A memorable first day of competition at the 16th Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Banská Bystrica 2022 was surpassed by a stunning sequence of events on day two, which saw all 10 sports in action. On a day where athletes had to contend with the elements, as well as their fellow competitors, medals were awarded in athletics, cycling, judo and swimming.

EOC President Spyros Capralos was an observer at the electric Sport Park venue for the final of the boys 100m event. The crowd was on their feet as they witnessed the top four sprinters either set new personal best times or equal their previous records, including gold medal winner Zalan Deak of Hungary who flew to the finish line in just 10.59 seconds! France’s Ylann Bizasene and Daniel Casado of Spain took the silver and bronze medals respectively, with just 0.05 seconds separating the two young stars in difficult conditions, as rain drizzled down just minutes before the race began.

In an action-packed day on the track and the field, Spanish athletes showcased their potential by winning four medals. The tone was set at the start of the day in the boys shot put event, which saw the exciting young talent Arnau Llorens claim gold with a throw of 16.67m to overcome Italy’s Marco Nardocci in the final round. Moldova’s Denis Cutcovetchi earned the final place on the podium with a personal best throw of 15.93m. Spain’s momentum continued into the evening session, where Aldara Meilan set a personal best time of 22:55.58 in the girls 5,000 meter race walk competition, that saw France’s Lena Auray tested to the extreme by Meilan’s stunning fightback on the final lap. Alexandra Kovas won another bronze medal for the immensely talented Hungarian team with a new personal best time of 23:17.79.

Hungarian athletes made their nation proud as they stormed to three gold medals at the Sports Park venue, which included Bori Rozsahegyi setting a new personal best of 6.16 meters in the girls long jump event to storm past her closest rivals Anna Curkovic and Viktorie Janska of Croatia and the Czech Republic, who claimed second and third respectively. Armin Szabados capped off a memorable night for the Hungarians with a stunning display of skill, timing and power to win the boys hammer throw in dominant fashion. Finland’s Mico Lampinen won silver with a personal best throw of 69.40m, while Ilia Ciui claimed the bronze medal.

Cycling time trials took place in the tight, cobblestoned streets in the heart of Banská Bystrica. Great Britain’s Cat Ferguson showcased her skill and focus to win the coveted gold medal in the 8.4km race. She finished more than three seconds clear of Spain’s Jessica Ostiz, who solidified her silver medal position by finishing just under eight seconds ahead of Anna Gaborska of Poland in third. In the boys side of the competition, Poland came out on top thanks to Patryk Goszczurny’s spectacular performance. Gozsczurny stole a march on his fellow athletes at the midway point of the race to finish almost nine seconds clear of second place, with an impressive display of patience and strategy. Pavel Sumpik of the Czech Republic and Seb Grindley of Great Britain finished second and third with times 10:56,49 and 10:59,95 respectively to guarantee their positions on the podium.

The Sport Park judo venue came to life during the final of the girls 44kg event, which saw Vera Wandel of the Netherlands overcome Hungary’s Szabina Szeleczki in a back-and-forth encounter of two future stars of the sport. Wandel secured the finish with 2:16 on the clock to earn her country the gold medal in a final that will be spoken about for years to come. In the bronze medal match, Clara Mermet of France defeated Azerbaijan’s Khumar Gasimzade in a nail-biting finish with only 0:20 remaining. Israel claimed the bronze medal in the boys 55kg competition in a hard-fought battle between Karol Rubenstein and Tuncay Turkman of Turkey.

The Sport Park venue was treated to multiple special performances in the swimming arena as seven medal events were contested, including the boys 200m breaststroke which was narrowly won by Great Britain’s Oscar Bilbao in a photo finish over Emilian Hollank of Germany. The two evenly matched contenders finished just 0.04 seconds apart, with Bilbao posting a winning time of 2:18.82 and Hollank finishing just behind at 2:18.86. Collin Van Der Hoff picked up the bronze medal for the Netherlands in a race where all the athletes demonstrated fantastic ability and true Olympic values from start to finish.

The bar has been set high for day 3 of the EYOF, which you can follow closely via the EOC social channels, and via the livestream of events on the EOC Channel!