Name: Thomas Laraia

Birth year: 2000

Clubs: Edinburgh University Orienteering Club, Minnesota Orienteering Club

Job: PhD Student in Geoscience

Biggest success: Focusing on recent successes after recovering from Lyme disease and meniscal tear in 2022, I am happy with my 4th in British Middles 2024, 3rd in British Relays 2024 and 2026, and 50th in WUOC Middle 2024!

 

When did you start orienteering, how did you get in touch with orienteering?

I have been orienteering since I was born, in my mother’s backpack. She orienteered in Romania before moving to the US, and brought my two brothers and I into the sport. I think I had a second introduction to orienteering when I was 15, spectating JWOC in Rauland, Norway, and going to O-Ringen that year, my first experience orienteering in Europe. That was a launching point for me to go all in. I came to university in Edinburgh specifically to orienteer; the degree was a nice bonus.
 
How did you get in contact with Snättringe SK / What made you join Snättringe?

I have been thinking last year to take the step to join a club where I can continue learning from strong orienteers and see an environment where orienteers grow especially well. I want to keep improving myself and bring this into youth coaching in the future. In Idre Fjäll last year, Simon spent time with the US athletes in our free time, we cooked together and spoke about orienteering and he was incredibly kind. Snättringe is an attractive, growing club and I reached out to him to ask about joining, and he helped make it happen. I am of course very excited to join the club for major events such as Tio and Jukola, and look forward to spending time in Huddinge training and meeting the members.

What is your favorite terrain?

I will put a word for central Minnesota, as few see or experience this terrain. It is quick, deciduous terrain with marshes and negative contour detail, with a minimal path network. I will always refer to this map for quality Minnesotan maps because there are not many.

 

What is your goal in Orienteering?

My goals at the moment are to reach top 10 in the ranking in Great Britain, reaching the A-final at the world cups in the Czech Republic and Lithuania this year, and winning the North American Orienteering Championships middle, long, and relay. They are all difficult goals for my current level, but I aim to shoot for the moon and land among the stars. There are many runners for smaller countries that are inspiring, like Tim Robertson, Boyan Ivandjikov, Ferenc Jonas, and I want to show that it is possible from the US as well.

 
Strong point:

Analysis and self-motivation. I’ve been told in a few sports that I am very coachable.
 
Weakness:

Racing to the physical limit. This is one of my main focuses at the moment.

Some fun facts about you?

My family speaks German at home thanks to my mother, my dad was learning from children’s books at the same time as us! We lived in Singapore and Taiwan for three years each, and I know a little Mandarin as a result. The Deaflympics were in Taipei in 2009, the year we arrived, and we watched the orienteering events there! I would love to visit again when I can afford it. I became obsessed with playing football while I was in Asia and dreamed of becoming a footballer, and probably would have tried if orienteering hadn’t become my priority, but I still play occasionally for the love of the game.

Mark your favorites: 

Sprint, Middle, Long or Ultralong

Day or Night

Relay or Individual

Flat or Steep

Thank you for your time, and welcome to SSK Thomas!