The European Universities Orienteering Championship has finally concluded on the 27th with an exciting Closing Ceremony at the Square in front of University of St.Gallen.

The Closing Ceremony of the EUOC 2023 was indeed great! After a very rainy 3rd and last day of competition, everyone was happy to be able to celebrate the end of this amazing championship.

The Competition hosted around 200 participants, representing 66 universities from 17 European countries.

The Sprint Relay in the town of Appenzell concluded the competitions. Three categories competed for the medals. The men's teams started first and completed the 4 legs with forks and different route choices whilst it was showering.

The women's teams, that started as the 2nd category, were exposed to hard rain. Slips and falls on the wet grass were of course unavoidable. Orienteering is a tough sport and slipping is part of the game when fighting for the sought-after medals.

As the 3rd and last category, 30 mixed teams completed their relay (with one woman and one man). In this race, one team was dominating from the start to the finish and took the gold medal. 

However, the European Universities Orienteering Championship 2023 came to a worthy conclusion of the competition. Students from all over Europe will for sure take back home many positive memories.

The winners of the the relay finals are:
WW
1. Katja Brütsch and Andrea Roggo, University of Zürich
2. Anja Probst and Eliane Deininger, University of Bern
3. Hanna Müller and Katrin Müller, ETH Zürich

MM
1. Florian Attinger and Tino Polsini, ETH Zürich
2. Nathan Marchand and Basile Basset, University of Clermont Auvergne
3. Jonny Donner and Emil Sevelius, Aalto University

WM
1. Simona Aebersold and Fabian Aebersold, University of Bern
2. Kim Hadorn and Joey Hadorn, University of Applied Sciences Bern
3. Karoliina Ukskoski and Tukka Mäkinen, University of Jyväskylä

Sprint Finals of Men in St. Gallen:
1. Riccardo Rancan, ETH Zürich
2. Joey Hadorn, University of Applied Sciences Bern
3. Florian Attinger, ETH Zürich
Sprint Finals of Women in St. Gallen
1. Hanne Hilo, University of Helsinki
2. Eline Gemperle, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland
3. Florence Hanauer, INSA Lyon

Middle Finals of Men in Gais/Hirschberg
1. Reto Egger, University of Applied Sciences Bern
2. Tino Polsini, ETH Zürich
3. Manuele Ren, ETH Zürich
Middle Finals of Women in Gais/Hirschberg
1. Zsofia Sárközy, Eötvös Loránd University
2. Hanna Müller, ETH Zürich
3. Katrin Müller, ETH Zürich

Overall category
1. ETH Zürich
2. INSA Lyon
3. University of Bern

At the closing ceremony, Mr Daniel Studer, on his and the OCs behalf, thanked all the great athletes that competed in the championship and that they created such great orienteering community, surrounded with fair play and excellence in body, mind and personality. 

EUSA thanked the National University Sport Association and the Rector of University of St.Gallen for the great organization of the championship, that showcased amazing results.

Ms Eszter Gulyas and Mr Dusan Vystavel expressed their gratitude and sincere respect for the immaculate organisation delivered by the Swiss Organisation Committee. The EUOC 2023 was solemnly declared closed by Ms Eszter Gulyas, while the EUSA flag was passed to the Mr Dusan Vystavel. 

Photography credits belong to Mr Handpeter Schenk.

 For more information, please see https://orienteering2023.eusa.eu/