From the other side of the world
comes today the words of Lizzie Ingham. The 9th place in Sprint WOC
2012, makes her the most valuable athlete from New Zealand so far,
but a new season is about to start and the expectations and ambitions
go far beyond this result. Let's see what says and thinks a Kiwi
orienteer living, studying and training in Australia.
The first question is always the
easiest: Who is Lizzie Ingham? What a Kiwi orienteer living, training
and studying in Australia looks like?
Lizzie Ingham (L. I.) - I was
born and raised Wellington, which orienteers now know is the most
beautiful city in the world! My childhood was spent training by
running up hills and trying to stand up in the Wellington wind. Both
of which were invaluable in the development of my infamous game
face... I first tasted European orienteering when I traveled with my
parents to WMOC in 2004. From there I raced 4 JWOCs from 2005 to
2008, with good results for a Kiwi (at the time!), but nothing
spectacular. I made the move over to Australia and what is now my
second home, Canberra, in 2011. Primarily the move was to study
towards my PhD at the Australian National University, but also for
the great orienteering community in Canberra, and the increased level
of competition that living in Aussie offered. The move has helped me
make great improvements in my orienteering, and slight improvements
in my game face, leading to top 20 results at the last 3 WOCs and
hopefully better to come!
How old were you when first met
orienteering? Why orienteering?
L. I. - Haha, I was taken to my
first orienteering event at the tender age of 3 days, on my way home
from the hospital for the first time! That was just to be shown off
to my parent's clubmates, but yeah, I've been orienteering
practically since I could walk. Both of my parents were, and still
are, keen orienteers. My Mum (Gillian) represented New Zealand at WOC
in the 80's, and my parents get to WMOC once every 2 years or so. So
I didn't have much choice in whether I took up orienteering or not!
What's kept me in the sport, however, is the all round challenge that
it offers - physically, mentally and technically, every time you head
out on a map. That and the immensely supportive and friendly global
community.
I believe that you're about to
finish your PhD in an academic area related to geology. How do you
combine your studies with orienteering on high level?
L. I. - Well, I'm meant to
finish by the end of this year, that's the aim anyway, but we'll see
about that! I'm a geophysicist, and study geomagnetism in particular
- how the Earth's magnetic field behaves. It's a tricky balance
between full time study and training. It's much the same as having a
full time job, although the hours are a bit more flexible thankfully.
However it's often impossible to fit in all the training I'd like, so
it becomes about deciding which sessions are the most important and
I'll get the most benefit from. During the week, training gets fitted
around university work anyway possible, be it in the morning, lunch
break, or the evening. During the weekends I try and leave work
behind if possible and focus fully on training. I try to get three
quality training days during the week, and two big days at the
weekend. The other two days are easier training wise, but with a
heavier work load at university! I love what I do with my PhD, but I
can't wait to finish and see what I can do with more time to focus on
orienteering!
In July 2012, you achieved in
Lausanne the best result ever of an orienteer from New Zealand in a
World Championship. Would you like to tell me something about your
9th position in Sprint?
L. I. - The sprint in Lausanne
was a new experience, and pretty special for me. I topped my
qualification heat, so was second to last start with just Annika
starting behind me. That was something different, being about the
last person left in quarantine! The race itself was pretty average, I
missed seeing a gap in a wall, so took the much slower route choice
on the long leg. Then started cramping and leaked time in the second
half of the course. By the time I finished, all focus was on Simone,
so it wasn't until well after I finished that I found out my actual
result - off the smart phone of one of the Americans as the results
weren't easy to get in the athletes area! So it was a little
anticlimatic, but very satisfying to squeeze into the top 10 despite
what was an average run. It was only afterwards that I realised it
was a NZ best. But with the upcoming group of kiwis, hopefully my
record won't last long anyway!
Your start of the last season
couldn't be more promising, even more because you achieved the 3rd
position in a World Cup at home ground. What meant to you the result,
of course, but also the World Cup in New Zealand?
L. I. - That day in Wellington
was simply amazing. My goal was always to make the podium, but I
never dared to hope too much that it might happen! To pull it off at
home was pretty perfect, 3rd place has never felt so good! The best
feeling was standing on the podium and seeing the massive grins on
all of the kiwi's faces. It definitely wasn't just me up on the
podium, but all NZ orienteers. Over all, having the World Cup races
in New Zealand was just awesome, I think we really did ourselves
proud. It was invaluable in showing our juniors just what there is to
aim for, and motivating them. And it was nice to see how the
Europeans coped with having to travel across the world and then race!
And what about the rest of the
season? Was the 14th position in Sprint WOC too far from your goals?
L. I. - Yeah... the rest of the
season didn't really go as I'd have liked! I had a great first half
of the year in the Australian National League, and was feeling in
good form heading to the World Champs. However, as with 2011 and
2012, I could only afford a week and a bit off university work before
WOC to prepare in local terrain. Added onto that, the three girls in
the NZ team were asked to run all three individual distances and the
relay to try and ensure us maximum points for the new WOC
qualification scheme. It completely backfired. WOC 2013 was pretty
much a disaster, not just for me, but for the entire NZ team I think.
We were under-prepared and over pressured. The sprint day was the
exception to a bad week. I was comfortable in the qualification and
then had a good first half of the final. But as with my previous two
WOC sprint finals, I chose the wrong route choice on one leg, and it
cost me. That and missing the entrance to the stadium on the last
leg! So 14th was a little disappointing, but I know that if I get the
right route choice, and can hold my nerve to the finish, I'll be in
that top 6. Hopefully that will come with more experience in high
pressure races, something we just don't get down here in Australia
and NZ.
Orienteering in New Zealand: What to
say?
L. I. - I think elite
orienteering in New Zealand is looking the strongest that it has in a
long time. We have some really promising juniors coming through, and
have highly motivated groups of both juniors and elites training
together in different regions. And there's some exciting plans in the
pipelines to get a better structure and mentoring system going within
the different levels of our national squads. Unfortunately, despite
our best efforts, orienteering is a very minor sport in New Zealand,
and pretty well out of the public eye. The main sports in NZ are
rugby union (obviously!), soccer, cricket and netball. Those sports,
and olympic sports that we do well at as a nation, such as cycling
and rowing, suck up the vast majority of government sports funding.
So, as a small sport in a small country, NZ orienteering really is
run on a shoe string budget. Even seeing what support the Australian
team gets makes me green with envy! But everyone has their hurdles to
overcome, be it work, distance, family commitments or money. If you
love what you do, you make it work no matter what the challenges. And
I think NZ's improved results on the world stage prove that it is
possible, even if you're entirely self-funded and on the opposite
side of the world!
As for some name dropping?! Matt Ogden
is in good form, and looking to move to Europe this year, so keep an
eye out! Nick Hann is going from strength to strength following a
year living in Norway, and will be one to watch at JWOC this year,
alongside Tim Robertson who still has a year or three left at JWOC to
improve on his bronze medal last year! His sister, Laura, makes the
move up to elites this year, and has been beating me in recent Sprint
races. So chances are she'll be racing come July and WOC. And this
year sees the exciting return of Greta Knarston, who's been saving
her pennies the last couple of years for a move to Europe and a WOC
campaign. It's shaping up to be a good year for NZ orienteers!
Living in a country so many
thousands of miles far away from Europe, having to face trips often
lasting more than 24 hours, suffering the effects of the jetlag and
still be able to perform highly. Where is the secret?
L. I. - Haha. Well, the thing is
not to dwell on it, just take the travel as an extra challenge and
get on with things! But having said that, any extra day you can give
yourself to get over the flight is invaluable. I've been lucky that
I've managed to fit WOC trips in with work trips a couple of times,
which is a different sort of challenge, but means at least your brain
and body is in the right time zone come race week. I think it's
important to not expect too much of yourself while you recover from
the travel- something that can be very tricky when you're trying to
overcome jetlag, accustom yourself to terrain, and taper for WOC, all
at the same time! Is there a secret? I don't know. Experience I
guess?
You've finished a Training Camp in
Tasmania, with the New Zealand national team, closing to the place
where World Cup 2015 will be. Can you tell me something about it?
L. I. - The camp was actually run by
Orienteering Australia for their high performance squad, and they
very kindly let a few of us kiwi's tag along! Given our remoteness
from Europe and the rest of the orienteering world, shared NZ-AUS
camps are vital I think, so hopefully we'll see more of them from
here on! The camp was really great. The terrain in Tassie is
something special, and very varied - gold mining, granite,
spur-gully. It's also very physical, even more so than say Norway I
reckon. So it was invaluable to get a solid week of training in it
prior to World Cup 2015. It's also Matt Ogden's new favourite terrain
in Australasia - that's a pretty high accolade! I know it's a long
way for Europeans to come, but I hope the national teams do make the
effort to make it to Tassie 2015, as even the terrain alone will be
well worth it.
How is it going your preparation?
What are your projects and main goals for the season?
L. I. - The camp in Tassie was
the kickstart to my preparation for the season. A bit later than most
start, I know, but following WOC 2013 I had a glute injury which laid
me low for a few months. Since then I've been focusing on my PhD, and
then in December I got pretty sick... So I'm rearing to get back into
proper training now! The main project this season is of course WOC.
The difference this year is that I'm suspending my PhD for a couple
of months, and will be in Europe from late May, along with Greta
Knartston, to prepare. My last two WOCs have been pretty
disappointing, so I've decided to take the time out from work to
focus on getting it right this year. While I'm over I'll be looking
to race Venla/Jukola, and hopefully I can find a suitable club and
plan for a full time move to Europe in 2015. The goal for WOC would
have to be a podium finish, middle or sprint, I'll take either! On a
team level, the sprint relay holds a great opportunity for NZ, I
think we could do really well there. More important however, is
supporting each other, and performing as a team, to get ourselves up
into the tier two nations for 2015.
The Orienteering Achievement of
2013: What was your choice? And what will be in 2014?
L. I. - Surely I voted for
myself?! I can't remember! No, it had to be Simone. To dominate a
sport so comprehensively, for so long, and be just a great person all
round. Watching her finale in the World Cup final was emotional - and
that was just watching from a couch on the other side of the world! I
can only imagine how amazing the atmosphere was to be there in
person. Similarly Marten Bostrom, gold medal at a home WOC. The
baseball stadium just went off! For 2014, I can't wait to see how the
Swiss girls go stepping out of Simone's shadow. I'm not really one
for picking ones to watch - but I'd love to see some more surprises
in the results as we've seen the last couple of years with the likes
of Novikov and Bertuks, and the Austrian sprint team.
In the beginning of a new year, I
would like to ask you to make a wish.
L. I. - Clear and smart decision
making, be it by athletes on the course, or governing bodies in the
board room. And perhaps for the Australian summer to cool down a bit
so I can get out and train more!
Joaquim Margarido
