Christopher Mack gains great experience at the European Student Championships

Mack traveled to the Hungarian capital with his karate equipment on Thursday (July 18). Once they arrived at their accommodation, the athletes from the 27 participating European countries had to undergo a thorough registration process. As the squad athlete from Baden-Württemberg had already checked into the college by midday, he used the rest of the day to acclimatize and get used to the surroundings.

Finally, state squad athlete Christopher Mack started on the first day of the competition (Friday, July 19) at 9:30 am. Over 350 starters, representing 127 different universities, took part in this year's European Universities Karate Championship. The athletes were transported from the warm-up hall to their competition area by the local volunteers. The team from Germany cheered on their kata starters with loud cheers and applause, which motivated the German starters to show their potential. In the first round, sports student Mack was up against the reigning EUC champion from Croatia, who also won the final this year. This left the Karlsruhe native with the consolation round, for which he had to warm up for a good two hours. Nevertheless, he went into the next round highly focused, in which he demonstrated his highest kata (Unsu = "hand in the clouds") flawlessly and combatively in front of the five international judges. Despite his best efforts, he lost to his Serbian opponent with a score of 1:4.

On the other two days of the tournament, the Germans cheered each other on so that a few more placings could be achieved. Sightseeing in Budapest, a city of millions, was not neglected during their stay.

"The flight to Budapest was definitely worth it, because I gained a lot of experience and we had a lot of fun as a team," said Mack after his first European Championship start. The 26-year-old will take the wealth of experience he gained with him on the road to his sporting career.

Christopher Mack would like to thank the Sportgemeinschaft Siemens Karlsruhe, the Baden-Württemberg Karate Association, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Karlsruhe Sports and Education Authority for supporting the athlete's participation in the European Championships. Special thanks go to his team of trainers and coaches, who prepared the athlete and made it possible for him to qualify for the European Championships.