TempO, which requires reasoning speed, seems to agree with the Finns. First ever gold medal was won by Pinja Mäkinen. Also the bronze medal was won by a Finn, Lauri Kontkanen. Silver medal went to young Swede Marit Wiksell, who climbed to the podium after a fifth place in the qualification.
Pinja Mäkinen found the competition, which was organized in the magnificient scenery of Vuokatinvaara, surprisingly difficult.
"I would have expected more control stations in open areas, but there was only one. It was quite intricate."
Pinja Mäkinen has an orienteering background. She describes herself as precise but slow. In TempO there is no need to run between control stations, but you need to hurry when trying to find a solution.
"I had a good head start in the qualification; therefore my tactic in the final was to avoid rushing. The qualification was important as it had more control stations and as a result the time difference grew."
TempO
1 Pinja Mäkinen Finland
2 Marit Wiksell Sweden
3 Lauri Kontkanen Finland
4 Antti Rusanen Finland
5 Martin Jullum Norway
6 Vitaliy Kyrychenko Ukraine
In addition to competitions, Mäkinen trains Trail-O using trainings organised by her farther.
"Training distances is also important for Trail-O participants", Mäkinen recommends.
One mistake in TempO costs 30 seconds. An additional complication is that none of the controls might not be correct, Mäkinen says.