The 3rd European Games, informally known as Kraków-Matopolska 2023, was an international multi-sport event held from 21 June to 2 July 2023 in Kraków and Matopolska, Poland. Over the course of these two weeks and with Paris 2024 in their sights, 69 past and present GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) athletes were looking to make their mark at these games.
GSF athletes were competing across 14 different sports, from Athletics, diving, artistic swimming, modern pentathlon and fencing among others, representing Team GB, Ireland, and Malta. By the end of the European Games, GSF past and present athletes had secured an impressive 22 medals in total, 14 Bronze, 4 Silver, and 4 Gold medals!
At the start of the games, a lot of the action began in the pool, with Beatrice Crass (Reading) and her partner securing 2 Bronze medals in Artistic Swimming for their performances in the Mixed Duet Technical and Free competitions. GSF Ambassador Grace Reid (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - QEOP) added to the tally with a Silver medal in Diving in the mixed 3m springboard final and a Bronze medal for her individual performance in the Women’s 1m springboard.
Doubling up for the Women’s 3m Springboard event, Desharne Bent-Ashmeil (QEOP) and Amy Rollinson (QEOP) showcased their incredible talents taking home the Gold medal! Alumni Eden Cheng also added a Gold medal to Team GB’s count in the Women’s 10m Platform final. Rounding up the medals from the pool, Ben Cutmore (QEOP) and Matthew Dixon (QEOP) paired up to secure a Bronze medal in the Men’s 10m platform competition.
Taking a look at some of the other sports on show, our athletic athletes added 3 more Bronze medals to the count. They came from Bianca Williams (Lee Valley Regional Authority) in the Women’s 200m Sprint, Scott Lincoln in the Men’s shot put event and from alumni athlete Jeremiah Azu in the Men’s 100m Sprint. Representing Team GB in Archery, GSF alumni athlete Jaspreet Kaur Sagoo and her team came home with the Gold medal in the Women's recurve team event. Another alumni athlete in the spotlight is William Dreary who also secured a Bronze medal for his individual performance in the Men’s Sabre, Fencing competition.
As we hit the second half of the games and into the Boxing ring, Representing Team Ireland, Michaela Walsh (Belfast) secured a Bronze medal in the Women’s 57kg category and for Team GB, alumni athlete Kiaran MacDonald claimed his Bronze medal in the Men’s 51kg. Moving over to the Triathlons, GSF alumni Connor Bentley and Team GB claimed a Silver medal in the Mixed relay event. Further medal successes for GSF athletes came from Modern Pentathlon with Sam Curry (Reigate and Banstead) and partner alumni athlete Jessica Varley taking home the Bronze medal in the mixed relay event. In the Men and Women’s individual events, GSF alumni athletes competed their way onto the podium with Joe Choong securing the Silver medal and Olivia Green taking home Bronze.
Coming towards the end of the games, multiple Canoe medals were up for grabs before our athletes headed home. Ryan Westley (Lee Valley) and James Kettle (Lee Valley) helped to earn Team GB a Silver medal in the Men’s Canoe team event and Ambassador Kimberley Woods (Lee Valley) played her part in securing a Bronze medal in the Women’s team event. On the final days of the competition, Ambassador Joe Clarke (Lee Valley) secured the Bronze medal in the Men’s individual Kayak race, and to end the competition on a high, Ryan Westley secured a Gold medal for Team GB in the Men’s Canoe individual event.
A huge congratulations to all of the GSF past and present athletes who attended these games, it has been a pleasure following your hard work and efforts in this time!
| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank By Total
| 1 | Italy | 35 | 26 | 39 | 100 | 1
| 2 | Spain | 21 | 17 | 19 | 57 | 4
| 3 | Ukraine | 21 | 12 | 8 | 41 | 7
| 4 | Germany | 20 | 16 | 27 | 63 | 2
| 5 | France | 17 | 19 | 26 | 62 | 3
| … 17 | GSF | 4 | 4 | 14 | 22 | 12
