The fifteenth edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) was officially opened last night, as the flame of peace was ignited to mark the start of Vuokatti 2022.
Anna Berger (biathlon) and Ed Appleby (figure skating) carried the Union Flag into the Opening Ceremony, held at the Vuokatti Arena, with over 1,000 athletes from 44 European nations marching as part of the Athletes’ Parade.
Team GB’s EYOF campaign started first thing this morning, with short track speed skater Adam Hill the sole British athlete in action on Day One of the Games.
Hill’s morning started well, with the Redditch-born skater safely advancing through to semi-finals of the men’s 1500m competition, finishing third in his heat in a time of 2:33:406.
But despite finishing third again at the semi-final stage, Hill was disqualified after being penalised for an incident that caused Bulgarian skater Stefan-Aleksandar Kyumyurdzhiev to crash out, meaning he was unable to take his place on the start line for the B-Final.
Despite this setback, Hill was content with his day’s work. Summing up his performance, he said, “I was lucky enough to qualify through my first race – I finished third and the top three went through, so I was really happy that. I raced a good race tactically and did what me and my coach Billy (Simms) had planned.
“I did get a penalty in the semi-final, as I went to go around the outside of another skater (Stefan-Aleksandar Kyumyurdzhiev of Bulgaria) and unfortunately there was contact, which meant he fell and I was disqualified. Despite that, I actually finished third across the line and managed some good overtakes out there.
“It can be difficult to receive a penalty in bigger competitions, and even though I was unfortunate to get it, it’s still given me confidence. I’m still really proud of how I raced, I felt strong all the way through and I’m really looking forward to representing the country again in the coming few days.”
Eight of Team GB’s ten athletes will compete on Day Two of Vuokatti 2022, with British representation in alpine skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined, short track speed skating and snowboarding.
Flagbearer Berger starts the first of her two biathlon events in the 6km sprint, while Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympian Mani Cooper gets her competition underway in the Nordic combined, with the women’s event making its debut at the Festival.
Alex Elliff, Isla Ward, Aidan Urquhart and Ted Slade will compete in the slalom; Koby Cook in the snowboarding big air, while Adam Hill is back for his second day of short track racing in the 500m.
Find out more about Vuokatti 2022, including details on schedule and live stream here.