Tove Alexandersson was set against other world champions: Daniel Ståhl in the much larger athletics and relay ladies in the small but popular cross-country skiing. I had not protested if any of them received the medal. But Tove Alexandersson is at least as "right".

She is a phenomenon that has dominated her sport for many years but is constantly developing. Her sport, by the way - she is also the world's best in ski orientation and the board fell for her total dominance in two sports.

For me, it is one of her races that rises above everyone else and defines why a winner in a smaller sport can be put ahead of them from bigger sports: the superior victory in the long distance World Cup.

She won by over six minutes and kept up the pace that got the most refined connoisseurs to amaze. Perhaps it was one of the foremost races ever run in an oriental forest.

The orientation is now spread to many countries and top runners are far from just from the Nordic countries, although this is where the foundation of the sport is.

Although few orienteers can live on their sport, the elite runners in attitude and effort they make, in the form of training and life management, are as dedicated and "professional" as athletes in other endurance sports with greater resources.

The sport is complex and contains a considerable amount of technology and strategy combined with great endurance. Many orienteers are competitive runners also without a map and compass. Tove Alexandersson is one of the best in the world in mountain running and many predict that it will go fast when she thinks about competing on the running tracks this summer as a preparation for the World Cup in sprint.

Whoever dominates the "little" orientation in the way Tove Alexandersson does is simply a great athlete well worth a gold.

ARCHIVE: Alexandersson superior long distance winner (August 14, 2019)

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