Events

(Photo: Badminton Europe)
EC Legends: Kamilla Rytter Juhl
Date: 4/20/2021 11:43 AM
Published by : Alan Raftery
With seven days to go until the action begins at the 2021 European Championships, sensationally, we can bring you a Kamilla Rytter Juhl gold for every day of the run in! 

In a previous EC Legends article, we looked at the player at the top of the all-time medals table, Gillian Gilks, with 12 golds. Coming in at second in the table is Kamilla Rytter Juhl with seven, however, no other player can boast of winning gold at seven consecutive European Championships, spanning an 11-year reign from 2006 to 2017. 

Day 1 – Mixed Doubles, 2006 Den Bosch, Netherlands
Rytter Juhl, 22, partnered with Thomas Laybourn and had to overcome a formidable Polish pair in Robert Mateusiak/ Nadiezda Kostiuczyk (later Zieba) at the semifinal stage. Surviving a tense end to the match, they came out on top 23-21 in the decider. 

In an all-Danish final, the 2005 All England Open runners-up delivered a strong 22-20, 21-14 performance to win their first European gold. 

Day 2 – Women’s Doubles, 2008 Herning, Denmark
Famously Rytter Juhl is a successful dual-category player and in 2006, took home the bronze with Lena Frier Kristiansen, narrowly losing in three games to Juliene Schenk/ Nicole Grether. 

This year, however, they were triumphant in another tough semifinal, against Russia’s Valeria Sorokina/ Nina Vislova, 21-19, 22-20. In the final, the reigning European Champions awaited them, England’s experienced pair of Gail Emms/ Donna Kellogg. However, a straight-game 21-18, 21-18 now gave Rytter Juhl a win in each category. 

Day 3 – Mixed Doubles, 2010 Manchester, England
Switching it back over to Mixed Doubles, Laybourn/ Rytter Juhl came into the tournament as the reigning World Champions after their historic 2009 gold in Hyderabad, India. 

They had a straightforward run to the final. However, in the final Poles Mateusiak/ Kostiuczyk were still hunting their gold and had just scored a notable victory over home favourites Nathan Robertson/ Jenny Wallwork. 

In another terrific final, the Danes had more to give in the decider and won 21-19, 18-21, 21-12, securing both the European and World titles. 

Day 4 – Women’s Doubles, 2012 Karlskrona, Sweden
In an Olympic year, Kamilla Rytter Juhl partnered with Christinna Pedersen, and what came next was something special. Working towards their first major title victory, Rytter Juhl/ Pedersen hit it off and dominated matches on the way to the final. 

In an all-Danish final, Line Damkjær Kruse/ Marie Røpke were able to force a decider, but Pedersen/ Rytter Juhl finished well, winning 22-20, 13-21, 21-12. 

Day 5 – Women’s Doubles, 2014 Kazan, Russia
Partners on and off-court, Rytter Juhl and Pedersen will remember this European Championships well because, on finals day, they had the rare situation of being partners in one final, and opponents in another. 

In an entertaining mixed doubles final, Joachim Fischer/ Christinna Pedersen just edged the win in three tight games over Mads Pieler Kolding/ Kamilla Rytter Juhl. 

In the women’s doubles, playing on the same side of the court, they passed the interesting Scottish/Bulgarian semifinal challenge of Imogen Bankier/ Petya Nedelcheva, to then have a repeat of the 2012 final against Kruse/ Røpke, but this time it was a one-sided 21-11, 21-11 win. 

Day 6 – Women’s Doubles, 2016 La Roche-sur-Yon, France
The Danes ran riot in France, winning four out of the five categories. Pedersen once again scored a mixed doubles gold and together with Rytter Juhl, put in one of their most dominant European displays. 

In the final, it was first versus second seed, but the Danes secured their hattrick of titles with a 21-9, 21-13 win. 

Day 7 – Women’s Doubles, 2017 Kolding, Denmark
What turned out to be Rytter Juhl’s final European Championships medal, it is fitting that she was able to complete her seven-title haul in front of her home crowd. 

In an almost symbolic passing on of the women’s doubles batten, the final was against the young talented Bulgarian sisters, Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva. After a three-game spectacle with long rallies, the Danes achieved their fourth consecutive title, 21-11, 15-21, 21-11. 

The 2021 European Championships will take place in Kyiv, Ukraine from 27 April to 2 May

All matches can be watched at www.badmintoneurope.tv.

©badmintoneurope.com. All rights reserved.

Related news
29/03/2024
Europeans ready for quarterfinals in Madrid
European favourites out of the...

27/03/2024
EOC Executive Committee awards 2027 European Games to Istanbul
The European Olympic Committee...

27/03/2024
Madrid Spain Masters day 2: Victories, upsets, and excitement on court.
French siblings sweep to victo...

26/03/2024
A first action-packed day unfolds at the Spain Masters
The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 ...

26/03/2024
Spain Masters begins today with an unexpected withdrawal!
Madrid is buzzing with excitem...

25/03/2024
Lane/ Vendy and Marin, victorious at Swiss Open
The Swiss Open concluded this ...

More news