Day three of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Banská Bystrica 2022 saw Austria claim its first ever medal at an Olympic event in badminton, when Pascal Cheng won bronze in a thrilling contest at the Sports Park badminton venue.

Cheng displayed an excellent blend of athleticism, courage and desire to overcome multiple opponents, including talented Dutchman Noah Warning in the quarter-finals. His efforts on the court ensured that this would be a day that would live long in the memory for all Austrian supporters!

EOC Treasurer and Secretary General of the Austrian Olympic Committee Peter Mennel said, “I am delighted to have been able to witness Pascal make history by becoming the first Austrian badminton player to win a medal at an Olympic event. He won two hard fought matches in one day to end an incredible EYOF event with a bronze medal. He has made his family, friends and entire country proud not only for his fine efforts on the court, but for the character he has shown all week and during his preparation for this competition. Congratulations Pascal, you should take great pride in your achievement, and I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish in the future.”

An action-packed third day of competition saw medals awarded in athletics, judo and swimming events. In athletics, the eagerly anticipated girls 100m final took place in the evening session at the Sports Park stadium, where Italy’s Alice Pagliarini came out victorious with a stunning time of 11.69 seconds. Vita Penezic of Croatia put in an inspired performance, with a new personal best time of 11.81 seconds to take silver just ahead of Ester Parohova from the Czech Republic. Another young Czech superstar secured the bronze medal in the boys’ decathlon, as Milan Vich performed admirably to score 6604 points across the ten disciplines. Ernests Palulis of Latvia came second, behind the clear winner Nik Adler of Germany, who posted a winning score of 6,977 points.

The Sports Park judo crowd were on their feet for the duration of the girls 52kg final, where Spaniard Laura Gomes overcame Serbian contender Nikolina Nisavic in a back-and-forth encounter. In the boys 66kg category, Turkish sensation Ibrahim Demirel showcased incredible technical skills to claim the coveted gold medal against Slovenia’s Tobias Furst Crtanec.

Fans in the swimming arena were treated to six medal events, including the boys butterfly and freestyle finals, while medals were also on the line in the girls 200m breaststroke. But the main events of the evening came during the boys and girls 100m freestyle relay. Italy secured the gold medal in a dramatic race that saw the eventual winners have to overcome a slow start to gain ground on their French opponents. The final lap saw Italy overtake France to establish themselves as champions with a winning time of 3:27.26. Great Britain produced a fantastic team display to walk away from the event with the bronze medal, just 2.59 seconds behind the winners. Team GB captured another bronze medal in the girls freestyle relay, in a race that saw Germany and Lithuania go neck and neck towards the finish line for the gold and silver medals respectively. Lithuania secured gold to conclude a successful day three of competition for their athletes.

With day four of the EYOF ongoing, you can follow all the action on the EOC social channels, and via the livestream of events on the EOC Channel!