Jevgenijs Sproge

When did you start orienteering, and why?

I started orienteering when I was 11 years old. I was playing basketball at the time, and once a teacher from the older classes came to promote orienteering to younger kids. I had no clue what orienteering was, but I remember that the combination of sport and forest sounded appealing. After a couple of first training sessions I was hooked and had already made some new friends. My first coach was a physics and astronomy teacher, and besides orienteering we — a group of kids — also did other activities together, like astronomy camps with sports on the side. In winter we did cross-country skiing, played indoor sports, and all of it together was a lot of fun. Later we started travelling to races across the country and abroad, and orienteering became a very big part of my youth.

What's your earliest orienteering memory?

We had some regional events, and we, complete beginner kids, were allowed to do the courses alone. I got lost in the forest many times, got quite scared, but then I remember the feeling of joy when seeing other orienteers passing by. I tried to ask for help, and I remember the happy feeling after somehow managing to navigate to the finish.

What's your funniest or most interesting orienteering story?

Not sure if it's funny or interesting, but here it is. Latvian forests, where we had most of our races, are thick spruce forests. After races my legs and arms were usually all scratched and covered with red dots from running through the spruce branches. I was a teenager, and once my mom started looking at my arms suspiciously. She then asked my grandfather to inspect the red dots more closely, to make sure they were not from a syringe needle and that I wasn't using drugs. I found it very funny.

Do you have any photos from your orienteering past that you'd be willing to share, and say a few words about?

This is my first medal at the Latvian national championships. The tallest guy is something of a legend, by the way later he also became a two-time silver medallist at the European Championships. I'm holding a map; he, as the winner, is holding an envelope with prize money.

Are there any results you're particularly proud of?

Two races come to mind. Both are about the focus on the goal and persistence. The first is the World School Championships in 1998, where I managed to win my age class. I had been preparing for that race for quite some time and was extremely focused mentally, because it was just one race — one chance. The terrain was quite technical, and you simply had to run a clean race to get a good result. The other one is a relay at the European Youth Championships in 1999, where we had a tight battle for a medal throughout the whole race until the very last controls, and I was running the last leg. I had to secure the medal position for my team, which I did — but it was stressful and physically demanding.

Would you dare to share your biggest mistake in orienteering?

I think my biggest mistake was abandoning a Jukola race on the first leg, which I was running — I believe it was in 2010. I had gone to Jukola with my wife to show her how great this large orienteering event is. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily during those days. The competition terrain was difficult, and when we arrived at the competition centre we saw many runners who had been injured during the Venla women's race. During my first leg I made a lot of mistakes and fell well behind the pack, and then my headlamp started to dim — I was worried the battery wouldn't last until the finish. I also started thinking that my wife must be worrying, imagining I had fallen off a cliff or something. So, I decided to quit halfway through the course. I felt terrible and very guilty towards my teammates, and that feeling stayed with me for quite some time.

What is your favourite terrain? Any least favourite?

In Latvia, events were mostly held in two types of terrain: very dense, green forest with wet swamps, nettles, and forest clearings — and beautiful, fast, open pine forest, usually near the sea. I grew up in the region with the first type, and I liked it a lot. I actually thought the open pine forest was boring. Now it's the opposite — I prefer good runnability with technical relief orienteering.

Give an example of a typical control point in your "home terrain".

The greenish map below shows the terrain around the area where I grew up. The other map is a typical Latvian dune forest near the Baltic Sea — this is where I would prefer to do orienteering now.

How did you find out about orienteers in Luxembourg?

Shortly after arriving in Luxembourg in 2011, I happened to join a boat trip with my wife's colleagues. We had a picnic afterwards, and I noticed a sports watch on someone's wrist. I asked if she did sports, what kind, and it turned out she did orienteering. The rest was just a natural flow of events. You can probably guess who that lady with the sports watch was.

Why do you think orienteering is a sport worth doing? What has orienteering given you as a person?

I won't say anything new — I think it's a great way to stay fit in a very original way. In orienteering you connect with nature and use your brain while doing physical activity at the same time. It's also a reason to travel to different places with a real purpose. For me personally, it enriched my life — and especially my youth — with a lot of fun and positive emotions, and also gave me lasting friendships.

Rapidfire:

• Sprint or forest? Definitely forest — sprint is not for me.
• Thumb or plate compass? I've actually been using a Silva wrist compass for many years, so neither.
• Night or day? Night adds a bit more spice.
• Beer or crémant after a race? I'll be boring and go with water or a sports drink.
• First leg or last leg in a relay? First — to keep the adrenaline up!