The 2nd European Universities Championships in Orienteering begin on Friday, August 25th in St.Gallen, Switzerland.
Sprint Qualification will be the first race, with the sprint final later the same day – both these races take place in St. Gallen.
Middle race on Saturday 26th is situated in one of the best terrains in this part of Switzerland near Hoher Hirsberg peak (1168 m above sea level).
Final race of these championships is a sprint relay, which will be held in the city of Appenzell with three different classes: MM, WW and WM.
European Universities Sports Association is IOF Partner from 2016, but only one event has been organized in the past. In 2019, 141 athletes competed in Olomouc, Czechia. In both 2020 and 2021 the event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year 183 athletes have entered the races with several well-known names from the major IOF races in the start lists: Joey Hadorn, Timo Suter, Reto Egger (all SUI) and defending champion Petr Horvat (CZE) in the men’s class.
Eline Gemperle, Eliane Deininger (both SUI), Florence Hanauer (FRA) and Zsofia Sarkozi (HUN) are among the athletes in the women’s class this year. Current long distance World Champion Simona Aebersold (SUI) will race the sprint relay as well.
– The preparations of the championships are going very well. The Swiss organizers have chosen excellent terrains and I strongly believe that technical organization will maintain a high standard. Competitors will also be able to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of this student race, which is not only for top athletes, but for all students between the ages of 17 and 30 who want to enjoy a wonderful orienteering experience. I want to thank the Swiss University Sports Association for organizing the event, says Dušan Vystavěl, IOF Council Member and EUSA Technical Delegate Orienteering.
Homepage of the European Universities Orienteering Championship 2023 | EUSA
Photo shows the three best ranked universities in the 2019 EUOC.