Best junior performances at the European inline championships

The best junior inline speed skaters in Europe battled it out at the 2019 European championships last week in Pamplona, Spain.

By Jackob Savard

Photo: Thomas Wendt (@freddyrace)

Here are some performances that captured our attention in the junior category during this week of racing. 

Spain on top

The home team was the strongest in the junior category during the 2019 European championships. The most successful Spanish skater was Ivan Galar who won four gold medals during the championships. Nil Llop got two gold, four silver and a bronze and their teammate Rafael Heredia also got bronze medals. The ladies’ team composed of Sara Cabrera, Nerea Langa and Almudena Blanco also did great during the week collecting a lot of medals for their country. Langa was the most prolific as she took part in Spain’s victory in the team sprint, was crowned European champion in the one lap sprint and was the best ranked junior skater in the marathon finishing 7th overall. 

Golden week for Suttels

Belgian Jason Suttels was dominant in the longer distances winning five gold medals during the week. He was also the best junior skater in the marathon event finishing 9th overall in a strong field of senior stars.

Good championships for Italy

Young Italians also performed well during these championships. Asja Varani got four gold medals and some silver and bronze hardware too, making her the most decorated Italian of these championships. Her teammate Giorgia Valanzano was crowned European champion twice and got a couple of bronze medals. Some of their female and male teammates also stepped on podiums during the week.

Barrault and Bernardi lead France

Honorine Barrault and Alison Bernardi were a powerful duo in the long distances of the championships collecting many medals. The highlights of their championships was Barrault’s victory in the road elimination race and France’s title in the track relay alongside Manon Fraboulet. Men’s skaters also got some medals for France. 

Czech team and Bente Kerkhoff made their respective countries proud

The junior Czech team has been showing great things all season long and they ended it with a strong win. Tomáš Bohumský, Jan Pibrik, Zdenek Sejpal and Radek Fajkus skated to the European champion title in the junior men’s relay. Bente Kerkhoff gave the Netherlands something to celebrate as she won the 10000m track points race on the first day of racing.

For our recap of the Senior championships, click HERE

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter, follow our Facebook page, our Instagram account and our Twitter account for daily news and results about speed skating.