France dominated the medal table at the championship in Žilina
The Youth European Championships in sport climbing, lead discipline, attracted more than 260 young climbers from across the continent. The event delivered plenty of dramatic battles, tight results, and showed that the future of European climbing is truly in good hands.
In the girls’ under-17 category, Aina Vila Cantero (ESP) took the victory. Swann Lamblin-Burguet (FRA) finished second, while the bronze went to Milena Casetta (SRB). Among the boys under 17, the winner was Yanik Chassain (SUI), with silver for Christian Leitner (AUT) and bronze for Hypolite Vilanova (FRA).
Strong performances also came in the U19 category. The girls’ field was dominated by Great Britain – gold went to Connie Bridgens (GBR), silver to her teammate Lucy Garlick (GBR), and bronze to Louise Puech Yazid (FRA). In the boys’ event, the battle was extremely tight: Luca Nündel (GER) and Akyan Etchar (FRA) finished with the same result, but the title was awarded to Nündel thanks to his stronger semifinal placement. Jan Štípek (CZE) claimed the bronze.
The oldest age group, U21, brought another thrilling finale. In the girls’ competition, Arina Jurcenko (CZE)celebrated victory, finishing just one hold ahead of Anastasiia Kobets (UKR). Experienced Aleksandra Totkova (BUL)took the bronze. Among the boys, it was a French 1–2 finish: Victor Guillermin (FRA) won gold after reaching the top but running out of time just before the final hold, while silver went to Matteo Soule (FRA). Felix Mader (AUT)completed the podium with bronze.
France as a nation confirmed its strength in youth climbing, topping the medal table with four golds, three silvers, and three bronzes. But the championships also marked significant successes for other countries, including Spain, Switzerland, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic.
Home fans also had reasons to cheer thanks to excellent performances from Slovak climbers. Filip Matejička (SVK) confirmed his form with a 4th place finish in the finals – the best result of his career so far. He narrowly missed out on bronze, finishing with the same score as bronze medalist Jan Štípek, but the semifinal ranking served as the tiebreaker, with Štípek taking first and Matejička fifth.
Martina Buršíková (SVK) also proved her potential in a highly competitive field, showing that Slovak climbing has strong promise in the youth categories. She eventually finished 5th overall. While the medals just slipped away, both names are among the brightest hopes of the domestic climbing scene.
The event, organized by the Slovak Mountaineering Association JAMES in cooperation with IFSC Europe, showed that Žilina is fully capable of hosting a top-level sporting event of European significance. The finals were watched by thousands of spectators both online and in the arena, and the atmosphere confirmed that sport climbing has firmly established itself among the young generation. The results of this championship are also a promise that we will hear much more from today’s youth champions on the senior world stage.
