Silver for Potočar, bronze for Lukan and Tarkuš
28.05.2018
The Slovenian youth national team in sport climbing returns from the European Youth Championship in lead, held last May weekend in Imst, with three medals and several more excellent placements. Luka Potočar (ŠPO PD Radovljica) climbed to his best placement so far with a silver medal, experienced Vita Lukan (ŠPO PD Radovljica) and newcomer Lucija Tarkuš (AK Impol Slovenska Bistrica) celebrated bronze. Just below the podium finished Lučka Rakovec (ŠD Proteus), who will compete at the Youth Olympic Games this year together with Lukan.
Imst was the venue for the youth European Championship in sport climbing in lead and speed disciplines from May 25 to 27, while the bouldering part will be in early September in Brussels. The Slovenian team once again excelled in lead, with seven finalists.
In the cadets category (under 18), Luka Potočar (ŠPO PD Radovljica) impressed, climbing to a career highlight with a silver medal, after finishing fourth among older boys at the 2016 Youth World Championship. "I didn't expect such a good placement, I focused more on climbing in the final. In Imst, both the climbing style and the competition routes suited me, it went well and I'm thrilled with second place," smiled the 16-year-old from Jesenice, who also has several excellent placements in the European Youth Cup. The winner was Spaniard Alberto Ginés López, third was Austrian Louis Gundolf. Just below the cadets' podium, Lučka Rakovec (ŠD Proteus) finished fourth, Žiga Zajc (PS Ascendo) and Andrej Polak (PK Kamnik) were seventh and eighth respectively.
Potočar's club colleague Vita Lukan (ŠPO PD Radovljica) celebrated a bronze medal, for the first time this year in the juniors category (under 20), after winning the youth European lead title among cadets in 2017 and bronze at the 2016 Youth World Championship. "The competition started with slightly weaker qualifications, in the semifinals I climbed very well and was second, in the final I can say I climbed to the best of my abilities, so I'm very satisfied with third place," summarized the 17-year-old from Radovljica, who is heading to the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires this year with Lučka Rakovec. The winner was Frenchwoman Nolvenn Arc, second was Swiss Michelle Hulliger. Urška Repušič (ŠPO APD Kozjak) also competed in the final, finishing eighth.
Among the older girls (under 16), Lucija Tarkuš (AK Impol Slovenska Bistrica), a newcomer to the national team, stepped onto the third step of the podium at her first European Championship, after already winning bronze at a European Youth Cup event this year. "It was good to compete, the competition was strong. Since it was my first European Championship, I'm really satisfied with third place," said the 14-year-old from Slovenska Bistrica. The winner was Ukrainian Nika Potapova ahead of Frenchwoman Luce Douady.
"I'm very satisfied with the results at the championship. Given the great competition, it's great that we managed to climb three medals. I'm happy for Luka, Vita and Lucija, it's a shame that Lučka just missed the podium by a little. In addition, the three cadets in the final were a big positive surprise," evaluated the performances of his charges by the selector of the Slovenian youth national team in sport climbing Anže Štremfelj.
The 21-member Slovenian team successfully represented Slovenian colors at the European Championship in lead. In the junior category (under 20), Lana Skušek (ŠPO PD Komenda) was 11th, Matic Kotar (ŠD Proteus) 15th, Tjaša Slemenšek (Šaleški AO) 24th, Klemen Novak (AO PD Kranj) 33rd and Maks Bogolin (AO PD Črnuče) 39th. In the category of older girls and boys (under 16), Letija Fajfar (AO PD Kranj) achieved 10th place, Ema Seliškar (AK Impol Slovenska Bistrica) 14th, Bine Meke (PS DPČ Šmartno) 18th, Betka Debevec (PK Kamnik) and Anej Batagelj (DRPK) 26th, Timotej Romšak (PK Kamnik) 28th and Grega Verbuč (ŠPO PD Mozirje) 32nd place. In the cadets' competition (under 18), Aljaž Resnik (PK Kamnik) placed 34th and Ema Stopar (ŠPK Plus) 38th.
Slovenian competitors also competed in speed with the desire for good results in the combined three disciplines, but without qualifying for the final. The most successful was Maks Bogolin in 12th place. The youth European Bouldering Championship will be from August 31 to September 2 in Brussels, preceded by the youth world championship in Moscow.