Jesper Schmitz of the Netherlands and Lisa Victoria Ngo Mouaha of France on Monday claimed gold medals in the short track speed skating 1,500 meter events in both the boys’ and girls’ categories at the European Youth Olympic Festival hosted in Georgia’s winter resort of Bakuriani.
Schmitz won the gold with a time of 2:27.560, edging out Italy’s Filippo Pezzoni, who took silver in 2:27.753, while French skater Elio Calanca secured third place with a time of 2:27.827 in the boys’ Final B competition.
Mouaha clinched the gold with a time of 2:42.123, while Poland’s Daria Daszuta claimed silver in 2:42.562, and Ukraine’s Mariia Khokhelko took bronze with a time of 2:42.718 in the girls’ Final A event.
The Festival features up to 1,000 athletes from 45 countries competing in eight winter sports, with events also held in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and the Black Sea city of Batumi. The competition is set to close on February 16.
The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) is a biennial multi-sport event for young athletes from across Europe, which plays an important role in their development on and off the field of play. This year, the winter edition of the festival is being held in Bakuriani, Georgia.
Running between February 9-16, over 1,600 athletes from 48 countries will compete in eight sports on the program: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, short track speed skating and snowboarding.
Eight athletes from Georgia will compete in three sports (figure skating, alpine skiing, and biathlon).
Photo: EYOF Bakuriani 2025
