The South American Orienteering Championships 2024, held in Colombia from the 12th to 14th October, provided a strong statement about orienteering in Colombia and the continent.
The championships had record participation with orienteers from 25 different nations around the world making their way to the event center in Marinilla in the region of Antioquia near Medellín. The sprint competition was held in the very colourful town of Guatapé which provided high class sprint terrain to go along with a great map and course setting by the organisers. The town center was quiet in the morning giving fair and safe conditions for the race and bustling in the afternoon so that the participants could enjoy the Colombian atmosphere.
Cleber Vidal (BRA) during Saturday’s SAOC Sprint. Photos by Sebastian Osorio and Catherine Higuita
The long distance race was held in natural area of Santa Elena where the organisers had set courses which utilized the various route choices in an optimal way. The forest was in places impenetrable which meant that choosing when to make shortcuts between the paths and optimizing climb were essential for success. Again, the mapping was very good and represented the challenges well and this was a very physically challenging competition with deserving champions.
The middle distance was held in another unique area on another great map. Most courses were challenged by mostly fast open and semi-open areas with detailed contours for an enjoyable technical challenge. The elite courses added an area with challenging route choices and much more elevation change.
The Antioquia Orienteering Federation, led by Event Director Santiago Isaza Hurtago, put on a very well-organised event. The opening ceremony, awards ceremonies and closing were all held in the main square of Marinilla with great support by the municipality. The atmosphere was something very special for an orienteering event and showed off Colombia and South America in its most colourful way.
IOF President Tom Hollowell (right) took part in SAOC.
In the elite classes of the South American Championships Brazilian athletes showed off some impressive performances and claimed all six gold medals.
The opening sprint saw Mariana Ostetto win the women’s course by 1:05 minutes ahead of compatriots Juliane Heinrichs Peres and Esther Marnet further 32 seconds behind in third. Leandro Nascimento defended his gold from two years ago in the men’s class with an even bigger margin of 1:13 minutes to Ariel Quim de Almeida while Gelson Andrey Zago Togni took the bronze. All Brazilians on the podiums.
The following day, defending champion Cleber Vidal (BRA) won the men’s long distance title by more than 14 minutes to silver medalist Gelson Andrey Zago Togni (BRA), while Antonio Changoluisa took home the first championship medal for Equador in third position. Brazil’s women made another solid mark on the long results by occupying the top 5 spots. Juliane Heinrichs Peres won ahead of defending champion Priscilla Vieira Goncalves and Esther Marnet claimed another bronze.
It all worked out for Marnet on Monday’s Middle distance, where she won by a 1:48 minute margin to Heinrichs Peres and Priscilla Vieira Goncalves took bronze. Douglas Schmitz (BRA) took a commanding two-minute win in the men’s class. The gold medalists from the previous two days, Leandro Nascimento and Cleber Vidal won silver and bronze respectively.