North-east trio claim Team GB European Youth Olympic Festival squad places
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Team GB has announced a 39 strong team to compete at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Maribor, Slovenia this summer, with three north-east athletes joining the squad.
Maribor will welcome over 3000 athletes from 48 countries for the 17th edition of the summer EYOF which runs from July 23-29.
Eleven Olympic sports make up the programme: artistic gymnastics, athletics, handball, judo, road cycling, swimming, tennis and volleyball, with mountain bike, skateboarding and 3×3 basketball featuring for the first time at an EYOF.
Team GB will be represented in five sports: artistic gymnastics, judo, mountain bike, road cycling and swimming.
Local competitors include Stonehaven's Arabella Blackburn (15) in road cycling, Garioch's Ross McWatt (17) in -60 kg judo and Aberdeen's Dean Fearn (15) in swimming.
EYOFs play a vital role in providing aspiring young Olympians with a fantastic multi-sport experience and the 39 athletes selected to compete in Maribor will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Team GB EYOF alumni including Dina Asher-Smith (Trabzon 2011), Nile Wilson (Utrecht 2013), Duncan Scott (Utrecht 2013) and Tom Pidcock (Tbilisi 2015) who went from EYOF podium to medal success at the Olympic Games.
Georgina Harland, MBE, Team GB’s Chef de Mission, said: “Being selected to represent Team GB is a very special moment, and I am sure that the 39 young athletes selected to take part in this summer’s EYOF will grab this exciting opportunity and use it as an important steppingstone in their future sporting careers.
“Maribor is set to be a fantastic event and I look forward to watching all of the athletes competing to the best of their ability in July.”
At the last summer’s EYOF in Banská Bystrica in 2022, Team GB claimed fourth place in the medal table with a total of 18 medals, including 7 golds.
Team GB at Maribor 2023:
Artistic Gymnastics: Alexander Niscoveanu, aged 17 from Cardiff; Jonas Rushworth, aged 17 from Leeds; Sol Scott, aged 16 from Huntingdon; Ema Kandalova, aged 14 from London; Ellie Lewis, aged 13 from Bridgend; Jemima Taylor, aged 14 from Newport
Cycling: Max Standen (mountain bike), aged 16 from Barnstaple; Rory Gravelle (road cycling), aged 16 from Carmarthen; Max Hinds (road cycling), aged 16 from Worcester; Luca Bednarek (road cycling), aged 15 from Harrogate; Evie Strachan (mountain bike), aged 15 from Stafford; Abigail Miller (road cycling), aged 15 from York; Erin Boothman (road cycling), aged 16 from Glasgow; Arabella Blackburn (road cycling), aged 15 from Aberdeen
Judo: Jesse Chraniuk (-55 kg), aged 16 from High Wycombe; Ross McWatt (-60 kg), aged 17 from Aberdeen; Irakli Goginashvili (-66 kg), aged 16 from London; Derek Marczak (-73 kg), aged 15 from London; Eva Ewing (-44 kg), aged 15 from Stirling; Amelia Alder (-48 kg), aged 16 from Guildford; Lola Hodson (-52 kg), aged 17 from Llantrisant; Chloe Link (-57 kg), aged 17 from Ashford; Julia Marczak (-70 kg), aged 16 from London
Swimming: Evan Davidson, aged 16 from Texas; Dean Fearn, aged 15 from Aberdeen; Joshua Inglis, aged 16 from Sidcup; Jacob Mills, aged 15 from Leicester; Kourosh Khodakhah, aged 16 from Tehranp; Filip Nowacki, aged 15 from Jersey; Charles Simpson, aged 15 from Durham; Isaac Thompson, aged 15 from Jersey; Amelie Blocksidge, aged 14 from Salford; Mabli Collyer, aged 14 from Caerfyrddin; Phoebe Cooper, aged 15 from Sheffield; Coco Croxford, aged 14 from Glasgow; Gabrielle Freeman, aged 14 from Joondalup; Martyna Karabacz, aged 14 from London; Theodora Taylor, aged 14 from Newport; Hollie Wilson, aged 14 from Harrogate
