Even DJB CEO Frank DÖTSCH had to do the maths again. “Is it really 100 already?” With 1 x gold (Samira Bock/-70), 1 x silver (Raffaela Igl/-78) and 2 bronze medals (Friederike Stolze/-70, Kilian Kappelmeier/-100), U-23 European Championship hosts GERMANY – still without a countable haul on the opening day – catapulted themselves to 5th place among 37 nations in the medals table. The packed MSB Arena (3,000 fans) went crazy. But it was EJU hall speaker Christian Freese who shed some light on the statistics: since the introduction of the Under-23 European Championships in 2004, Germany has now won 29 titles and exactly ONE HUNDRED MEDALS. The anniversary medal was won by 3rd placed Kilian KAPPELMEIER (-100).
“This means we have already achieved all our sporting goals before the final mixed team competition on Sunday. But we’re secretly hoping that Team Germany will also win a medal on Sunday, ideally gold,” hopes Frank Dötsch. “Last year, we were beaten in the final 4-1 by Turkey. The title should also be within our grasp in front of our own fans.”
“To be honest, I’ve never fought in front of so many people before, 3,000 spectators and such a cool atmosphere is new territory for me. It was a perfect day, I really enjoyed the atmosphere – especially in front of my family (mum Soraya, dad Stephan and sister Yasmin),” beamed -70 kg European champion Samira BOCK, who successfully defended her title from Sarajevo 2022 in Potsdam. With a wink, the 20-year-old from Munich said: “But it’s not over yet: I definitely wouldn’t mind a third gold medal – with the mixed team.”
The Bock family will also be keeping their fingers crossed tomorrow…
Author: EJU Media