Maja Alm won her fourth sprint gold in a row and Daniel Hubmann his second at Nokian Tyres World Orienteering Championships in Latvia.
The reigning World Champion Maja Alm, Denmark, managed to win the Sprint in central Riga today. She had a bad start and made a mistake already on her way to the first control.
– It didn’t look as I expected, and I got a bit stressed, says Maja Alm.
She was 10 seconds behind after 1,2 kilometres of running, but after a really strong finish, she won with 16 seconds to spare ahead of Tove Alexandersson, Sweden.
Judith Wyder, Switzerland was third, 27 seconds after Maja Alm.
Switzerland’s Daniel Hubmann won the tight men’s race, only one second ahead of Tim Robertson, New Zeeland. Switzerland were also in third place, with Andreas Kyburz, 20 seconds behind. Both Robertson and Kyburz took their first World Orienteering Championships medal in today’s Sprint. Hubmann took his 15th WOC medal and 8th gold in rainy Riga. He finished early and had to wait for the others to finish, following the split times closely.
– Of course I was nervous, and I knew it could be a medal or not, says Daniel Hubmann. In Sprint, only seconds can stand between you and the podium. He managed to win a gold, his second WOC Sprint gold in a row.
The World Orienteering Championships continue with Sprint Relay tomorrow.