Honza Štípek won the European Youth Championship (EYCH) in Augsburg!

Our youngest ambassador Jan Štípek became European Champion!!!! Congratulations on such an amazing performance!!! Honza has thus nominated himself for the Youth World Championship (MSM) in Dallas (USA), which takes place from 22 to 31 August 2022.

Honza sent us a summary and his feelings about the whole race. We have news for you both from the European Cup (EYC) and, of course, from the European Championship. Here it is and congratulations again Honzo and thanks for being our athlete and representing the RE brand so well.

Jan Štípek:

2.7- 3.7 2022 Dornbin European Youth Cup (EYC) 2nd place

European Cup in Dornbin. I was really looking forward to this race and had motivation, thanks to the previous failure in Ostermudigen, Switzerland.

We arrived the day before the start of the race, and he couldn't wait for the races to start.

The qualifying routes seemed well laid out to me, but I was one of the few who held this opinion and liked the routes. The first route was built in a rut, which I'm used to, so I got to the bottom of the top, where I made a mistake and fell. The second path was overhanging when I found it, so I was expecting some heavy stepping, so I climbed slowly and carefully. In the end, there was no difficult step for me in the second trip and I made it all the way to the top. I advanced to the finals from first place. I was surprised and began to trust myself more that I could stand on the box this time.

The final was climbed the following morning. Personally, I don't like climbing in the morning, but I was motivated to win, so it didn't bother me so much this time.

Since I advanced from the first place in the qualification, I was the last to start the final journey. As I was coming out of the isolation, I started to get nervous, but as I started the journey, I stopped being nervous and started focusing on climbing it all the way to the top. Under the headwall I made a mistake where I used my heel wrong and fell down.

This mistake cost me first place and I ended up with a silver medal. After the race, I started to look forward to the next race in Augsburg, where I wanted to get the first place and the gold medal, but I knew that it would take a lot of effort.

8.7-9.7 2022 European Youth Championship (EYCH) Augsburg 1st place

We arrived in Augsburg the day before the competition. The motivation from the previous race stuck with me. Qualifying was on Friday and semi-finals with the final on Saturday. The qualifying routes were really beautiful, and I thought I wanted to heat them. I entered the first stage in sixth place and felt really strong. I quickly got to the penultimate hold, where I was waiting for a jump into the top. Jumps are my strongest point, so I didn't hesitate to jump after the last hold I held, heating up the path. The only one who then climbed this route was my good friend Lukáš Mokroluský.

I climbed the second route as the twenty-ninth and so far the highpoint was about halfway up. I was ready for really hard steps, which I succeeded. I continued to the second half of the way and a little below the top I was stopped by a big squeeze, which also took me down. This step was climbed by the only Frenchman Max Bertone, who thus secured his passage to the semi-finals from first place. I advanced to the semi-finals from second place, but I knew I could have climbed better and focused on the semi-finals.

The semi-finals were played again early in the morning. It took a while for my body to wake up while climbing in isolation. When we went to inspect the road and I saw that our road was overhanging the ruts and bumps, my eyes lit up. Then we went back into the isolation and the climbing started. I was a bit nervous because the people who were climbing in front of me were climbing for a short time, so I thought they must be falling low. Finally it was my turn. I really enjoyed the trip and that's why I was able to fully concentrate. After a difficult passage about halfway through, the audience started cheering more and I knew I was setting a new highpoint.

The shouts of the spectators and the fact that I was the highest of the previous competitors gave me the strength to climb on. Under the top, a step to almost the last hold was waiting for me.

It was a jump into the bar, which I was not afraid of. After the jump, I didn't have the strength anymore, I couldn't hold on and fell. There was another Frenchman climbing after me who fell under me and I progressed to the final from first place, which gave me even more motivation to win the European Championship.

The final was climbed on the same day as the semi-final. When we went to inspect the road again, the road seemed very dynamic and difficult. When almost everyone had left, I went to the so-called call zone and waited for my turn. While waiting I listened to people cheering for the racers in front of me and I knew from the shouts that Max Bertone had climbed the route because people started clapping really hard. Then Lukáš Mokroluský went, who also warmed up the route and nervousness began to affect me, because I knew that I had to warm it up if I wanted to be first. I was able to clean up quickly when it was my turn.

When I was climbing, the path didn't seem difficult to me, and that's why I ended up under the top quite quickly. I told myself in my head that this time it would work. An indescribable feeling came over me when I caught the last catch, and I can't express what was going on in my head at that moment. When they let me down, I went to see the Czech team and I was happy that they were also happy about it. Then I went to see my dad who was there with me and who was so happy that I had won the European Championship that he was crying.
I then called the rest of the family (mom, brother, sister and grandparents).
Everyone was proud of me, and that made me the happiest that my family is proud of me, although it is also their merit, as they always support me and try to give me the best possible conditions. I hope for more success in the years to come.
Finally, I would like to thank: Saša Gendová, Štěpán Wolf, Matoušov, Patrik from FyzioGym, but especially my trainer Tomáš Binter and all sponsors
photo: https://eu.zonerama.com/JanStipek/Album/8632461

Honza Štípek
born 13.06 2008
Usti nad Labem