interview with Thierry GUEORGIOU

Interview with Thierry Gueorgiou: Interesting answers on the world cup season 2007, goals, training program, ...

1. Do you know "De laatste post", and do you have any idea what it means?

Yes, I know this web-site and I have already been looking some news on it. I am not really sure about the exact meaning of “De laatste post”. Maybe, “the latest news” or even “the last control”, isn’t it?!

that's correct. De laatste post means both "the latest news" and "the last control"

2. What do you know about orienteering in Belgium?

I have been several times orienteering in Belgium, mostly for international competitions. I was there for JWOC in '97, World-Cup 2002 opening round and also for a junior match previously. Of course, I also know a couple of national team runners since they are taking part to most of the main French competitions. I would say that Belgian terrains are quite interesting especially if we take in consideration the size of Belgium. Sand terrains in the north part of Belgium are very nice.

3. How did you experience the orient-show?

I loved it! It was more than only a show. I expected a quite simple orienteering there, but finally it was a really challenging competition, with all the things that I like in our sport: mentally demanding, opponents’ pressure, and technical challenges. I also think that this type of format can be a sort of revolution for areas where “natural” orienteering is not possible or not that interesting.

4. What do you think about the Olympic dream of IOF, what do you think is the best format for orienteering to make it an Olympic discipline?

If we consider that Olympic Games is not there to declare who is the very best in the World, but to sell even more Coca-cola bottles. Then, the Orient’Show would definitively be the most attractive event for Medias, Sponsors and so on. I simply hope that I will still like to be an orienteer in ten years and that all the concessions that we have to do to be more attractive would not make me lost my passion for this sport.Of course, it would be fun to go to Olympic Games as an orienteer instead of as a spectator. But I definitively know that if orienteering would become an Olympic sport, which I doubt, it would not be for my generation of runners.

5. What is your opinion about the new WC-rules 2007?

Honestly, I have not been looking carefully the World-Cup 2007 rules and program, mainly because I don’t like the new system. Since 2002, the value of World-Cups, in my opinion, decreases year after year. Hopefully I have been able to win the overall World-Cup this year and therefore I don’t have to go again and again to catch this first place. Thus, I have no special ambition for next year and will probably skip most of these competitions.
I have also been following the debate for the places allocation per nations. It is not an easy task, because if we want to be “media-attractive”, we need the bests at our best events. That’s for sure. But we also need a World wide spread sport. Honestly, I like to be in tight battle of the Finnish national championships where the amounts of good runners is amazing, and where qualification races are already a big threat. But, I also liked to see the smiles of the Uruguayan, Argentinean, Ecuadorian as well as the Angolan in the last CISM.

6. What is your winter training program?

I am slowly starting to increase my training amount since my two weeks of break after the season. I will keep the basis of my last winters. It means about half of my trainings hours will be orienteering. My results in WOC made me inspired too. The theory is always the same, you have to be prepared when the season will begin. And the key, is to prepare yourself in a way that no one will understand, because you don’t think too many people are willing to pay that price. The tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you…"

Foto: WOC 2006

7. How do you combine orienteering with study/work?

At the moment, I am almost a full time orienteer. I have still to do a six months long training-course to get my Master of Ecology and Biology. But at the moment, I have another project which will take the next five months in my schedule. \nAnyway, the priority is always my next training. When I wake-up in the morning, the first question of the day is: ”which training I have planned?”

8. What are your goals for 2007?

In general: to continue my dream of life… Keep doing my deep passion, on the pursuit of the “even better”. Never stop learning. But at the moment, I have only one thought which excites my neurons: the middle distance of the next WOC. I want to show a better style than this year in this special race. I think that I will also be specially prepared for two others races in the season, the Tiomila and the Jukola.

9. Who is for you the O-man and O-woman of the year? And what is your O-race of the year?

Hummm, for the man, it is difficult to say, since I never try to compare me and the others. But I have been impressed by several runners this year, among them: Jani Lakanen, Emil Wingstedt, Jarkko Huovila and Daniel Hubmann. For the O-woman, it is, of course, Simone Niggli the superwoman of the year. But I have to say, that we really don’t have to trivialize her performances year after year. I am sure that it is not as easy as it seems. She is just unbelievable to keep her motivation at this level and set new limits after each race. But I have also been impressed, this year, by the skillful Minna Kauppi as well as the talented Hanny Allston. My best race this year was, maybe, the long distance in the World-Cup finals. I had the right strategy and feeling for the terrain from the start to the end. My Tiomila run wasn’t bad either."

10. What was your best (J)WOC-party ever? And why was it the best?

That’s a good question… I'm sure that it was not in Belgium for JWOC 1997; the only thing that I remember from this party was that the music volume was higher than ever. I would have been deaf if I would have stayed ten minutes in the dancing room. I have good memories from 1997, in the World Championships in Grimstad. I was only 18 year’s old, and I spend lot of time looking at my past idols!"

11. What do you want for Christmas?

Nothing special. Keep on dreaming and trying to achieve them is surely what I would like the most. But who could offer this to me? The world is full of people who are waiting for someone to come along and motivate them to be the kind of people they wish they could be…These people are waiting for a bus on a street where no busses pass. But hopefully I can find one person who can define success in my life – and that’s me!

12. What's your favorite O-website besides "delaatstepost.blogspot.com"?

My start page is tero.fr, of course! But it seems that the webmaster is a really lazy person. Updates aren’t made that often. More seriously, World of O’ is definitively the best starting page for every orienteer.

Thierry, Thanks for the interview. Best wishes for 2007, and may the best man win.