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First medals given!
Monday February 14 2011 09:54 PM
Neither penetrating cold nor strong wind put off the sports teams who came to watch the first Medal Ceremony, which took place in the Olympic Village in Harcov. It is shortly before seven in the evening and athletes from probably all the teams participating in EYOWF are gathering in front of a large screen. Some national colours are more frequent than others. Why? The audience includes mainly those whose representatives have won the first medals in today’s competitions.
The atmosphere is boiling. The first to enter the stage are the winners of the Cross Country Ski classic race for 7.5 km. The champion, Swedish athlete Sofia Henriksson proudly sang the national anthem with her hand placed over the heart. Norwegians Thea Krokan Murud and Hilde Losgard Landheim came second and third respectively.
The second group of medal winners on the stage is entirely Scandinavian. The first is Finn Antii Ojansivu and the second and third places were taken by Norwegians. The silver medallist looks extremely happy. “When I crossed the finishing line, I thought I was fourth. But then people started to congratulate me. I was not sure if I had a medal, it came as a wonderful surprise,” said Magnus Stensas.
The last to be decorated are the Alpine skiers, who had their first EYOWF race in giant slalom. The gold medal went to Eli Plut form Slovenia. The silver medal winner, Italian Karoline Puchler received loud support from the rest of the delegation. The third Austrian, Sabrina Maier kneeled on the edge of the stage after the ceremony to show her bronze medal to her friends.
Banging was heard and everyone turned their eyes to the sky. To honour the first winner of the EYOWF 2011 the organisers prepared grand fireworks. The athletes were excited about the Ceremony. “It was beautiful, colourful and with live music and fireworks at the end, I’m amazed,” said Ieva Januskeviciute, the Alpine Skiing athlete from Lithuiania.
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