There was little honor for the Belgians among the juniors. Shanyl De Schoesitter made a good start with the girls and seemed to be in the running for a medal for two rounds. “I played all or nothing,” the East Flemish player said afterwards. “I went overboard. But I don’t regret anything. I got out what was in it.” The Schoesitter eventually finished eleventh, the gold went to the French Célia Gery.
Things went completely wrong for the boys in the first round. Co-favorite Arthur Van den Boer crashed in the first round and would not appear again in the piece, just like the other compatriots. Antwerp resident Fabian Maes, son of Dutch parents, was ultimately the fifteenth and first compatriot to cross the line. And here again French dominance. Aubin Sparfel beat the Hungarian Zsombor Takacs in the sprint. Another Frenchman, Jules Simon, took the bronze ahead of the Italian Viezzi.
The morning session ended with the women’s pledges. The gold went to the British Zoë Backstedt, ahead of Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg) and Krystina Zemanova (Czech Republic). First-year Xaydee from Sinaey finished seventh. “And I am quite satisfied with that,” said the East Flemish afterwards. “I had a good feeling along the way, although I had to change profile due to the drying course. But I can really live with my result.”(gvdl)
