(FILA Luxembourg S.a r.l.) It’s only January, but the 27th edition of the Short Track European Championships held in Gdansk (January 12 to 14) has already set up FILA-sponsored athletes for a winning streak for 2024!
Organised by the International Skating Union, the event featured 96 skaters representing 24 nations.
Three of them were co-sponsored by FILA: Team Italy sponsored by the Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG); Team Netherlands sponsored by the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF) and the Dutch Skating Federation (KNSB) and Team Norway sponsored by the Norwegian Skating Federation (NSF)
Despite the absence of the top FILA-sponsored skater Suzanne Schulting, who is resting up from an injury to compete in the ISU World Championship in March, the Dutch team claimed the top spot in the medal tally - scoring four golds, four silvers, and two bronzes.
Accolades were won across the board for Team Netherlands in both the men’s, and women’s categories and individual races and relays. The top podium was taken by Elisa Confortola for the women’s 1,500m and Xandra Velzeboer for the 500m. The relay events also showered the Dutch teams with gold.
Team Italy secured the second position with four golds and two silvers. Among its achievements, Pietro Sighel stood out by winning gold in the 500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m - becoming the first athlete to triumph in all three distances in the same European event!
Also in early January, the European Figure Skating Championships took place over 5 days in Kaunas, Lithuania. Here, the Italian national team, sporting their FILA uniforms, secured the top spot in the medal count with two golds and two bronzes.
In the individual Ice Dance category, the gold once again went to Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, repeating their previous triumphs at the 2023 event. These back-to-back championship wins are a first for Team Italy. In the pairs category, Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise claimed gold, while Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini took home the bronze.
The year has only just begun, but these incredible achievements already put FILA-sponsored athletes at the top of the game for 2024!