Luxembourg Wins 28 Medals on Day 1 of Small States Games in Andorra

On Tuesday 27 May 2025, Team Lëtzebuerg won 28 medals on the opening day of competition at the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) in Andorra.

The “Red Lions” claimed ten gold, seven silver and eleven bronze medals on the first day of competition.

Swimming brought Luxembourg its highest number of gold medals on the opening day, with four first-place finishes across individual and relay events. Ralph Daleiden Ciuferri won the men’s 100m freestyle in 49.04 seconds, Emma Barthel claimed gold in the women’s 200m butterfly (2:23.45) and Florian Frippiat topped the men’s 200m butterfly with a time of 2:03.52. The men's 4x100m freestyle relay team also secured gold, finishing in 3:24.11.

Anton Fedoseev earned silver in the men’s 800m freestyle (8:48.04) and João Reisen Braga Soares Carneiro took bronze in the men’s 200m butterfly (2:04.02). Lou Jominet added another bronze medal in the women’s 800m freestyle with a time of 9:06.87.

Luxembourgish athletes reached the podium six times in athletics. The country’s only gold medal in the discipline came from Charel Gaspar, who won the men’s high jump with a result of 2.08m. Silver medals were secured by Liz Weiler in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase (11:22.62), Noemie Pleimling in the javelin throw (50.73m) and Gil Weicherding in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase (9:13.2). In the same race, his brother Charel Weicherding won bronze with a time of 9:19.8. Mathis Espagnet also took bronze in the 800m, finishing in 1:50.9.

In the Women's Individual Time Trial (Cycling Road), Luxembourg secured both top positions. Marie Schreiber won the event with a time of 20:39.05, followed by Nina Berton in second place, finishing in 21:39.74.

In the Men's Individual Time Trial (Cycling Road), Luxembourg took second and third place, finishing behind Cyprus’ Andreas Miltiadis, who won the event in 19:34.31. Alex Kirsch claimed silver with a time of 20:02.38, followed by Mats Wenzel who took bronze in 20:09.8.

In Artistic Gymnastics, Luxembourg secured two team bronze medals. The men’s team finished third with a score of 201.500, behind Cyprus and Monaco, while the women’s team also placed third with 135.050 points. In individual events, Ben Mangen won gold on the horizontal bar with a score of 11.700 and Chiara Castellucci claimed gold in the women’s vault with 12.400. Yan Kies earned bronze in the men’s vault (12.900) and Valentina Marochi took bronze on the balance beam with 11.750.

In Karate, Luxembourg won two gold medals in the kumite finals. Jennifer Warling defeated Montenegro’s Helena Backovic 5-2 in the women’s -55kg category. In the men’s -67kg final, Jordan Sibille claimed a dominant 8-0 victory over Cyprus’ Markos Zigkas Tsangaras.

In Table Tennis, Luxembourg won gold in the men’s doubles final. Tom Scholtes and Maël Van Dessel defeated Cyprus’ Sharpel Elia and Marios Yiangou in straight sets (12-10, 11-7, 12-10).

In Shooting, Luxembourg secured two podium finishes in the 10m Air Rifle events. Isaure Gofette won silver in the women’s final with a score of 243.6, finishing behind Liechtenstein’s Leonie Mautz (245.8). In the men’s final, Luca Klein claimed bronze with a score of 221.7, following Cyprus’ Achilleas Sophocleous (243.1) and Montenegro’s Milos Bozovic (240.1).