Participating in the European Athletics Championship

by Alina Barbu, Year 12

Going to my first European championship was a one of a kind experience, which cannot be fully described in words. The Under 18 European Championships took place in Jerusalem Israel on 5-8 July. The Romanian team came to Jerusalem with a total of 36 people, returning with one bronze medal, which I think shows you the level of competition, and how much work needs to be done to reach the extremely high European standards.

To be honest I didn’t know what to expect from this competition. I really didn’t think it would be that much of a difference from the national level. I knew it would be something exciting and that I would love the experience, but I totally underestimated it. Whatever I thought the European Championship would be like, it really was 100 times better.

Before we left for Jerusalem, the Romanian Athletic Federation gathered all the athletes that qualified for the European championship to give us our competition clothing. Getting to wear the national colours, knowing I was going to represent Romania in an international competition gave me butterflies- it was an ineffable feeling filled with a sense of pride and euphoric excitement. Knowing that my family, friends, and coach got to see me on the television made me tear up with joy.

Because of this competition, I returned home with many incredible memories and a lot of new friends from different countries and Romania also. This competition forced each athlete out of their comfort zone, requiring us to interact, slowly becoming really good friends, and I personally wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.