The second day of the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Vuokatti 2022 saw the continent’s young stars compete in short track skating, Nordic combined, alpine skiing, biathlon, and girl’s ice hockey.

Zoe Deltrap made it two golds in two days, with the Dutch star edging out Hungary’s Melinda Schönborn in the girl’s short track skating 500m event. Slovakia’s Tamara Tokarova took bronze. In the boy’s event, bronze medallist in yesterday’s 1,500m, Tawan Thomas, added a gold to his impressive collection, whilst yesterday’s runner up Lorenzo Previtali won another silver medal.

There was more speed skating success for the Netherlands, as Niels Bergsma finished in third place in the boy’s competition. The medals were presented by EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi, who commended the athletes for their exceptional skill and for their respect and humility in victory.

In biathlon, the boy’s 7.5km sprint was won by Peter Hak of Czech Republic, who put in a dominant performance. The battle for second was incredibly tight, but ultimately went the way of Italy’s Mattia Piller Hoffer. Lou Thievent added to France’s medal tally after taking bronze. The medals were presented by EOC Executive Committee (ExCo) member and Chair of the EYOF Commission Liney Rut Halldorsdottir.

In the girl’s 6km sprint, Sweden’s Sara Andersson led from the front to win gold with a 35 second margin. Slovenia took both silver and bronze, with Klara Vindisar in second and Kaja Zorc pinching third from Sara Scattolo (Italy) and Lea Zimmermann (Germany), who were under half a second behind. Medals were presented by EOC ExCo member and Secretary General of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of the Republic of Moldova, Cristina Vasilianov.

In the Nordic combined, star of the future Annika Sieff from Italy claimed gold, with Austria’s Lisa Marie Hirner and Annalena Slamik taking silver and bronze respectively. The boy’s competition will take place tomorrow afternoon, before the mixed team event on the final day of action on Friday.

Turning to alpine skiing, the boy’s slalom brought success for host country Finland, who took gold through Erik Saravuo and bronze through Jesperi Kemppainen. Norway’s Johs Braathen Herland missed out on gold by 0.02 seconds but earned a highly commendable silver. The girl’s slalom saw Finland win another gold, after an outstanding display from Rosa Pohjolainen. Italy’s Emilia Mindinelli finished second, whilst Austria’s Victoria Olivier claimed bronze. Olivier’s National Olympic Committee Secretary General Peter Mennel, who is the EOC Treasurer, presented the medals to the athletes.

There are a number of medal events scheduled for Day 3, including the first opportunity for figure skating athletes to reach the podium. You can watch the figure skating and other competitions throughout the day on the EOC channel!

Short track highlights

https://youtu.be/DtesxN5RlxA

Alpine skiing highlights

https://youtu.be/sPtEPpad3SA