The Champs, being held in Lausanne, Switzerland started off with the Sprint distance qualifications in the morning, with Michael and Jeremy Green representing the country. The qualifcation area, which comprised the Lausanne Polytechnic University campus and his surrounds, perfectly suited Michael in his Men's C-Heat. The course of 4.0km and 16 controls was very fast and not too technically challenging, very similar to conditions back home. An easy start allowed Michael to get into a smooth tempo which he maintained throughout, only making about 25 seconds of mistakes in total. This was good enough to place him in 11th position on the heat, with the top 15 going through to the final. Michael ran a time of 13:56, 35 seconds down from heat winner Frederic Tranchand of France and only 7 seconds before the 15th place cut-off.
Michael Crone in the Sprint Qualification
photo by World of O / Photo Gallery
Jeremy, competing in the B-Heat in the Sprint Qualification, placed 25th in a time of 15:31, some 2:08 down on the heat winner, Mattias Merz of Switzerland, and 1:04 behind the 15th place qualification line. Jeremy was still very happy with his performance, which was a personal best placing for him at a World Champs.
Michael's qualification meant he was the 15th starter in the 45-man Sprint final on Saturday afternoon. A tough start saw Michael loosing time early on, with two additional mistakes further on in the course. "Running in the Sprint Final was a good experience for me. My goal was qualification into the final. I didn't really have a plan for it once I got there". Michael's final position was 43rd, with a time of 18:41, about 3 minutes behind the winner, Matthias Kyburz of Switzerland. South Africa's best performance in a Sprint remains Martin Terry in 2003 in Rapperswil, Switzerland. There Martin placed 32nd, with Qualifications in Sprint only being introduced a year later in 2004. Since then, South Africa's best performance has been a 21st place in a Qualification.
Michael Crone coming down the finish chute in the Sprint Final
photo by World of O / Photo Gallery
Michael is aged 21 years old and is only competing in his 2nd World Champs. Last year, in Aix-Les-Bains in France, he placed 25th in the sprint qualification race, over 4 minutes off the final qualification place. His improvement in the last 12 months have caught many off guard and his qualification into the final in 2012 has surprised most of the orienteering world.
"In the future I can do better in the Final. I made the final, even though I had mistakes, so I know I can repeat this qualification performance. It wasn't a fluke." says Michael. His split times in the final back this up, indicating that a top 30 position is very possible if he reduces the number of mistakes. "Next time I will prepare for both qualification and final!" he says.
Michael's team mates and the South African spectator contingent at World Champs are ecstatic with his performance. Jeremy Green notes: "We always knew he'd make it into the Sprint Final. We were just expecting it to be next year in 2013 and not this year! We thought he would have needed just a little more experience before he broke through, but we're thrilled to have been wrong."
Jeremy Green punching the 8th control in the Sprint Qualification
photo by World of O / Photo Gallery
The South African Team at WOC 2012 comprises of Michael Crone, Jeremy Green and Nicholas Mulder. The next race is the Long Distance Qualification on Sunday afternoon, with Nicholas Mulder and Jeremy Green competing. On Monday, all three South African men will run in the Middle Distance Qualification.
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