The LEN European Junior Open Water Swimming Championships took place in Tenero, Switzerland this weekend (Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July 2015) and is the thirteenth time that the championships have taken place. The championships were in the beautiful setting of Lake Maggiore, next to the famous Centro Sportivo in Tenero, which is the National Sports Centre, about a two hour drive from the Swiss capital, Zurich.
Competitors came from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Italy and France dominated the individual events, with Italy taking Gold in both the Male and Female 1997/1998 Junior age group and France doing the same in the 1999/2000 Youth age group. Both teams struggled in the team events however with Italy finishing down in 6th and France in 7th place respectively – this event was won by the German team who stretched their lead to win by a big margin of 25.06 seconds, ahead of Hungary.
The closest and most exciting race of the weekend was in the Youth 5k race, where French Open Water specialist Logan Fontaine fought his way to the end, beating Iaroslav Potapov from Russia on the touch. The pair scrapped with each other the whole race and led the pack from the start, with Fontaine eventually winning by just 0.48.
The official championship website is www.tenero2015.ch and on here you can find full results and information on the competition, including the course maps. Please see medal winners below;
Great Britain Junior Team showing support for their team mates on the final day.
7.5K Junior Male (97/98) – Friday 10th July 2015
Gold – Andrea Manzi – Italy – 1:30:01.57
Silver – Thore Bermel – Germany – 1:30:08.18
Bronze – Kirill Belyaev – Russia – 1:30:13.40
7.5K Junior Female (97/98) – Friday 10th July 2015
Gold – Alisia Tettamanzi – Italy – 1:36:02.61
Silver – Nikoletta Kiss – Hungary – 1:36:04.53
Bronze – Alice Dearing – Great Britain – 1:36:07.16
5K Youth Male (99/00)– Saturday 11th July 2015
Gold – Logan Fontaine – France – 57:16.90
Silver – Iaroslav Potapov – Russia – 57:17.38
Bronze – Emanuele Russo – Italy – 57:19.44
5K Youth Female (99/00)– Saturday 11th July 2015
Gold – Oceane Cassignol – France – 1:02:46.96
Silver – Lisa Pou – France – 1:02:51.54
Bronze – Carlotta De Mattia – Italy – 1:02:58.33
3K Team (2 Male, 1 Female) – Sunday 12th July 2015
Gold – Germany
Silver – Hungary
Bronze – Russia