iF3 European Championships 2025
The IF3 European Championships 2025 brought together the top two males and females from each European Federation, with Sweden hosting this year’s event.
The format was a hyper-medley, meaning athletes performed the tests back-to-back with just 10-minute rest intervals. Competition opened Friday night with the Endurance test, before moving into the remainder of the five tests on Saturday. The top 10 athletes (five Juniors) advanced to Sunday’s final where scores were reset — before taking on another hyper-medley, this time featuring all six tests consecutively.
You can view the Tests here
With the weekend format set, it was intriguing to see how different nations and athletes approached each test. The condensed schedule meant athletes had to strike a balance between performing strongly enough to qualify for Sunday’s final, while at the same time conserving enough energy to remain competitive across the entire competition.
Friday evening began with the Junior 19–20 category, where Molly Butcher and Luke Hopcroft represented the United Kingdom. The opening endurance test featured a 720m D-Ball carry (70kg/40kg), a challenge that proved more demanding than many anticipated. While the Junior females adapted well to the load, the Junior males found the weight particularly challenging.
Molly executed her pacing strategy effectively and secured a strong 3rd place finish, an excellent start heading into Saturday’s hyper-medley. Luke also opened well, but as the test progressed the demands of the D-Ball carries began to take their toll once the volume accumulated, finishing just outside the top 5.
Next up were the Senior Males, where Ronnie Marshall delivered the standout performance of the evening. With a perfectly executed pacing strategy, he secured an impressive 2nd place finish, putting himself in a strong position for Saturday’s tests. Will Seaman moved well through the early stages before making the tactical decision to pull back and conserve energy for the following day. This strategy left him in 12th place, meaning he would face significant work on Saturday to climb the leaderboard and avoid the cut.
Saturday’s tests were all about tactical awareness, with athletes needing to gauge the field and ensure they performed well enough to advance. Luke and Will faced the greatest challenge, as they were positioned outside the cut and had significant work to do to secure their place in the final.
Despite a strong 3rd place finish in the Bodyweight test and a valiant effort throughout, Luke began to experience severe cramping midway through Test 4. Showing remarkable determination, he pushed through the discomfort, but unfortunately was unable to secure a place in Sunday’s final. His courage and commitment throughout the competition were exemplary.
Molly Butcher dominated the hyper-medley, securing two first-place finishes and an overall 3rd place, comfortably earning her spot in Sunday’s final.
Ronnie Marshall handled Saturday’s tests with consistency, finishing around the middle of the pack in each event and securing a comfortable 9th place, advancing to Sunday’s final.
Will Seaman delivered the standout performance of the day, achieving two top-three finishes and climbing the leaderboard to 8th place, also earning his spot in the final.
Kelly & Kirstin played the field extremely well taking a top 3 finishes each. Kelly hard to hold back all day provided an exciting finish in the power event with a camera needed race line finish. A great way to finish off Saturday and motivated for Sunday
Kelly and Kristin executed their strategies exceptionally well, each securing top-three finishes in individual events. Kelly, hard to contain throughout the day, delivered a thrilling photo-finish in the Power event, crossing the line simultaneously with Sweden’s Elvira. It was an exciting conclusion to Saturday and provided excellent momentum for our 5 athletes heading into Sunday’s final.
Sunday felt like a very different competition
With more on the line in every test, the atmosphere grew noticeably tense. Molly had a tough start to the day, leaving her playing catch-up in the final four tests. She delivered an impressive showing in the Bodyweight test and looked like one of the more composed athletes on the Ring Muscle-Ups during the final Power Test. Still, despite her efforts, she was unlucky to finish off the podium.
Will was noticeably fatigued after his valiant performance on Saturday. We made the strategic decision to hold back in the opening endurance event, conserving energy for tests that played more to his strengths. The approach paid off, as he delivered an impressive 5th place in the final Power Test. Despite the challenges, Will dug deep and battled his way to a 9th place finish overall.
Ronnie entered Sunday under pressure after holding back slightly on Saturday, and expectations were high for a stronger showing. He opened with consistency and delivered a standout 3rd place in the Bodyweight Test, putting him in a strong position for a potential podium.
The turning point came in the Skill Test, where a missed L-Sit at 19 seconds of a 20-second buy-in cost him valuable points and sent him down the leaderboard. Even with a strong final event, Ronnie’s push for the podium was denied by Sweden’s Philip Lundqvist, whose outstanding performance vaulted him four spots into 3rd.
Ronnie closed the weekend with a respectable 6th place finish.
Kelly opened the final with two strong performances, leaving her tied for 2nd place alongside four other athletes. However, the Bodyweight and Skill Tests proved challenging, dropping her down the standings and setting up a big task for the closing events. Kelly fought hard in the final two tests and, in an exceptionally tight leaderboard, secured a very respectable 7th place finish.
Kirstin took a tactical approach, easing off in the opening endurance test to conserve energy for her stronger events. The strategy paid off, as she delivered consistent performances across the board, with standout showings in both the Bodyweight and Power Tests. She closed out the weekend with a solid 8th place finish.
The event itself was run exceptionally well by the Swedish hosts. Timings were precise, judging standards were excellent, and special credit goes to head judge Luca, who led his team superbly throughout the weekend. The tests and format proved particularly demanding, placing a premium on strategy as much as fitness. It will be exciting to see how these same athletes perform in a more traditional competition setting at future events.
Our British athletes performed admirably from start to finish, and I’m excited to see how those heading to the World Championships in December will rise to the occasion.
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