• Title goes to Italy
• DLRG athlete sets German Junior record
• Germans win seven gold medals

Bad Nenndorf/Riesa/Mücheln. The national team of the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) finished the The European Youth Lifesaving Championships (EYLC) on Thursday (4.7.) in second place. Italy emerged as the winner out of the twelve participating nations. They collected a total of 1,088 points in the indoor pool of Riesa and at Lake Geiseltal near Mücheln, defending their title from the previous year by a large margin. The DLRG Juniors and the French team followed on the podium with 894 and 764 points respectively. Overall, the German national team won seven gold, 16 silver, and four bronze medals.

Three junior records in the pool

The pool competitions in the indoor pool of Riesa (Saxony) formed the start (30.6.). The Italians won the majority of the disciplines and swam to two new junior world records over 4 x 25 meters rescuing a dummy (women: 1:22.61 minutes; men: 1:08.96 minutes). Leo Ilias Baumann (DLRG Völklingen) achieved a new German junior record in the 200 meters obstacle swimming with a time of 1:58.08 minutes on his debut in the German national team on the last day of the pool competitions. This secured Germany the first gold medal. At halftime, the Italians led the table with 569 points, followed by the German and Polish teams (454 and 354 points).

DLRG athletes score at the beach

At halftime (3.7.), the lifeguards changed the scenery: From the indoor pool in Riesa, they moved to Lake Geiseltal in Mücheln (Saxony-Anhalt). Here, the DLRG athletes took the lead right at the beginning in the beach sprints: Johanna Gnad (Malsch) and Samuel Abold (Starnberg) crossed the finish line first. Shortly after, Gnad, together with Jessica Körner (Charlottenburg), Finja Thoms (Schwerte), and Alina Wagner (Stadtkyll), once again secured the first place in the sprint relay.

On the last day of competition, Abold once again proved to be the fastest runner and grabbed the remaining baton in the elimination competition Beach Flags. When it came to the water, Leo Ilias Baumann secured his second gold medal in surf swimming. The conclusion of the competition was marked by the Mixed Rescue Relay, which combines running with the disciplines of surf swimming, rescue board, and rescue ski races. The junior athletes Gnad and Wagner, along with Baumann and Fabian Herrmann (Halle/Saale, claimed the final gold medal of the international competition.

More information about the Junior European Championship in lifesaving can be found at dlrg.de/jem. Printable images from the competition can be found in the DLRG Medienportal.

About lifesaving sport

The lifesaving sport is the competitive variant of lifesaving swimming. It originated from the idea of attracting people to water rescue services. Because good lifesaving athletes are also good lifesavers. The sport can help save lives in emergencies. Strength, conditioning, speed, and mastery of rescue equipment are prerequisites for being competitive in competition. In the DLRG, tens of thousands of people actively participate in lifesaving sport, from local clubs to international competitions.

Press contact: Niklas Lübkemann, Mail: presse@dlrg.de