After completion of the 24-event TORUS Advent Calendar, a well-known name sits at the top of the final results list in the Advanced class: Marit Wiksell, Sweden, current World Champion in TempO, finshed with a narrow victory over Marcello Lambertini, Italy. The club competition was won by Polisportiva Masi, Italy, and Italy was the best nation.
Marit Wiksell was named IOF TrailO Athlete of the Year in 2019 after her commanding performance in the World TrailO Championships TempO Final in Portugal, where she finished ahead by 53 seconds, a significant margin in this context. She has won international medals in the PreO format too, but it is in TempO that she excels, and she has the impressive record of 5th, 4th, 4th and 1st in the four World Championship TempO finals 2016-2019. It’s clear that for Wiksell, working with a computer screen instead of being out in the terrain is no disadvantage!
Marit Wiksell in TempO action at the 2016 World TrailO Championships
A competitor’s best 18 results were used for the final tally. Consistency was the key to Wiksell’s success.
Sharp eyes and a quick brain needed!
TempO, whether in real or virtual form, requires for success a quick assessment of the map and the terrain it is showing. In virtual TempO, the picture comes on screen a couple of seconds before the map showing the first task. There are always six flags in view, and the circle on the map is positioned where one of these flags is placed (answer A to F starting from the left-most flag in the picture) – or where there isn’t a flag (answer Z). For each picture, five tasks are set.
Here is a picture from Day 9, with tasks numbered 2 and 3 shown below it. See how long it takes you to choose your answer! Correct answers are shown at the bottom of the article.
Competitors from 46 nations
There were participants from as many as 46 nations; the most successful nation was Italy, followed by Finland, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain and Czech Republic. Best club was Polisportiva Masi, Italy, followed by LS37, Finland and Manchester & District OC, Great Britain. Full individual, club and country results can be found on the Torus website https://torus.yq.cz.
In all, more than 1,100 orienteers have now registered for taking part in TORUS competitions. You can join to take part at any time, and there are many practice events available too: go to https://torus.yq.cz to get under way.
Top three (Advanced class) – best 18 results
- Marit Wiksell SWE 1760.51 points
- Marcello Lambertini ITA 1759.65
- Alessio Tenani ITA 1756.57
Answers: task 2 – D; task 3 – Z (the tree circled on the map is not in the picture). Marit Wiksell, winner that day, used just 17 seconds to correctly answer all 5 tasks at this station!