Interview of the month: The Lundanes brothers

Every month Delaatstepost's top-journalist Toon Melis is going to interview some of the top stars in Orienteering. As first interview we have an exclusive interview with the LUNDANES BROTHERS. Enjoy!

Toon: Do you know "De laatste post" and do you have any idea what it means?
Olav: I have read some of the articles from "De laatste post" published in English on WorldOfO, so I know the page quite well. I guess "De laatste post" means "the last control", because the Dutch language is always a mess between Norwegian, German and English :).
Ivar: I’ve been following the site for some years, and I remember Thierry’s answer to the same question, and if I’m not wrong it means both “the last control” and “the latest news”.

Toon: What do you know about Belgian Orienteering?
Olav: I don`t know too much about Belgian Orienteering, but I have seen quite many maps, and they are normally very flat, but I guess there should be some hills in the Ardennes. Of course you don't have too many terrains, and they are not as challenging as we are used to in Norway. I have also read a bit about the 5-days event around Christmas, and I hope to compete there one day.
Ivar: I can’t say that I know a lot about Belgian Orienteering, but I have seen many maps and I know that you have some good runners (WOC finalists). I also know most of the guys of the Belgian junior team, so I’ve got some “inside information” of how orienteering works in Belgium ;). I think that the main difference between Belgian orienteering and Norwegian orienteering is that we can train in every forest we want whenever we want to, while you guys need to get access, and that there are many more orienteers in Norway.

Toon: You both went to the World Champs this year! Ivar to JWOC and Olav to WOC. Are you satisfied with the results and races?
Olav: Overall, I am satisfied with my WOC. The long distance was a big disappointment, but the middle and relay were good races. This year there was nothing I could do with Thierry.
Ivar: For me JWOC was only a big disappointment. I got sick before the sprint and missed out of the long distance, which I had prepared very well for. I was never able to recover before the middle and the relay, so I was not able to perform at the level I wanted to. Before the championship I wanted to fight for medals, but I was not even close to it...

Toon: I have been training in your home terrain ''Blindheimsfjellet" and still I am not a top orienteer? Help! What do you recommend me to do, to become one?
Olav: My best advice is to travel a lot to competitions and trainings in Scandinavia from an early age. It is also important to use the opportunities you have in Belgium as good as possible. I would guess that it is possible to become the best compass runner in the world even if you live in Belgian.
Ivar: I think that all orienteers needs to travel a lot to different kind of terrains to develop as an orienteer. For a Belgian orienteer I would say that training and competitions in Scandinavia and Finland would be important, because most of the terrains here are so different from what you have. For us in Scandinavia, it is important to go to southern and eastern Europe because we do not have terrains like that here. To be the best, you must learn to master all kinds of terrain.

Toon: You have some other members in the family as well, Ingrid (13 yearsold) and Bjørn (18 years old). Do you think they will make it in theNorwegian national team as well in the future?
Olav: I think all my brothers and sisters have great potential, but it requires a lot of hard work to success. Bjørn is also a good cross-countryskier, so maybe he wants to focus on that instead of orienteering.
Ivar: Bjørn is strong physically, and he has some podium results in the national junior cup this year, so he’s on a high level. If he’s keeping up the good work, I think it would be possible for him to run JWOC in two years. My sisters are still very young, but they have showed some talent already. Everything is possible if you work hard enough. “If you believe it, you can do it”...
Toon: What are your goals for the next years?
Olav: For the next year I want to continue to develop as an orienteer. My goal in WOC is of course to stand on the top!
Ivar: I think it will be really hard to qualify for WOC next year, but I hope to develop as an orienteer both technically and physically. Hopefully I will be stronger for every year, and take my level closer to Olav’s level step by step. I think WOC in Italy 2014 will suit me very well...

Toon: You both have moved from Ålesund now. Which is the best place to live for becoming the best orienteer: Stockholm or Halden?
Olav: Of course Halden is the best place ;). To be serious, I think we have a big amount of high quality maps, many trainings with many good runners, good climate and a great relay team. In total I think it makes Halden the best training environment in the world.
Ivar: I would say that Halden probably is the best place in the world for an orienteer. They have a lot of great maps, a lot of interesting terrain, many top runners, good climate for orienteering (the best in Norway at least) and a very strong organisation in Halden Skiklubb. Stockholm is different, but still very good. There is a lot of maps here, but most of them are quite small and very “urban” with a lot of paths. The terrain in Halden is more “wild”, and personally I think that is more interesting and more fun. However, you are running faster in the Stockholm terrain, and for me it’s important to develop in “fast orienteering”, so for me I think Stockholm is better right now ;).

Toon: How do you see orienteering in 50 years? What kind of evolutions will happen?
Olav: If we look 50 years back, there has been a lot of changes since 1960. In 50 years I think we have bigger scale on the maps, the map readingskills is even more important, more nations attending orienteering, a lot of new gadgets that helps the spectator to follow the competition(headcams etc.) and a lot more nations taking part in WOC.
Ivar: I’m pretty sure the technology will develop, and I guess the use of GPS and Headcams will increase. Maybe the map will no longer be on paper, but on some kind of electronic board, where you can Zoom in and out as you want, with built-in compass? That would be quite cool, and stop the discussion about map scale! Hopefully it will also still be some real orienteering, and not just shit like knock-out sprints, normal sprints, mass start races and chasing start races in parks or urban forests...

Toon: Now some more private (but not less interesting) questions. You'reboth single.. Does your future girlfriend have to be an orienteer aswell?
Olav: I don't think I can set such high standards...
Ivar: That’s not the most important thing...

Toon: What is the best (J)WOC party you have ever been to and why?
Olav: Maybe the JWOC banquet in 2006, but I don't have so many reasons. I am not a big fan of banquets..
Ivar: I’ve only been to one JWOC, and even if my results and races from the competitions were bad, the party was great. By far the best party I’ve ever been to...


Olav and Ivar in action: Olav winning the long distance at woc on homsoil and Ivar on his way to the jwocparty!