Picturesque Slovak Village of Bobrov Hosts Europe's Young Weightlifting Talents
The Slovak village of Bobrov hosted the 12th European Union Cup in Weightlifting from 17 to 20 September 2026, held at the local Bobrov Sports Hall. National teams from 14 countries took part, with athletes competing in the youth categories of Under 15, Under 17 and Under 20. The event drew athletes, coaches, referees and weightlifting officials from across Europe, along with numerous spectators.
Fair and professional running of the competition was ensured by a team of 15 referees, technical officials, sound engineers and other staff. A dedicated group of volunteers, led by Ondrej Kružel Sr., also played a major role, handling a wide range of organizational, technical and logistical tasks.
Tomáš Chovanec, President of the Slovak Weightlifting Federation and a member of the European Weightlifting Federation (EWF) Executive Board, said the work of people behind the scenes is essential to any major sporting event, and that Bobrov again showed that quality organization underpins a successful international competition.
Distinguished guests included EWF President Dr. Astrit Hasani. Chovanec noted that his presence raised the event's prestige, and that the active participation of national federation representatives contributed to the development of both the competition and youth weightlifting; over the four days, several working meetings were held on the future of weightlifting in Europe.
Other guests included Jesmond Caruana, President of the European Union Confederation and EWF Vice President; Giuseppe Minissale, Secretary General of the European Union Confederation; Dušan Kováč, EWF Executive Board member and President of the Czech Weightlifting Federation; Alex Padure, President of the Romanian Weightlifting Federation; Zdzisław Żołoba, President of the Polish Weightlifting Federation; Lech Labudda, Vice President of the Polish Weightlifting Federation; Slavko Laljek, President of the Slovenian Weightlifting Federation; and Attila Adamfi, Vice President of the Hungarian Weightlifting Federation.
The 12th European Union Cup was held under the patronage of the Slovak Ministry of Tourism and Sports and with support from the Sports Support Fund, which contributed €21,500 toward organizing the event. Additional support came from the International Visegrad Fund.
The President of the Slovak Weightlifting Federation thanked Ondrej Kružel Sr. and Marek Štít for their dedication and professional management of the competition.