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VICTORY TASTES ‘SWEDE’ FOR HANSSON AS HE ‘SAWS’ PAST THE COMPETITION TO WIN 2022 EUROPEAN TROPHY
Monday 4th July 2022 – Emil Hansson was crowned the 2022 European Trophy champion yesterday, after a stunning display of elite wood chopping and sawing action. The Swede defeated Belgium’s Koen Martens in the final to take the top spot on the podium in Schirrhein, France. Hansson and Martens were joined on the podium by third-placed Michał Dubicki, of Poland.
The European Trophy made its highly anticipated return to the TIMBERSPORTS® series, with 18 of the continent’s best logger sports athletes competing not only for the European Trophy, but for a place at the prestigious 2023 World Trophy.
After a Time Trial round, the 16 fastest athletes competed head-to-head in a knockout format, completing four iconic TIMBERSPORTS® disciplines back-to-back: Stock Saw, Underhand Chop, Single Buck and Standing Block Chop.
After qualifying in second place in the Time Trial round, Hansson went on to face Günther Dallinger in the Round of 16, which he eased through after a disqualification for the Austrian. Hansson had to up his game for the Quarter Final, with his compatriot Ferry Svan pushing him all the way with a time of 1:18:77. Hansson pipped him to the post though with an incredible time of 1:11:65 – the fastest of the entire competition – to make it through to a Semi Final against France’s Pierre Puybaret.
Hansson won the match-up with a time of 1:24:13, compared to Puybaret’s 1:52:51, to tee up a Final against Koen Martens. Martens had navigated a tricky path to the Final, beating impressive Czech junior Matyáš Klíma, Switzerland’s Oliver Reinhard and Polish veteran Michał Dubicki.
The Final was a step too far for the Belgian however, with Hansson producing another fast time of 1:21:92, which was enough to edge out Martens and give Hansson the biggest individual competition win of his TIMBERSPORTS® career to date.
Emil Hansson, 2022 European Trophy champion, commented: “I’m really happy with the competition today. There were many tough races, especially against Ferry Svan.
“It’s always fun to stand on the highest place on the podium and it’s fun to compete against the big guys and see that you can beat them. “TIMBERSPORTS® means a lot to me. I have trained pretty much for this competition.”
Runner-up Koen Martens added: “It was a good race, a tough race, with good athletes from all of Europe. So I’m happy that I could be in second place.”
In the Small Final, Michał Dubicki reminded fans of his class with the second fastest time of the competition, 1:16:24, with Pierre Puybaret bringing it home in 1:43:28.
Dubicki, who finished third, said: “Today was a difficult day. The weather didn’t help, it was very hot. “The athletes are getting stronger every year, so it’s great. I took third place, so it could be better, but that’s how it is in sport.
“The competition was really great. The audience was wonderful. TIMBERSPORTS® is now a part of my life, I train a lot and without these competitions, my life wouldn’t make sense for me anymore. So long as I have strength I will compete and train.”
Hansson’s victory saw him qualify for the 2023 World Trophy, along with fellow podium finishers Martens and Dubicki and the rest of the top 10.
Full results and final standings for the 2022 European Trophy can be found on the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® database.
