Questions & Answers with Peter Öberg

June 24, 2009 by Anatolijs Tarasovs

One of the core runners in the Swedish team with the European Championships gold and the World Championships silver in the relay as the most noticeable results. Multiple Swedish champion and definitely one of the most technical orienteers in the world. Last year Peter Öberg placed 7 in the overall World Cup with 2 individual victories, this year, despite an injury in the mid-Spring, he won two gold medals at the Nordic Championships in Finland. He seems to be in a great shape this year and if he manages to keep up the pace there is no doubt that we will see some really good results from him in the upcoming events.

Probably every orienteer knows him in Sweden, yet he has never caught the international media attention as much. We, at Ultimate Orienteering, decided to get in contact with Peter just before the upcoming World Cup round in Norway to let you know at least a bit more about this excellent orienteer from Nyköping.

You work in SSAB in Oxelösund as a System Designer, you have a coaching job in Linköping university (within Elitidrott) together Peter Holgersson, you have recently developed new orienteering Icebug shoes together with Erik Öhlund and you have even started a website. How do you manage to combine it all with quality trainings? Do you have any time left for training camps or simply yourself?
I like to activate myself and my brain during the day. If I have some free time in the evening after my trainings are done, I rather prefer to think of a new good solution for an orienteering shoe, plan some trainings, etc. instead of just watching TV or surfing on the Internet. I think it’s very positive that I have other things to think of besides orienteering; that makes me more focused on what I really need to practice in my training sessions in order to achieve my goals, instead of simply doing my daily training. Most of my trainings I do together with LiU Elitidrott (training group supported by Linköping university), with my orienteering club OK Hällen or by myself with my home in Nyköping as a base. Apart from that I go to the training camps with Swedish national team a few times a year, where I can get some really heavy weeks.

Can you call yourself a professional orienteer?
No, I don´t consider myself a professional as orienteering is far from my only profession. The reason I am doing orienteering is that I love the sport and like the challenge in a way of aiming for high goals and not earning money to pay my rent and food.

As you write on your website you have been on top in your age category since you won O-Ringen 5-days in H15, and I guess you must have had some goals already then. If you look back, have you managed to achieve any of them?
If I would look at myself now with my 15-years old eyes I would be really happy and proud of what I have achieved so far. At that time the thoughts of running World Championship and winning World Cup races was much more of a dream than a specified goal, I took most of the competitions as they came and didn´t focus much on performance. It was much later that I had a clear goal of performance at the World Championship for the first time. The most important thing about orienteering has always been to have fun!

Do you have any particular goals this year? And if you think in long terms, what are your future goals in orienteering and are they a lot different from those 14 years back?
The goal for this year is to continue to improve as an orienteer and to have the great feeling of a full control over myself in the biggest events of the year. My plan was to be in top shape at the Nordic Championship and enjoy running the championship in such a great terrain; also to enjoy the privilege of being able to challenge the best orienteers on the great maps and nice terrain in Hungary.

I know that people living in Södermanland often say that if you can master the terrain there, you have only a small step left until you can master any kind of terrain. Could you agree with this statement?  The terrain around Nyköping and Stigtomta, where you live is no doubt extremely detailed and technical. And looking at the recent results it seems like there is no better orienteer in that kind of terrain than you.
I have also heard that statement and I think it´s true in some way. In order to master the technically demanding terrain that we have in Södermanland you need to be extremely good in reading a detailed map, complex contour details and at the same time running fast. In many terrain types that´s enough. But for example, when I went to Czech Republic for my second JWOC and used that kind of technique in the middle final I got totally lost in the green flat areas with vegetation details as the only orienteers.

I learned a lot in the preparations I made for the World Championships in Czech last year and I think that it also made me a better orienteer in my home terrain in Södermanland.

You seemed to be in great shape in Autumn, winning practically everything in Sweden (4 Elitserien victories, SM middle, SM long victories), then for the first time in many years you’ve managed to have an injury free winter, but then something happened in early Spring, thus making it impossible for you to take part in the first Elitserien stages and Tiomila. What really happened?
In the beginning of this season my shape was probably the best I ever had, so I really enjoyed running the first small competitions in Sweden. When I was heading out on the last leg of Kolmårdskavlen, a local relay in beginning of April, I jumped over a creek and when I landed I felt a sharp pain in my left calf. I tried to continue, but understood that it was some kind of rupture. After a medical examination I was told that is was a smaller rupture in the calf muscle. So I had to start over and re-plan the spring, but I never changed my goal of being in top shape for Nordic Champs.

This injury probably went unnoticed for the international orienteering world as you were back in top when it counts most. And it was really good to see you winning two gold medals at the Nordic Championships. How did you manage to recover so fast? Was it any special alternative training that helped you maintain your shape?
At first I was a little bit disappointed, but after only one day I told myself that an injury caused by bad luck will not stop me from being in top shape at the NOC. I thought of the best alternative training for an orienteer and started to train harder than I ever before. I mostly did water-running, cross trainer, strength and walking.

Talking about NOC, by winning the gold in the middle distance you did something many have struggled to do during the recent years – beat Thierry Gueorgiou. Prior to the race you told to Swedish Web-TV that you feel that you can win in this kind of terrain. Was it a perfect race for you? Do you think it’s possible to repeat or do even better in August in Hungary?
My thoughts before the race were only about myself and my tactics for the race. Media always wants to hear about the results and is not as interested in the tactics for the race, that’s why I told them that I had a chance :) Besides that, no one is unbeatable and after the relay I felt that I have a good speed in this kind of terrain.

The thoughts I had during the race were only about my tactics. That’s I managed to make a perfect race. The first time I thought of a medal or even the gold was when I heard Per Forsberg and the crowd cheering in the finish.

I´m preparing myself to be able to do a perfect race also in Hungary.

You are one of the two men selected for the World Games in Taiwan in July. Is that an important event for you? It seems that some top runners don’t take it as seriously as the World Championships, yet it is in some sense Olympics for non-Olympic sports.
World Games is a unique opportunity to show our great sport to a big international crowd. I really think orienteering is a sport for the Olympics and by participating in the World Games I do my part in getting orienteering into the Olympic Games. I think it´s going to be a great event.

Last year you won the World Cup sprint in Sälen and you have recently had some significant long distance victories in Sweden, yet your top results come from the middle distances. All in all, you seem like a universal runner. Is the middle distance your favourite discipline? Do we have any chances to see you in the long distance qualifiers at the WOC in Hungary?
Physically I train to be fast enough for sprint and have the endurance to run a long distance. I like to run courses that challenge me both physically and technically, and if the environment is beautiful it can be one of my favourite events.
Regarding the World Championship I´m sure it will be a beautiful and challenging event. If I feel that I’m strong enough for the long distance in the beginning of July it´s possible that I will participate also in the long distance. But the main focus at the World Champs this year will definitely be the middle distance.

And a bit off topic question in conclusion. Together with Erik Öhlund and in cooperation with Icebug you have developed completely new orienteering shoes, thus achieving something that hasn’t been done for at least 15 years. And they seem to be very popular. How did you come to this idea and how long did it take from the idea to the prototype?
I have had many injuries because of the poor orienteering shoes, so a few years ago I started to modify my orienteering shoes and started to look for other kind of shoes, for example, I won gold in the relay at the EOC 2006 in a pair of street shoes. I and Erik have always discussed different ideas, and last year we finally decided to make something out of those ideas. We started by making shoes prototypes in Erik’s garage; after that we got in contact with Icebug and the prototype was converted into a real product.