Discussion: Great story :)

More money than sense?

Compulsive traveller. Compulsive achiever. Lawyer. WOC Champion for a father. I suspect there was no escape for Annika. I may once have had as much energy in my younger days, but I can't remember it.

She wasn't too impressed at being beaten by Susanne, of whom she "had never heard" at WMOC 2011 in Hungary.

Well, I admire such long term dedication to a dream.

Enjoyed it too. I was there in 1985, when Anniken Kringstad (sp?) won. She won several WOC's in a row. Did she run part of the race with a broken compass, or am I getting my stories mixed?

I think you are referring to the Australian Madeline Sevoir (sp?) who broke her only compass but still managed to finish 17th. Thats from the OA magazine on our dining room table. In 1985 I was blissfully unaware of WOC.

Madeleine lives near me in Benalla and, although she doesn't O any more, is still incredibly proud of that great achievement (but also stll wonders 'what might have been' if her compass had worked). It is nice she has been remembered and l will tell her when l next see her.
Also, what a great result from Susanne in 2011.

Quite a few "what might have beens" from the women's race in 1985; Jenny Bourne and Carolyn Jackson were both on track for potential places around 10th-12th before major time losses in the Bermuda Triangle section of the last few controls.

Annichen may have had a functioning compass but was still a bit all over the place; she was so much faster than the rest of the field (she'd won the previous WOC by 7 minutes) that she was able to get away with it.