Event 5 of the Orienteering Superseries was a relook at the challenging Waioneke map
first used for the Oceania Champs on Thursday. The closely-planted pine trees, steep
slopes and patches of intricate contours on the hilltops took their toll again,
and only the best emerged without large time penalties.
In contrast to the two previous events the weather was fine and warm.
Visiting Swede Anders Axenborg led last series' titleholder Carsten Jorgensen by a minute, with Chris Forne and Mark Lawson a couple of minutes behind. Top Australians Dave Shepherd and Rob Walter, two more Scandinavians, and reliable Karl Dravitzki and Bill Edwards filled out the top ten. But these were the only runners within 10min of the winning pace.
Rachel Smith won the womens race by 5sec from evergreen Tania Robinson, with
Australian Tracy Bluett a minute further back. The rest of the top ten contained
five more kiwi women and two further Aussies, with nine of them within 10min of the
leaders.
Tania Robinson and Chris Forne remain in the lead, threatened by Rachel Smith and Karl Dravitzki , especially after the lowest three scores are discounted. Bivouac Southerly Storm had a great day picking up as many points as the other two regions combined, and has overtaken Central Magic; but MacNut Northerners is still in the lead. Results have been loaded.
The next round of the series will be contested at the national championship in Hawkes Bay at Easter.