Olav Lundanes is one of the most talented Norwegian orienteers.  He is only 22 years old, and already has many good results behind him. In his junior years, Olav was the best in the world. Now he aims to be the best also as a senior.

“Many people believe that 4th and 7th places in a WOC is kind of disappointment, but I’m really happy with my results and performance” – Olav says. “The sprint-result was over my expectations, but I’ve built good self-confidence through relevant training.” – he continues.

“On the long distance I achieved my goal, but I lost some time” – Lundanes explains. “I had the chance to fight for a medal, but I’m happy with the 7th place in my debut” – he says.

Olav in action. Photo: Jan Kocbach / WorldOfO.com

Lundanes used a lot of time to prepare well for WOC. The physical plan was simple – top form at the Nordic Champs and the WOC. Technically he was more precise, and that’s why the results are so good.
“I want to perform well every time I’m competing” – Olav says. “That’s why I’m giving everything every time I’m participating in a competition”

“If I’m concentrated just on WOC, it won’t be the best for my development” – Lundanes continues. “And I believe it’s really good for me to make good performances during the whole year” – he says.

Trondheim – the big goal
”The goal is to win a medal in Trondheim next year” – Lundanes says. “But I also want to run good through the rest of the season. With podium-result this year, I think I have the possibility to do well next year” – he continues.
“It will be very different to run in Trondheim, it’s not as fast as the last three WOCs” – the youngster from Ålesund explains. Olav is known to be big specialist in such terrains. “The long distance is 3-4 km shorter, some special strength in the legs is needed” – he continues. “And technically – it will be more difficult than many people think!” – he exclaims.

“I’m training in a typical Norwegian way – a lot of easy training, and 2-3 hard sessions a week.” – Olav explains. “During the past years I’ve been doing the hard sessions with a map, so it’s probably only one interval session a week”.

”A typical day for me includes two trainings, GPS-analyses, planning and reading different O-websites.” – Olav says. “I’m also watching sports and American TV-series.” – he smiles.

On our question about his idol through the years, he answers smart: ”We can learn something from everybody who wins something, that’s why I took something from many sportsmen”. The Norwegian cross-country skier Erling Jevne is one of them, according to Olav.

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Olav Lundanes' website
Lundanes at WorldOfO Runners