THERE was disappointment, delight and determination on display at the Tasmanian individual orienteering championships hosted by the Esk Valley Orienteering Club at St Helens.
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Neither of the fancied Nankervis brothers, Brodie and Ashley, were able to complete the 11.5-kilometre open course on the rough granite terrain of Mt Pearson without mishap, leaving the door open for Ian Lawford of the Victorian Eureka Club to win, followed by Tasmanian champion Jarrah Day, of Hobart, and his father Jeremy.
On the 5.6km course, Darryl Smith, of Wellington Ranges, (men’s 55) was four minutes clear of the field, while the anticipated clash between Australopers clubmates David Marshall and Bert Elson in the men’s 60 class, saw Marshall by 10 minutes.
As expected, Eureka’s Jenny Bourne, a multiple gold medallist at world masters championships, won the women’s 50 class (67.10), closely followed by talented Tasmanians Chris Brown (EVOC, 72.23), Sue Hancock (WROC, 74.35) and Christine Marshall (AL, 79.53).
The surprise win of the day came from Launceston’s Ken McLean, who recorded 67.33 on the 7km men’s 50 course, 14 minutes ahead of Jeff Dunn, of Hobart, and junior representative Anna Dowling (85.24).
Many of the contestants recorded extended finishing times, with few withdrawals, despite the technical difficulty of the area.
With such fine orienteering terrain, Tasmanians have some advantage coming into the Oceania championships and World Cup round being staged over 10 days around the North-East by Orienteering Tasmania in January 2015.
From January 2-11, the international series of events will be held in Launceston, Avoca, Swansea and Coles Bay, finishing in St Helens.