Marquita Gelderman can still win elite races which have high technical demands
(like the recent Auckland Championship), so she will influence those races she
chooses to run. But Penny Kane has the strongest potential for improvement.
| Orienteering Superseries: Prospects for 2004 | |
| Series Manager, MAPsport Services, 5 Atahu Gr, Lower Hutt, NZ Ph (04) 566 2645 | |
Smith and Robinson have to be the womens favourites.
Smith if she can afford the money, she has just
completed her environmental masters degree and is hunting for work in an employer's market.
Robinson if she can afford the time, she has a 5-year-old son and a graphic design job
which saw her miss the last test match in Australia when it clashed with a business trip.
Marquita Gelderman can still win elite races which have high technical demands
(like the recent Auckland Championship), so she will influence those races she
chooses to run. But Penny Kane has the strongest potential for improvement.
The lack of Carsten Jorgensen at the final round robbed the last series of an
exciting battle, and the Dane went on to fourth on the World Championship in the
long distance. Titleholder Rob Jessop will also be challenged by the find of 2003 Chris
Forne, and Karl Dravitzki returning from leg surgery.
The form of Jason Markham, who
won the extra-long final race in the 2003 series, is unknown; he pulled out of the
World Champs team with injury, and hasn't been seen much at local events since.
After flirting with Wellington Rachel Smith has moved back to Christchurch, restoring the dominance which Southerly Storm showed last time. The Central Raiders was never going to be the leading region even with Smith and the return of Dravitzki, but the change would have let Northern Knights close up to Storm. Still, I wouldn't write off the Raiders, who besides Markham have the reliable Bill Edwards, the occasionally brilliant Stu Barr, and the rising Claire Paterson.