For orienteer Matthias Kyburz, who ran the Paris Olympic marathon, it was incredible to compete with endurance running icons Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele.
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will show the final races of the orienteering world cup season from Nilsiä in Kuopio on its channels. Keskimatka on Saturday on TV2 at 12:20 p.m. Messages on Sunday at 10:50 am.
The international orienteering season is drawing to a close, but one of the absolute top names in the sport Matthias Kyburz started his World Cup career only on Thursday in Nilsiä with a long distance race.
The 34-year-old Swiss athlete bet on the marathon at the beginning of the season and in April broke the Olympic limit by almost half a minute on his first attempt. The 2:07.44 clocked by Kyburz clearly beat, for example by Janne Holmén Finnish record 2.10.46.
In the Olympic marathon, the orienteer was 30th. Competing with the best endurance runners in the world made an indelible impression on Kyburz.
– At the starting line, the feeling was incredible when there were runners like Kenya’s next to me Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopia Kenenisa Bekele. They were my childhood idols, and now I got to be on the same page with them. It was really special, Kyburz tells Urheilu.
However, Kyburz says that he missed his bread during his marathon experiment.
– I watched all the World Cup competitions. It’s great to be with the national team again. When I was training for a marathon, I was truly alone. Orienteering is an individual sport, but in it I feel like I belong to a team.
Kyburz’s return to the international orienteering competitions went slowly, as he was on Thursday Miika Kirmulan 31st of the long-distance race won.
Makes Finland glow
Kyburz is an eight-time orienteering world champion, but he still lacks long-distance World Championship gold. That’s what he plans to aim for next year at the World Championships in Kuopio.
The Swiss has a good time in Finland, where the sport culture and media visibility of orienteering are in a different category than in the alpine country. He praises the terrains of Finland and other Nordic countries, which have traditionally been difficult for the Swiss.
– As a Swiss orienteer, competing in Finland motivates me. There are a lot of good forests and challenges here. I want to beat all Finns, Swedes and Norwegians right here.
Kyburz likes Finland to such an extent that he named his wife I’m screeching with her daughter born in January Only.
– Sarina works in a hospital. One patient apparently had a sister whose name was Aino. After work, the wife came home and said she heard a cute name. That’s how it happened.
– He certainly wouldn’t have such a name without my love for Finland. We’ve gotten a lot of compliments on the name. However, in Switzerland, the name ending with the letter O is problematic. Many people think he is a boy. Then you have to say she’s a girl, Kyburz laughs.
Orienteers run hard
The World Cup in Kuopio in July is Kyburz’s main goal next season. Before that, however, he plans to try his wings again at the marathon in early 2025, and possibly also at the end of the next orienteering season in late autumn.
– I want to try if I can run even faster. I only have one timed marathon behind me, and I want to know if I already reached my maximum in my first marathon or if I can still improve, Kyburz thinks.
– The Olympics were more about tactics. We ran there in hot conditions and there were meters of ascent along the route.
The orienteer’s grip on the marathon has been noticed in Switzerland. Kyburz hopes that his results will help to understand what kind of fitness it takes to compete at the top level with a map in hand.
– Before, it was always said that “yeah, you’re the world champion in orienteering, but it’s just orienteering”. When I ran the marathon in 2:07.44, everyone was like “wow”. It’s easy to understand that it’s a good time.
– I heard earlier that running in the forest doesn’t look fast at all, sometimes you even stop and climb slowly. Now we can see that top orienteers are really top athletes.
The running power of the Finnish orienteers was presented last week Tuomas Heikkiläwho set the domestic best time of the 10,000 meter season with 29.18.21 in Lahti on Saturday.
will show the final races of the orienteering world cup season from Nilsia in Kuopio on its channels. Keskimatka on Saturday on TV2 at 12:20 p.m. Messages on Sunday at 10:50 am.