experienced organisers from Bulgaria came to help. Orienteering Technical Director Todor Pedev selected a suitable terrain, while Petar Doganov created the map and managed all IT aspects of the competitions. Vency Venev and Anton Gochev were responsible for the control points. This example shows us that, with local support, we can transfer knowledge of orienteering to countries that have never hosted races or training sessions before.
Sprint results, Top 6
Women:
1 Iryna Klymeniuk, UKR 11:53
2 Man Hei Meri Yau, HKG 12:27
3 Yiu Yiu, HKG 12:47
4 Shenyuan Zhang, CHN 12:50
5 Ema Jurican, CRO 14:01
6 Yao Xiao, CHN 14:43
Men:
1 Vlad Percec, ROU 11:15
2 Alok Woo HKG 11:22
3 Ervin Nandor Vigh ROU 11:26
4 Volodymyr Horashko, UKR 11:53
5 Tiago Evaristo Filho, BRA 12:41
6 Lucas David Tamas, ROU 12:43
Middle results, Top 6
Women:
1 Iryna Klymeniuk, UKR 24:50
2 Shenyuan Zhang, CHN 27:39
3 Yiu Yiu, HKG 27:41
4 Paola Rako, CRO 27:54
5 Man Hei Meri Yau, HKG 29:39
6 Yao Xiao, CHN 30:04
Men:
1 Ervin Nandor Vigh ROU 24:26
2 Alok Woo HKG 25:37
3 Vlad Percec, ROU 26:32
4 Luiz Felipe Pennafort, BRA 26:53
5 Volodymyr Horashko, UKR 26:59
6 Lucas David Tamas, ROU 28:04
Teams competition results, Top 6
Women:
1 Hong Kong China 5141 points
2 China 5002 points
3 Croatia 4557 points
4 Brazil 3748 points
5 Morocco 2416 points
6 Ukraine 2000 points
Men:
1 Hong Kong China 4752 points
2 Brazil 4692 points
3 Romania 3905 points
4 Morocco 2334 points
5 Ukraine 1852 points
6 Philippines 533 points
Photos taken by: Damir Gobec
Maps:
Sprint
Middle:
