Season opener 2025 with the European Sprint Championship in the “documenta city” of Kassel

Around 50 starters and 6 relay teams from eight European nations made their way to Kassel to take part in the European sprint distance championships.
The majority of the athletes had already arrived at the site of the organising WVC Kassel the day before, as the start of the European Sprint Championships in the Quadrathlon had been set for the following morning at 8:45 am.
In glorious weather, the athletes were able to watch the sporting action on and around the Fulda on the floodplain meadows and celebrate the first reunion after the winter break with a cold drink. As this was purely a quadrathlon event, the atmosphere was very informal; everyone knew each other and there were plenty of things to talk about. There was general respect for the low water temperature of the Fulda for swimming.
When it was announced in the course of the evening that water was being drained from the Eder dam to maintain navigation, there was a risk that the water temperature would drop further, jeopardising the swim start. The organisers’ and athletes’ tension increased.
The water temperature measurement was scheduled for 7 a.m. on Sunday morning and the results were eagerly awaited.
Clear to swim!
In sunny weather and a water temperature of 15 degrees, the starting signal was given at 8.45 a.m. and the participants set off on the 500 metre swim in the Fulda. The first swimmers reached the shore after just over 7 minutes and made their way to the transition area. There, the individual starters removed their wetsuits and the relay participants handed over their transponders.
Then it was off to the 18 km bike course on the Auedamm, which was closed to public traffic for the event to ensure a safe ride for all participants. The flat course with few cobblestone passages offered ideal conditions for high speeds.
After three laps, the bikes were parked in the transition area and the athletes ran towards the Fulda, where the boats were waiting on the riverbank.
The athletes had to complete a 5 km circuit from the WVC to the Finkenherd and back.
After the paddling, the participants set off on the beautiful running course through the Buga grounds (1981 Federal Horticultural Show). All participants successfully completed these last 5 kilometres and crossed the finish line on the WVC grounds.
Ferenc Csima from Hungary became the men’s European sprint champion, demonstrating his strength in particular with an incredible paddle performance. He won ahead of Leos Rousavy from the Czech Republic and Eric Lieseke from Germany
Anna-Lena Klee won the women’s event ahead of Anke Trilling and Susanne Walter (all from Germany). Anna-Lena was able to catch Anke shortly before the finish with an ambitious final sprint.
The European champion in the relays was the WVC Team 1 from the organising club in a strong field.
As this event was the first international competition of the year, the award ceremony for the 2024 World Cup was held before the award ceremony for the European Championships.
In the hope that a Quadrathlon event will also take place in Kassel in the coming years and that it will become a permanent fixture in our calendar of events, I would like to thank the fantastic organisation, the smooth execution and last but not least the many great helpers, without whom such an event would not be possible.
Congratulations to all the European champions and finishers of the 2025 European Sprint Championships and to the organisers for an all-round successful quadrathlon festival.