A “Rollins” stone gathers no moss
In the women’s classes, and perhaps in the whole panorama of WMOC, Sarah Rollins (Southern Navigators Orienteering Club) will certainly be one of the protagonists and among the most recognisable competitors: 12 times protagonist at the World Championships with the Great Britain team, twice sixth at the World Relay Championships (2003 in Rapperswil, Switzerland, and 2004 in Västerås, Sweden) and ninth in the sprint race at the 2004 World Championships.
Sarah and her husband in Japan 2005
Her boundless passion for orienteering led her to compete in Apulia in 2004, in Gravina di Ginosa,
in what could be considered the first international competition held in Apulia, if not in all of southern Italy.
Sarah, how you first got into orienteering and who was your inspiration?
I first started Orienteering in 1995 aged 19 when I joined the Army Reserves whilst at University. We had a lot of fun travelling to lots of events and at that time we had an annual Army trip to Sweden for 2 weeks to race in the Swedish Army O Champs. That was my first chance to attend a training camp and also to orienteer abroad. It was a fantastic trip, not least because the Swedish were so welcoming. I first made the GB Team in 2000. I’m not sure who my inspiration was because I was so surprised to be there I think!
As I wrote above, you won the very first international competition held in Puglia, in 2004. What do you remember of that competition?
I didn’t win – that was Simone Niggli 🙂 but I do remember that I had a good run and I think I was in the top 6. I did even better at Lecce, where I came 3rd; that day I made no mistakes. The race at Gravina di Ginosa was brilliant… so tricky running round the boulders and caves and so much fun.
PWT Race in Lecce
I do recall that race series very well. There was an interesting evening at the PWT banquet… we arrived around 6pm, hungry athletes hoping for food. The doors to the restaurant didn’t open until 9pm. The athletes were (literally) bashing on the doors to open. A restaurant manager said ‘Just wait one minute’… one of the athletes started shouting ’60, 59, 58.. and everyone joined in…’. When the doors finally did open there was a stampede 🙂 I think perhaps you Italians eat a bit later in the evening than the orienteers were expecting!
How difficult was to balance your job as an Army Doctor with being an elite athlete on the world stage?
I have thought about this a lot because I always felt that I never really built on my 2003 result at WOC. I had many very good years but I didn’t make the final breakthrough to the level that I wanted and I think this is because I was always focused on more than one thing. I’m glad of what I have achieved at work (I am a Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine) and I had a wonderful orienteering career with many special memories. I have to be (and am) satisfied with the choices I made because where I am today is where I am glad to be. But of course it would also have been wonderful to have more top 10s.
How different your training is as a masters athlete compared to when you were competing at WOC?
Training now is different because my body says it has to be! I can’t do the volume of training that I did before because the ‘masters’ body doesn’t let you. But I find that I don’t need to do the same volume to stay fit. I am also very strict on keeping my strength. As you age, if you don’t do resistance work (strength work), you will lose muscle, so I make sure that I do strength work twice a week to prevent this alongside balance and control exercises. I am also lucky that I can often orienteer 2-3 times a week in the area that I live because there are so many events going on.
Going to the topic of the interview, the WMOC 2022: what kind of terrain and difficulties do you expect to find in Apulia, both in the sprint and in the forest race, based not only on your winning stage in 2004 but also on your experience at the Rome Orienteering Meeting and at World Cup in Subiaco?
I haven’t done any ‘homework’ yet for the races in Italy this summer but I know that Peschici and Vieste are both typical, fast but technical, Italian, coastal towns and the forests are not too different (ie fast and technical!). I am equally excited for both. PS because of this question I am now thinking I should start doing some homework…!
Finally, what kind of challenge does the WMOC represent for an international athlete like you?
Is it “only” an opportunity to meet old and new opponents or do you perceive the competition as tense and vibrant as at elite level?
In short: will it be for you a sporting holiday or will the competitive aspect take over?
Firstly, I love WMOC because it is fun and so friendly. BUT, my family know that I am ‘quite’ competitive so I will probably have my usual pre-race stress (getting to the event on time, to my start on time etc.). I don’t think anyone will believe me but the actual result is not so important. Yes, I get really competitive to do well but in fact the most important thing is that I have done the best I can… which sounds like a lie but for example I’m really proud of my 4th place in Denmark in the middle at WMOC 2018. I had a really good run with almost no mistakes. I just couldn’t run as fast as the other women on the day (and I think that’s ok, because one of them was Simone!). That was a special race – great terrain, great courses, great weather and a very good run. That is what ultimately makes me happy. I had similar races at the sprint in Denmark and was very proud of my silver mainly because to get that position, I had to have a very clean run, because I felt that on paper I was not as fast as the girls in 3rd and 4th. And in WMOC 2019 in Latvia, I was also very proud of my middle race result because again, I had a very clean run. So what bothers me most, I suppose, is having a race where I under-perform. I think the chances of good terrain, courses and weather are high… so now it’s just down to me..
The very last question: I read in Compass Sport something about your son Tommy, who is becoming a really good orienteer. When do you think we’ll get a chance to see him in action? And how much of the character and strength of the athlete Sarah Rollins do you find in him?
Ha, yes, Tommy is doing really well. And he is taking part in the spectator races at WMOC 2022, so you can have a look at him in action there 🙂 He is really enjoying orienteering and I hope that continues, in particular because it is something we can share. His brain works in a different way to mine (!) for orienteering so his skills are down to himself and me just exposing him to lots of opportunities to go orienteering. We often talk about me sending him out on the M10 course in the centre of Rome (children in the UK don’t really do urban orienteering until they are M14). He didn’t know that I was waiting very nervously at the finish line, ready to run out round the course if needed (which is what I did at WMOC 2019 in Riga when there was a massive thunder and hailstorm with freezing conditions during the kids spectator races! Him and his cousin were just getting on with the orienteering despite the dramatic weather though – it was just ’normal for orienteering’).
Young Tommy on the Podium
Tommy in action