Orienteering: One title for Bay on national champs opening day

Canterbury's Juliet Freeman (left) and Hawke's Bay's Tessa Burns check their maps during yesterday's sprint segment of the national orienteering championships in Hastings. Photo/Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay's former world championships competitor Amber Morrison made a winning return to the national orienteering championship scene yesterday.

In her first nationals since 2013, Morrison, 30, won the elite women's sprint on day one of the four-day nationals which have attracted 500 orienteers to Hawke's Bay.

"It was as if she hadn't been away from the nationals ... she won by almost a minute," Morrison's brother and event manager Duncan Morrison said as he reflected on his sister's victory in the sprint staged in Hastings.

Morrison, who is only competing in the nationals because they are in the Bay, finished ahead of Aucklander Renee Beveridge and the entrant she thought would be her closest rival, Nelson's Georgia Whitla. Before the nationals Morrison, who competed at two senior world champs and one junior worlds earlier in her orienteering career which began as a 7-year-old, said she was targeting the sprint and long-course individual titles.

She was Hawke's Bay's sole title winner yesterday.

Switzerland's Florian Schneider won the men's elite sprint title. Aucklander Gene Beveridge, a brother of Renee's, was second and fellow Aucklander Matt Ogden third.
Hawke's Bay's Will Tidswell, one of the favourites in the M16 division, did well to finish second. His sister Jenna Tidswell, one of the favourites in the W18 division, finished fourth.

One of the oldest Hawke's Bay starters, Bunny Rathbone, finished second by 11 seconds in the women's 80-plus grade. Geoff Morrison, an uncle of Amber and Duncan, finished second in the men's 60-plus grade.

Other Bay entrants to make the podium were Max Franks and Faye McDonald in their respective 10-years-and-under boys and women's 60-plus divisions. Hawke's Bay's Tessa Burns missed a third placing by one second in her W16 division.

Today's middle course segment of the champs will be staged at Phillips Field on the outskirts of Havelock North. Central Hawke's Bay's Hautope will host tomorrow's long course segment and Monday's interclub relays.