In the wake of the World Junior Championships, attention will turn to the youngest athletes on the European circuit. The European Youth Championship in Banyoles, Spain, will be contested by athletes born in 2006 and later and offer a rare chance for them to test themselves internationally against their peers.
The event is designed to provide an early platform for some of the most promising young talent on the continent, yet even a cursory glance at the start lists reveals that this year’s cohort contains a remarkable array of talent.
One aspect that stands out is just how many athletes on the start list already have top-5 finishes, and even medals, to their names from European Junior Cups this season.
Among the standout athletes is Fanni Szalai. The young Hungarian won the European Junior Cups in Caorle and Tiszaujvaros, both of which were held over the Super Sprint distance with heats and a final. The racing in Banyoles will follow the same format with the heats held on Thursday and the final on Friday.
With a 100% success rate internationally in her fledgling career, Szalai will be the favourite to claim another win. In many respects, she is a special talent. On the one hand she is a phenomenal runner, yet she is also adept enough in the water to have emerged at the front of the field in her two international appearances.
That being said, she will not be the only candidate for the gold.
Léa Houart of France is another athlete to watch. She won an impressive silver medal at the European Junior Cup in Quarteira back in April. That day she bested her compatriot, Manon Laporte, who went on to win the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships.
Houart is also the reigning European Youth champion and will be likely to feature throughout the race.
Houart will be joined by an exceptional French team. Ambre Grasset won a silver medal at the European Junior Cup in Wels while Anouk Rigaud was next over the line to take the bronze medal at the same race. Both Grasset and Rigaud have plenty of speed on the run. Lisa Lecompte completes the team and is also a name to keep an eye on.
Leading the British team will be Lauren Mitchell. At last year’s European Youth Championships, Mitchell won the silver medal behind Houart. Having been beaten by only a couple of seconds last year, Mitchell will look to go one step better this time round.
Two top young Latvian prospects will be racing.
Beate Jansone won the Baltic Championships earlier in the year. More recently, she finished 3rd at the European Junior Cup in Panevėžys. A superb swimmer, Jansone will likely be towards the front of the field. She also performed well in the heats of the European Junior Cup in Caorle. After virtually matching Szalai in the water, Jansone finished 2nd behind the Hungarian in her heat.
Beāte Bula will be another Latvian contender. Among her notable results this season, she finished 5th at the European Olsztyn and 4th at the Baltic Championships. Like Jansone, Bula is a fast swimmer and could pressure the field early on.
Gwen Nothum and Linda Krombach will be racing for Luxembourg on the back of good showings at the World Junior Championships. In Hamburg, the pair finished 21st and 22nd, respectively. Most notably, Nothum logged top-10 splits in the swim and on the bike.
Meanwhile, Krombach is a fast runner. If the field does not break up she could strike at the end of the race.
Lotte Minnebo and Eline Debecker will be racing for Belgium in Banyoles having just competed in Hamburg. Minnebo was the top finisher of the duo in 23rd place, while Debecker took 35th place.
Luna Sraka of Slovenia won a silver medal at the European Junior Cup in Panevėžys. One question ahead of the racing in Banyoles will be how well she has been able to recover from her efforts in Lithuania. Similarly, Liis Kapten and Etrrin Etverk of Estonia will be racing after finishing 4th and 5th in Panevėžys.
Marta Novo Dios will also be representing Spain after earning 4th place at the European Junior Cup in Melilla earlier in the year.
One of Novo’s teammates will be the favourite to claim the gold in the men’s race.
Hector Tolsa García is enjoying a fantastic season. He finished 2nd in Melilla, 6th in Quarteira, 4th in Caorle, 2nd at the European Junior Cup in Izvorani and then most recently took 17th place in Hamburg. He has built up plenty of experience this season and has tested himself against the best Junior athletes in the world. As one of the best runners in the field, he will be very tough to beat.
Carol Popa will fancy his chances of doing well after winning a bronze medal at the European Junior Cup in Wels. He then finished 21st in Hamburg. Like Tolsa, Popa is a rapid runner and could be a tricky opponent.
At the other end of the race, Zalán Trungel-Nagy will look to uphold Hungary’s recent record of producing fast swimmers. He finished 5th at the European Junior Cup in Tiszaujvaros and will likely apply a lot of pressure on the field in the water.
Jens Smolders of Belgium will look to build upon a 19th place in Hamburg and should be in the conversation for a medal in Banyoles. Likewise, Achille Besson will be a challenger. Besson is part of a talented French team and finished 3rd at French Junior tests earlier in the year. At the test, he beat the World Junior silver medallist Nils Serre Gehri.
Besson is one of the most well-rounded athletes in the field and should be able to put himself in contention no matter how the race pans out.
Milan Lariviere will be another French athlete to watch. Last year he finished 5th at the European Youth Championships. This season, he claimed 5th place in Quarteira and took 6th at the French Junior test.
One factor that could prove highly influential will be the weather. Temperatures are forecasted to be comfortably over 30 degrees (Celsius) and the racing will therefore take place in the evening.
The races themselves are fairly short. The swim will be 300m long while the bike will consist of one undulating lap of 6.6km around the lap. With a few bumps in gradient on the bike course, there could be chances to break the field up. A 1.8km run will then cap off the event. With such short distances, there will be little margin for error and with the talent starting any mistake will likely be quickly punished.
You can view the start lists here.
