PWT 2001 - eget VM !
Fra PWT-generalen Anders Vestergaard har jeg fået følgende pressemeddelelse (men læs også nærmere på de 2 nedenstående links http://www.alternativet.nu/alternativet.asp?id=1023 og http://www.dn.se/DNet/dyn/Crosslink.dyn/d,127/a,147588 ):
Fra PWT-generalen Anders Vestergaard har jeg fået følgende pressemeddelelse (men læs også nærmere på de 2 nedenstående links http://www.alternativet.nu/alternativet.asp?id=1023 og http://www.dn.se/DNet/dyn/Crosslink.dyn/d,127/a,147588 ):
"PWT Orienteering Press Release 31.1.2001:
From Pardubice to Seoul with Park World Tour 2001
Orienteering action for more participants and a wider public
* The Olympic surroundings of Seoul will play host to the Park World Tourfinal in 2001. The "World Champion" in park orienteering will be crowned after a series starting with open qualifications for all nations in the Czech Republic in May, through a race at the classic skiing venue of Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway, in June, and a final round via Thailand and China to the final race in Korea in October.
A record number of 227 orienteers from 41 nations and all five continents took part in the 2000 Park World Tour, which was praised by the elite runners and reached out to more than 125 countries world-wide in TV coverage totalling over 500 minutes.
The organising team continues to develop the concept and is now providing five men and five women from each country with the chance to qualify for the 2001 Tour, with more than SEK 500,000 in prize money to the top runners.
Champions' Week in the Czech Republic
The season starts in Chrudim/Pardubice, Czech Republic, with open qualifications on Monday, 7 May and the first race of the Tour on Tuesday,8 May. On Sunday, 6 May, all nations will compete for the Mixed Relay
Championship with teams consisting of two men and two women.
Orienteering has a high status in the Czech Republic which hosted the first ever PWT final in 1996 as well as a thrilling race with great crowds
at Olomouc in 1998. The beautiful cities of Chrudim and Pardubice, 100 km east of Prague, are expected to set another landmark in PWT development in a warm European spring of 2001.
Huge crowds expected at Holmenkollen
Huge crowds are also sure to join in at the historical Norwegian sports venue of Holmenkollen on Sunday 24 June. Then, the venue of the 1952
Olympic Winter Games and several cross country, biathlon and ski-jumping World Championships, will host a summer festival which looks set to attract more than 10 000 spectators.
The Park World Tour race will be part of the festival and will be covered by the Norwegian Broadcasting Company (NRK) in a special TV broadcast.
Exotic adventures and excitement in Asia
The best orienteers after the two first races will qualify for the PWT Golden Final, which will comprise five exciting races in exotic Asian surroundings from 20 to 28 October. With a rapidly growing interest for orienteering, Thailand is now inviting the world elite to Bangkok for the second consecutive year, and two new host cities will be discovered in China: Guangzhou near Hong Kong, and the old capital Nanjing.
Challenging orienteering courses, picturesque surroundings and spectacular cultural celebrations have impressed the orienteers in Asia. Korea - this year's newcomer on the PWT map - will be no exception. Preparations are
under way to offer some amazing experiences in the former Olympic host city of Seoul, which will welcome the orienteering world elite for the first
time.
Kolkkala and Omeltchenko
- the reigning Champions
Reeta Kolkkala of Finland and Yuri Omelchenko, Ukraine are the defending PWT Champions and now look likely to be challenged by an increasing number of top athletes lead by the Norwegian super-couple of Hanne Staff and Bjørnar Valstad - the runners-up in 2000.
The 1999 women's champion, Gunilla Svärd of Sweden, is back on track after having her first baby, and new names like Germany's Alexander Lubina - who won a podium position soon after his PWT debut last year - are expected to add more flavour to the sixth Park World Tour season.
For the first time since the PWT kick-off in 1996, no races are scheduled for Finland or Sweden. With a growing interest in other parts of Europe as well as on other continents, the Park World Tour continues to promote the world-wide development of orienteering.
PWT 2001 Schedule
1) Chrudim/Pardubice, Czech Republic 8/5
(Open Qualifications 7/5, Mixed Relay 6/5)
2) Oslo, Norway 24/6
3) Bangkok, Thailand 20/10
4) Guangzhou, China 23/10
5) Nanjing, China 25/10
6) Seoul, Korea 27/10
7) Seoul, Korea 28/10
PWT 2001 Facts
- A series of orienteering races, set in urban areas, city centres and/or parks - Challenging 3 km courses, designed and adapted also for spectators and media
- Winning times of approximately 15 minutes (women) and 12 minutes (men)
- All races of the season count in the overall PWT results
- Prize money is awarded to the 6 best in each race and the 10 best overall on the Tour.
PWT 2001 Participants
1) 5 women + 5 men from all nations are invited to the open qualifications 7/5
- 30 + 30 will run in the A-final and first PWT race of the season on 8/5
- A maximum of 2 + 2 runners per nation among the 8 best in PWT 2000 will be directly qualified to the A-final on 8/5:
Women: 1) Reeta Kolkkala FIN, 2) Hanne Staff NOR, 3) Jenny Johansson SWE,
4) Maria Sandström SWE, 5) Kaisa Salminen FIN, 6) Elisabeth Ingvaldsen NOR,
7) Lucie Böhm AUT.
Men: 1) Yuri Omeltchenko UKR, 2) Bjørnar Valstad NOR, 3) Odin Tellesbø NOR,
4) Jarkko Huovila FIN, 5) Grant Bluett AUS, 6) Carsten Jørgensen DEN, 7)
Thomas Bührer SUI, 8) Mikhail Mamlejev RUS.
2) 25 + 25 runners will take part in race 2 on 24/6
- The 20 + 20 best on 8/5 will be automatically qualified.
3) 20 + 20 runners will take part in race 3-7, the Golden Final 20-28/10
- The 13 + 13 best in the overall standings after races 1 & 2 will be
automatically qualified.
PWT Information
- President:
Anders Vestergård, Tel +358 50 5905950, e-mail
- Vice President:
Jörgen Mårtensson, Tel +46 70 5481307, e-mail
PWT Homepage
www.pwt.org