HS:n miesten joukkue vahvistuu entisestään, kun Itävallan maajoukkueessa vakionimenenä jo vuosia esiintynyt Mathias Peter liittyy mukaan ryhmään. MM-kisoissa Mathias on parhaimmillaan juossut MM-kisoissa sijalle 19, ja viesteissä hänet on nähty juoksemassa kärkisijoilla ruotsalaisen Södertälje-Nykvarn Orienteringin joukkueissa.
Suomeen ja Helsinkiin Mathiaksen tuo ensi vuoden MM-kisat Kuopiossa, joihin hän haluaa valmistautua mahdollisimman lähellä kisamaastoja. Samalla hän suorittaa opintojaan Aalto-yliopistossa vaihto-opiskelijana kevätlukukauden ajan. Mathias kisaa keväällä HS:n joukossa molemmat suurviestit sekä suuren osan muistakin kovista kotimaisista kisoista, joskin joitakin hän joutuu jättämään väliin Itävallan maajoukkueleirityksen takia.
Tervetuloa Helsinkiin ja seuraamme!
Pieni Q & A Mathiakselta:
What is your background in orienteering?
I started orienteering in school when I was 12 years old. Since then, I always liked to travel around with my club-mates to train and compete in unknown forests and cities in and around Austria. I soon got a member of the Austrian National Youth/Junior Team and started to compete at international championships like EYOC and JWOC, where competitors from nations like Finland showed me how much training must be done, before I can call myself a good orienteer.
A few years later, after competing at four World Orienteering Championships, several World Cup Rounds, eight 10-Mila and eight Jukola events and a lot more national and international races all around the world, the aim to be as good as possible still motivates me a lot.
Furthermore, I just really enjoy doing this beautiful, challenging and diversified sport, surrounded by nature.
Since a few years I am in the lucky position to be supported and employed by the Austrian Army as a professional athlete, therefore I can focus on my development as an orienteer.
Why to Helsinki for the year 2025?
It was always a plan of mine to live a few months closer to great Nordic terrain and get better in a style of orienteering, where compass work is so much more important and running off-track is a bit tougher than at home.
Of course, my main goal for this season will be WOC in Kuopio and so I tried to make the step of moving to Finland in front of these championships to prepare in the best possible way. Helsinki and the local club Helsingin Suunnistajat seemed like a great option, and I am happy to be able to train with one of the strongest clubs in the world for the next months. I already know a few members of the club and am looking forward to meeting you all soon!
Furthermore, I will also attend some courses at Aalto University that I can get credits for my Master studies at home at TU Graz, Austria.
What do you consider your best results so far?
19th at WOC middle 2021, 21st at WOC KO-Sprint 2024, 7th at EOC relay 2024.
7th at Jukola 2021 with SNO, 5th at 10Mila 2022 with SNO.
What kind of terrain / orienteering challenge do you like most?
In competitions, I have always loved very technical middle distance courses. Until now I feel the best and most comfortable, when I successfully complete a tricky middle distance in a stony, broken and partly steep slope. After those months in Finland in the beginning of 2025, I hope that I will feel as home in Finnish wilderness, as I feel when running around forests in Austria.
Furthermore, I really like long multi-technique training courses, as I think it is fun to play with different orienteering techniques and like the additional mental challenge.