Also the 19 years old Junior World Orienteering Champion Veronika Kalinina will be in Sardinia in October 2019. Veronika (Nika) had a great success at JWOC 2019 in Denmark where she won the Gold medal in Long distance and got Silver in Relay. Two amazing medals which goes to add to the Gold medal in Relay at JWOC 2018 in Relay.

We had the chance to have a short interview with the young Russian talent to know a little more about her and how she decided to join us in Sardinia.

PWT: Hello Nika, first of all, congratulation for the great performance at JWOC this year. How was the experience and the feelings after winning the Gold medal in Long distance?

VK:Thank you very much for the nice words about JWOC! I’m glad that I showed everything I was capable of and that my ideal orienteering at that moment was the best one in the world. Of course it can’t be described with usual words, how I felt after gold medal, it was something unbelievable and I couldn’t answer all the phone calls and messages, but on the other hand I was glad with my performance and would be as happy, even if it was not the first place. The key is to enjoy, and then the results comes!

PWT: We are really happy and honoured to have you with us, what made you chose Sardinia? And how did you know about the event there?

VK: I’m honored to be there as well. My friend Katerina from Russia started telling me about Sardinia orienteering week already in May, then I saw lots of good advertising, Katerina continued to make me go with her, and of course I wanted to go to a new interesting place, especially with sun and sea and beautiful Italy. And I took my final decision and I couldn’t let this opportunity go!

PWT: Will this be your first time in Italy or have you been there before?

VK: I’ve been in Italy several times, but never on Sardinia. I especially remember WMOC 2013, where my parents participated and I was running spectator races. Competitions were held on a height 1500-2200 meters above the sea level and we lived in amazing Sestriere with mountains around.

PWT: What are your expectations for the event?

VK: I am really looking forward to this week, because I know it will be more than just orienteering: I’ll get to know lots of new interesting people, will visit beautiful places, open something new for myself and hopefully have many enjoyable moments!

PWT: Beside orienteering do you have other hobbies (such as photography, hiking and so on) which you think that you can practise and experience during your stay in Sardinia?

VK: Well I’m keen on English, I’m an English tutor and just love speaking this language. I think I’ll practice it a lot there 😉

Thank you very much Nika, we are looking forward to meet you and all the other runners in Sardinia.