Several orienteering athletes who previously excelled at the 2019 European Universities Championships have recently competed on the international stage, and have shared their journey and experiences from participating in EUSA competitions.

Orienteering is a new sport in EUSA family, and after officially being included as a new EUSA sport in 2016, the first Championship was organised in 2019 in Olomouc, Czech Republic, which involved 151 student-athletes from 50 different universities from 19 different countries.

Due to the global pandemic in 2020 and 2021, all EUSA events in Orienteering were cancelled, but some of the 2019 EUC Orienteering participants continued with their excellent performance and successes also in international Orienteering Federation events, including the recent EGK European Orienteering Championships (EOC) in Neuchatel, Switzerland.

These include “Queen of the 2019 Championship” Ms Tereza Janosikova, a multiple gold-medal winner in Olomouc, as well as Swiss competitor Riccardo Rancan and Frenchman Maxime Rauturier.



Mr Dusan Vystavel, EUSA’s Technical Delegate for Orienteering, caught up with these three athletes to talk about their experiences at 2019 European Universities Championship, and how that event has since boosted their careers.

1)    Dusan Vystavel: Are there any memories from the first ever EUC Orienteering 2019 still in your mind?

Tereza: Yeah definitely, there are a lot of nice memories still staying in my mind. First, it was a nice summer orienteering event with precise organisation, interesting courses, and a good atmosphere. It was even more emotional for me because most of the time we spent in the places I visited in my childhood as it was happening in my home region. Being able to help other athletes and recommend them the best spots to visit made it even more pleasant for me, listening to their satisfaction that the whole event was a nice experience. Thanks to all the organisers and people for making this event possible. It will stay in my heart for a long time.

Riccardo: Of course I still have a lot of good memories from EUC 2019. Winning a championship medal is always something special, but I remember also the friendly atmosphere with all the international students. It was really nice to meet orienteers from all around Europe which normally don't have the chance to participate in the world cups.

Maxime: Yeah definitely! It was hard to know what to expect before arriving to Czech Republic for EUOC, but I was not disappointed. I needed some goal for summer and this was perfect. I enjoyed all the races but mostly this sprint relay was unique by its format and left some nice memories. Also it was really cool to be gathering with the young orienteering community and enjoying a nice time together.



2) Dusan Vystavel: Was your success in EUOC 2019 helpful for your future career and successes in the IOF events?

Tereza: Even though EUOC was a really important event, it was not my main goal of the season so I could relax more and I simply enjoyed it. It was a time that helped me a lot to relax and just be racing in a good flow surrounded by a nice community. I really needed this kind of break after several big international events where I was feeling a lot of pressure. It was the perfect restart for me into the rest of the season and I am sure it had an impact on my impressive achievements later.

Riccardo: It was definitely helpful for my future career. The first years in the elite class are hard for all young orienteers and to compete with others who are around the same age is a lot of fun. I was missing the feeling since my last junior world championships of lining up at the start line and knowing that I can win a medal with a good race. The possibility for young orienteers during these student championships is huge to be able to fight for medals during their first years in the elite class before taking the last step to the world stage. The experience I have made at EUC 2019 helped me definitely to deal with the pressure at an important race and use this experience for future events like world cups and European championships on elite level.

Maxime: EUOC was not really successful for me but it was the base for a great end of year 2019 for me. I realised my problems in the sprint discipline and what I need to work on to achieve better performances. I'm grateful for this experience.



3) Dusan Vystavel: What are the main reasons for athletes to participate in EUSA events?

Tereza: It was really nice to attend an event where everyone's participation depends on themselves and it is not conditioned by any specific choice of national teams.  It means gathering cool people who want to race well and compete with others, and at the same time, those who did not have many opportunities to take part in any major international event before, because there was no place for them in the team. Here, almost everyone can attend, for example, the team leaders meeting before the race, and feel that they are really part of the event.

Riccardo: I highly recommend participating at EUSA events for all kind of athletes and students because it is a lot of fun to meet students from other countries who share the same passion for the sport. It does not matter if you are highly competitive and want to win medals at these championships or you just want to have fun doing international orienteering races in new terrain.

Maxime: EUSA is a big gathering of the young senior generation and it kind of follows the JWOC spirit. Sometimes you can feel lost when arriving in senior events and competing along the big names, so participating in mid-level competition like EUSA is essential to achieving good results at senior level. Mostly it is a fun event in a good spirit! I wish I were still in university to attend more events like that.

Images courtesy of the IOF events athletes archives