There was much antipodean excitement at the JWOC last week with Matt Ogden winning the Middle Distance race, and bringing the first Gold medal ever in this event at JWOC for New Zealand. The Australian team managed one runner in the A final, with Ian Lawford finishing a personally satisfying week for him in the individual races, with a 27th place. NSW runner Kasimir Gregory was 32 in the B final, and Alex Massey 9th in the C final. The Australian women were all racing in the Middle B final and Garingal's Michele Dawson had a great run to take the best Australian women's placing of 17th.
There was more excitement in the final event of the week with the relays, with a terrific performance by the Australian men coming 11th overall in a competition which saw seconds separately runners' placings in each leg. The Australian men's B team also had a great run coming 28th out of a field of 59. The women's team had a steady race with all members of the team well matched and coming in 31st overall. More reporting available on the Orienteering Australia website. Full results on the JWOC website