Martin Johansson (orienteering b. 1984)
Encyclopedia
Martin Johansson (born September 26, 1984) is a Swedish
orienteering
and ski-orienteering
competitor
, medallist from the orienteering world championships, and a 2004 Junior World Champion
in relay. He received bronze medal
s in sprint at the World Orienteering Championships
in Kiev
in 2007 and in Olomouc
in 2008.
of 15,000 people in Dalarna
province of Sweden
. He had broken a clavicle
at birth, a minor defect which he still carries. Johansson participated in various sports as a child, including hockey
, track and field athletics, skiing
and table tennis
. Hockey was his favorite sport, but as he was small and skinny (just over 50 kg at the age of 16), he had to abandon it at the age of 13-14. He switched to skiing in winter and running in summer, combining both with orienteering and training in the club IFK Mora. Extensive training gradually his built muscles and success in local competitions, both in ski and foot orienteering. Overtraining
put him out of competitions for 6 month before the 2004 season. However, he recovered and won silver in ski relay in Vuokatti 2004 Junior World Orienteering Championship
, as well as gold in relay and silver in long distance at the Gdansk 2004 Junior World foot Orienteering Championship
.
. French Thierry Gueorgiou
was a favorite and was leading the race, but made an orienting mistake and fell behind Johansson. At the end of the race, Johansson got injured in an event witnessed by nobody, including Johansson himself. He described it as he was running downhill and suddenly something hit him in a quadriceps. He made a few steps, but had to stop and found a big tree branch sticking out of his leg. He fell and panicked anticipating a splash of blood, but saw Gueorgiou coming and yelled for help. Gueorgiou stopped and was soon joined by Norwegian Anders Nordberg
and Czech Michal Smola
. Johansson told them to keep running, but they refused and started working as a team. Nordberg ran to the finish line for help, whereas Gueorgiou and Smola removed the branch, which pierced the leg to a 12-cm depth, and harnessed the wound using Gueorgiou's shirt and the straps of his GPS
device. Then they carried Johansson, who passed out several times in the meantime, to the road where an ambulance car was waiting. After Johansson was on his way to the hospital, Smola, Gueorgiou and Nordberg continued the course. They jogged together finishing at 25th, 26th, and 27th places.
All of this was witnessed by spectators worldwide who were following the men's relay race, via GPS tracking
shown live on the Internet. Foot orienteering races are cross-country, off-rail races and the preferred route choice
often is through forests. Thus spectators have limited access on course. Spectators who were watching a map of the race in progress witnessed the strange behavior of the four leaders' GPS tracks – the tracks stopped. Soon Nordberg’s track started moving again, but it went to the road and then to the finish area. Viewer-controlled replays of the race are available for analysis, in a RouteGadget web tool.
Interpretation of International Orienteering Federation
(IOF) competition rules was at issue: rule 26.13 states "The organiser must void a competition if at any point it becomes clear that circumstances have arisen which make the competition unfair or dangerous for the competitors. After much deliberation on whether or not to void the relay, the organizers declared that it stood. IOF president Åke Jacobson told Gueorgiou, Nordberg and Smola "What you did today is a great example of extreme sportsmanship and fair play. You are an inspiration for all of us!" As an orienteering relay team has 3 runners, orienteers have dubbed Gueorgiou, Nordberg and Smola "Team Fairplay".
Johansson underwent an operation to clean the infection in his wound. The operation went successfully and already on August 26, 2009 he returned home, praising Hungarian doctors.
in Vuokatti, Finland
in 2004, apart from the silver in relay, Johansson also finished 5th in the long distance and 6th in the short distance disciplines. As a strong cross-country skier, he participated in the 2006 Vasaloppet
– a 90-km race held annually in northwestern Dalarna
, Sweden
, the oldest and one of the biggest cross-country ski marathon
in the world. He was in the front group, but finished around 50th place. He also represented Sweden at the cross-country skiing World Championship in 2007.
Johansson participated in the European Orienteering Championship (foot) in Ventspils Latvia (2008) and was 5th in the long distance, 12th in sprint and 6th in relay. When free from sport, Johansson is studying construction engineering. He has two sisters and one brother.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
and ski-orienteering
Ski-orienteering
Ski orienteering is a cross-country skiing endurance winter racing sport and one of the four orienteering disciplines recognized by the IOF...
competitor
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
, medallist from the orienteering world championships, and a 2004 Junior World Champion
Junior World Orienteering Championships
The Junior World Orienteering Championships are an orienteering competition held every year. They were first held in 1990. Entry is open to national teams aged 20 and below as of 31 December in the year of competition...
in relay. He received bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
s in sprint at the World Orienteering Championships
World Orienteering Championships
The World Orienteering Championships were first held in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2003 . Since 2003, competitions have been held annually....
in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 2007 and in Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
in 2008.
Early life
Johansson was born on September 26, 1984 in Avesta, a localityUrban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
of 15,000 people in Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
province of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. He had broken a clavicle
Clavicle
In human anatomy, the clavicle or collar bone is a long bone of short length that serves as a strut between the scapula and the sternum. It is the only long bone in body that lies horizontally...
at birth, a minor defect which he still carries. Johansson participated in various sports as a child, including hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, track and field athletics, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
. Hockey was his favorite sport, but as he was small and skinny (just over 50 kg at the age of 16), he had to abandon it at the age of 13-14. He switched to skiing in winter and running in summer, combining both with orienteering and training in the club IFK Mora. Extensive training gradually his built muscles and success in local competitions, both in ski and foot orienteering. Overtraining
Overtraining
Overtraining is a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness...
put him out of competitions for 6 month before the 2004 season. However, he recovered and won silver in ski relay in Vuokatti 2004 Junior World Orienteering Championship
Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships
The Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships were first held in 1994. Since 1998, competitions have been held annually. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation .-Host Towns/Cities:...
, as well as gold in relay and silver in long distance at the Gdansk 2004 Junior World foot Orienteering Championship
Junior World Orienteering Championships
The Junior World Orienteering Championships are an orienteering competition held every year. They were first held in 1990. Entry is open to national teams aged 20 and below as of 31 December in the year of competition...
.
Foot orienteering
In 2005, Johansson debuted in adult competitions. Although he was a Swedish champion in sprint, he was not included into the Swedish team for the 2005 World Orienteering Championship (WOC), however he was competing for the team in other events. At the Kiev 2007 WOC he had collapsed on the long distance run, but amazingly recovered to win bronze medal in the sprint just a few days after that. Before the next WOC in Olomouc, 2008 he had a serious toe injury, but recovered and again won a bronze medal in sprint.2009 WOC injury
His injuries did not stop and the most serious one came during the 2009 WOC in Miskolc, Hungary. He finished 5th in sprint and his next discipline was relay on August 21. The Swedish team was battling for the victory with France and Norway, and each team put the strongest runner on the last legLeg (rallying)
In rallying, a leg is each day of the whole event. For example, as of 2005 each WRC event lasts over 3 legs - from Friday over Saturday to Sunday ....
. French Thierry Gueorgiou
Thierry Gueorgiou
Thierry Gueorgiou is a French orienteer who has won more than 20 gold medals in international competitions, including the World Orienteering Championships middle distance event seven times: 2003–2005, 2007–2009 and 2011.-Clubs:Gueorgiou runs for two orienteering clubs, the French NO St-Etienne...
was a favorite and was leading the race, but made an orienting mistake and fell behind Johansson. At the end of the race, Johansson got injured in an event witnessed by nobody, including Johansson himself. He described it as he was running downhill and suddenly something hit him in a quadriceps. He made a few steps, but had to stop and found a big tree branch sticking out of his leg. He fell and panicked anticipating a splash of blood, but saw Gueorgiou coming and yelled for help. Gueorgiou stopped and was soon joined by Norwegian Anders Nordberg
Anders Nordberg
Anders Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor. He received a bronze medal at the 2004 World Orienteering Championship, and again a bronze medal in 2007. He finished second in the overall World Cup 2007.-Biography:...
and Czech Michal Smola
Michal Smola
Michal Smola is a Czech orienteering competitor, silver medalist from the world championships, and junior world champion. He became Junior World Champion in the short distance in Nove Mesto na Morave in 2000, and with the Czech team in relay in 2000 and in 2001...
. Johansson told them to keep running, but they refused and started working as a team. Nordberg ran to the finish line for help, whereas Gueorgiou and Smola removed the branch, which pierced the leg to a 12-cm depth, and harnessed the wound using Gueorgiou's shirt and the straps of his GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
device. Then they carried Johansson, who passed out several times in the meantime, to the road where an ambulance car was waiting. After Johansson was on his way to the hospital, Smola, Gueorgiou and Nordberg continued the course. They jogged together finishing at 25th, 26th, and 27th places.
All of this was witnessed by spectators worldwide who were following the men's relay race, via GPS tracking
GPS tracking
A GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the Global Positioning System to determine the precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record the position of the asset at regular intervals...
shown live on the Internet. Foot orienteering races are cross-country, off-rail races and the preferred route choice
Route choice (orienteering)
Route choice is a tactic in orienteering and related sports such as rogaining and adventure racing. These sports involve navigation from one control point to the next and, in most cases, the choice of route is left to the competitor. This is provided the rules permit route choice and the course...
often is through forests. Thus spectators have limited access on course. Spectators who were watching a map of the race in progress witnessed the strange behavior of the four leaders' GPS tracks – the tracks stopped. Soon Nordberg’s track started moving again, but it went to the road and then to the finish area. Viewer-controlled replays of the race are available for analysis, in a RouteGadget web tool.
Interpretation of International Orienteering Federation
International Orienteering Federation
The International Orienteering Federation is the international governing body of the sport of orienteering. The IOF head office is located in Helsinki, Finland....
(IOF) competition rules was at issue: rule 26.13 states "The organiser must void a competition if at any point it becomes clear that circumstances have arisen which make the competition unfair or dangerous for the competitors. After much deliberation on whether or not to void the relay, the organizers declared that it stood. IOF president Åke Jacobson told Gueorgiou, Nordberg and Smola "What you did today is a great example of extreme sportsmanship and fair play. You are an inspiration for all of us!" As an orienteering relay team has 3 runners, orienteers have dubbed Gueorgiou, Nordberg and Smola "Team Fairplay".
Johansson underwent an operation to clean the infection in his wound. The operation went successfully and already on August 26, 2009 he returned home, praising Hungarian doctors.
Ski
At the Junior World Ski Orienteering ChampionshipsJunior World Ski Orienteering Championships
The Junior World Ski Orienteering Championships were first held in 1994. Since 1998, competitions have been held annually. Representative countries must be members of the International Orienteering Federation .-Host Towns/Cities:...
in Vuokatti, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in 2004, apart from the silver in relay, Johansson also finished 5th in the long distance and 6th in the short distance disciplines. As a strong cross-country skier, he participated in the 2006 Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet
Vasaloppet is an annual long distance cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March in northwestern Dalarna, Sweden between the village of Sälen and town of Mora. It is the oldest, one of the longest, and in popular consideration the biggest cross-country ski race in the world...
– a 90-km race held annually in northwestern Dalarna
Dalarna
', English exonym: Dalecarlia, is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. Another English language form established in literature is the Dales. Places involving the element Dalecarlia exist in the United States....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the oldest and one of the biggest cross-country ski marathon
Ski marathon
A ski marathon is a long distance cross-country skiing race, usually more than 40 kilometers. Skiers can use either classic or freestyle techniques depending on the rules of the race.Races include:...
in the world. He was in the front group, but finished around 50th place. He also represented Sweden at the cross-country skiing World Championship in 2007.
Trivia
As of August 28, 2009, Johansson was placed 7th at the World foot-orienteering ranking qualification. His best results were achieved at the World Cups – two bronze medals in sprint and long run in 2007 and a gold medal the long run in Oslo 2009. His best WOC results are two bronze medals in sprint, and his best WOC achievements in other disciplines are more modest – 9th in the long run and 8th in relay, both in Olomouc 2008. He did not compete in the WOC middle run.Johansson participated in the European Orienteering Championship (foot) in Ventspils Latvia (2008) and was 5th in the long distance, 12th in sprint and 6th in relay. When free from sport, Johansson is studying construction engineering. He has two sisters and one brother.