The first medals were handed out at the European Youth Olympics (EYOWF) 2011 in Liberec on 14th February. There are already winners among girls in giant slalom and the 7.5 km cross country race and among boys in the 10 km cross country race. Running events in Vesec were honoured by Jacques Rogge's visit as president of the International Olympic Committee. The Figure Skating competition and ice hockey tournament has also started today.
All the cross-country medals go to the North of Europe
The first cross-country race on the program of the EYOWF 2011 in Vesec was the girls'
7.5 km Classic technique. Many of them were undoubtedly encouraged by the visit of an important guest and founder of the European youth festivals, Jacques Rogge - President of the International Olympic Committee.
The strong favourites for this race were mainly the representatives from Russia, which is a cross country power, but after only a few miles it became clear that they would not reach the victory rostrum. The whole race was entirely dominated by the Nordic countries. They also won all the medals. Sofia Henriksson from Sweden won the gold and was followed by a pair of Norwegian runners who finished soon after her.
Petra Nováková, the Czech cross-country hope finished sixth in the race. "This position is very nice indeed, but I must admit, I was hoping for a better one," said the runner of Slovan Carlsbad, after the race. Another two Czech skiers came within the range of thirtieth and fortieth place.
Complete results here.
10 km Boys: Golden Finnish triumph
Also in the boys' category - the 10 km Classic technique race - the Nordic racers dominated. Antti Ojansivu from Finland was the one who coped best in the heavy track conditions. "I did not expect this, because I am better in the free style technique. "The track as well as the conditions were really rough so I am even happier with the victory," said happy winner Antti Ojansivu after the race. Among the 85 racers in the starting field, there was also a Czech trio. Out of them, the best was Petr Knop, who finished sixteenth in the race.
Complete results here.
Giant slalom: The opponents were fog and snow
The Giant slalom took place in Ještěd, hidden in the fog. During the race, the girls fought not only with the difficult track, but also with a snowfall that got more and more intense. Eli Plut from Slovenia was the one who coped best with these difficult conditions. "Of course, being a winner of the European Youth Olympics is amazing." But this is just another step forward to becoming a good skier in the future. The track was built perfectly, it was regular, but there were plenty of spots with a different rhythm, so I had to watch out all the way to the finishing line. I went into the race with the fact that I wanted to win it, I believed it, and I succeeded," said the happy young Slovene about her victory.
Kateřina Kotrlová was the best Czech competitor, who placed nineteenth thanks to her balanced performance in both rounds. "I was a bit more careful in the second round, I am very happy though." I wanted to place within the first thirty and I managed to do that," said happy Czech skier.
Dominika Drozdíková, a winner in the Children and Youth Olympic Games Czech Republic 2010, had bad luck as she did not finish the first round. "It was probably in the sixth gate. I made a minor mistake, I transferred my weight to the inside ski and it came off. It's a pity," said disappointed Dominika after the race.
Complete results here.
Today the figure skating competition was also launched with a girls' short programme and the Hockey tournament started with the match Russia - Latvia 7:2 and the match Finland - Slovakia 5:3.
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