Monday’s relays were the last race at the 2024 European Youth Orienteering Championships in Szczecin, Poland.
The more than 400 athletes were back in the forest after yesterday’s sprint and were met by a varied terrain with quite a number of hills and richly-forked courses.
Here, Finland’s W16 team with Lotta Laakso, Anni Jantunen and Iida Koskinen showed high class by taking the lead from the start and increasing it all the way through the three legs and winning after just under 108 minutes of racing.
Switzerland’s team was 2.18 minutes behind and secured the silver, while Lithuania took the bronze.
In M16 there was more of a fight for the victory, before Hungary’s team with Bela Barnabas Sugta, Mark Bujdoso and Mihaly Csoboth proved too strong for the Czech team on the last part of third leg. The home favorites from Poland took the bronze.
Sweden and Switzerland fought for the win for a long time in W18, but after a Swiss time loss on third leg, Sweden’s Tuva Sirviö, Tilia Olsson and Freja Hjerne claimed the EYOC-title ahead of Czechia and France.
Czechia’s Vladimir Srb, Filip Hanus and Ondrej Brosch made up the champion team in M18, where Finland was the closest contender in silver position and Switzerland took bronze.
In addition to their relay gold medal, they could celebrate the overall win in the EYOC Team competition, where Czechia finished first ahead of Finland and Switzerland.
Go to results and see the broadcast in IOF LIVE
Photo: Tomasz Krysiak / EYOC2024
We are well underway with the championship season and already next Monday the Junior World Orienteering Championships start in Czechia.