Eli, you are an Olympic winner! What does it mean to you?
It is obviously a great success and I value it a lot but it is only the next step to be a good skier as an adult and to gain success in World Cup.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge paid a compliment to the organisers of the 10th EYOWF in Liberec. "I liked Sunday’s Opening Ceremony, it was very creative," said Rogge. "The European Youth Olympic Festival is the child of Jacques Rogge and twenty years after it was born he can see how it has grown," commented Milan Jirásek, the President of the Czech Olympic Committee (COC).
The figure Skating Competition was launched with the girls' short programme. Thirty young figure skaters from thirty countries presented themselves on the ice. Some of the performances left the spectators speechless.
A hot pace was set in the ten-kilometre long course, with the Northerners taking the reigns again and making the Russians leave empty-handed once more.
Jacques Rogge’s visit to the venue preceded the start of the first race in the white tracks: the 7.5 km Girls. The atmosphere was getting tense and the heart rates of all 74 athletes were rising. After days of inclement weather, the organisers had the pleasant duty of preparing the tracks in the fresh snow with the help of local skiers from Dukla Liberec.
Jasmine Costa (Estonia), figure skater: “The Opening Ceremony was terrific, I was most impressed by the acrobats on the ropes - they were simply breathtaking. For me EYOWF is a huge competition where I can gain a lot of experience and prove myself as a good athlete.”