For the 15th time, the European DragonBoat Federation organised the EDBF European Nations Dragon Boat Championships 2024, which were held this year from 4-7 July in the Czech Republic, at the Ráčice racecourse near Prague. Hungary topped the medal table. The success of the event was helped by the athletes of the Rába Dragon Boat Club, ten of whom are students of Széchenyi István University.

As a city of rivers, Győr has a long tradition in water sports, which has been supported by Széchenyi István University for many years. In the last few months alone, they have won bronze medals at the World University Rowing Championships, silver medals at the Granite Bank Universities Regatta and national championships in dragon boating.

At the European Dragon Boat Championships in early July, the students of Széchenyi also performed outstandingly, helping the national team to a historic success: overall, Hungary finished in first place, tied with Ukraine, with 29 gold, 14 silver and 5 bronze medals. This was the best result ever achieved by the team, which was largely crewed by the Rába Dragon Boat Club from Győr.

The students of Széchenyi István University strengthened the crew of the Hungarian U24 and Premier dragon boat team at the European Championships (Photo: Hungarian Dragon Boat Federation)

The Hungarian delegation was one of the largest in the 18-nation tournament, with 18 of the 188 members being university students. The youngsters from Széchenyi István University - ten students and two graduates - competed mainly in the U24 and Premier age groups. In these categories, the Hungarians won a total of 9 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medal, leaving them just one gold medal off the top of the table.

"I competed in the relatively new U24 team, and we achieved some amazing results with my team. Despite having little time to train together, we won every event we competed in. It was a very touching experience when the Hungarian national anthem was played for us," said Flóra Móricz, an International Relations BA at Széchenyi University who has been in the sport for five years. "One of the reasons why I chose the University was so that I could stay with the Rába Dragon Boat Club and continue my kite sailing. Luckily I can combine competitive sport and my studies, both the club and the University are very supportive."

The Hungarian national team students of Széchenyi István University: Laura Bertalan, Barbara Bilstein, Blanka Bucsi, Blanka Bucsi, Réka Dankó, Rebeka Káli, Flóra Móricz, Péter Neubauer, Johanna Nelli Schiewerth, Barnabás Stégmár, Márk Vingler.

The graduates of Széchenyi István University on the Hungarian national team: Gabriella László, Ádám Paulusz

Gallery: (Photos: Hungarian Dragon Boat Federation)