Volunteer Roch Czernecki was given the honour of presenting the gold medal in Kickboxing, Men’s Point fighting 63kg to Italy’s Gabriele Lanzinlao on the final day of the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023.
The student was joined for the medal presentation in his hometown of Myslenice by European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos.
It is a unique EOC tradition for volunteers to present medals on the final day of competition, recognizing their invaluable contribution to the success of the Games.
Earlier in the day, another local volunteer, Julia Krauzowicz, presented the Boxing Women’s 57kg gold medal to Amina Zidani of France.
Roch and Julia received the honour on behalf of all the volunteers at these Games, who came from 72 countries.
Roch Czernecki said: “I have to say that volunteering at the Games was an amazing experience. I met a lot of people. I learned a lot of new things and I really appreciate that I have occasion to be part of it.
“The chance to present a medal is something not a lot of people can have, so I’m really proud of it. All of the European Games was a great experience but the highlight was definitely this honour.”
EOC President Spyros Capralos said: “We are grateful for the great job the volunteers have done. They gave us their hearts, their time, their effort. I think, without the volunteers, we would not have had such successful European Games 2023.
“It was a big honour to have them and to be able to offer them this honour of the medal presentation to the athletes. That’s something we introduced with these Games and I think this pays special honour to all the volunteers.”
Volunteering will be a key area of legacy for the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023, boosted by the award to the Polish Olympic Committee of 1 million Euros funding from the European Commission to support volunteering at the Games and other major sports events in Poland.
The European Games were taking place in a member country of the European Union for the first time in Krakow-Malopolska 2023.
