After the 2021 season, when we refer to this category, it is mainly about Suceava fanciers, because all three pigeon fanciers on the national podium are from this county. It is true that Moldova is the area where the youngsters are competing much harder at this distance, but in recent seasons, it has not happened that all three national winners in the category to be from the same county. So, in today’s material, we will present you these three fanciers who managed to win national trophies awarded for the Long distance youngsters category.

Apart from Suceava, in the 2021 season, norms for this category were also made in pigeon fancier associations such as Botoșani, Timișoara, Caraș-Severin and Arad. In total, we are talking about 163 youngsters that managed to rank at least three long distance races. Beyond the top places occupied in the ranking, ranking at least three stages of over 500 km in just a few months of life is a real performance!

Cristian Gagea wins his National 1st place

We must specify from the very beginning that the three basic races that the pigeon fanciers ranked in the 2021 national top 3 pigeons took place in the youngsters championship. Therefore, there are no pigeons that have been engaged for the long distance races with old birds and thus “benefit” from a larger number of participants birds. This is the context in which Cristian Gagea managed to add a new national title to his record this season as well. His pigeon with the series RO-21-0300060 ranked three of three long distance races (550 km, 551 km and 614 km), competitions after which he obtained the best score in the entire competition: 36.94 penalty points. “I do not compete specifically for these norms. I compete my young pigeons to gain experience and for selection. These are the reasons why I play them using natural method, without darkness or other methods specific to the youngsters competition. It is mandatory for all youngsters to participate in the first race of long distance category. Then, will continue those who are in optimal conditions, especially in terms of moulting. I can’t say that I put a lot of emphasis on the youngsters season, but I’m glad I managed to get a new national trophy. It is the third one in three years, because in 2019 we also obtained the 1st and 2nd places in the National Long distance youngsters. The food I used was Champion Plus, from Versele Laga, and “37” or Young Birds, from Vanrobaeys. The champion, called Sofia now, after the name of my little girl, is reproduced from an original Desmeyter-Restiaen cock and a daughter of two county marathon champions in our area “, said Cristian Gagea.

Andrei Malinovschi ends the second consecutive season with a national trophy

In 2020, the young pigeon fancier Andrei Malinovschi won two national trophies in the youngsters championship, thus having a dream debut in the racing pigeons competitions. But, in his case, we cannot say that we witnessed a situation like “beginner’s luck”, because in 2021 Andrei Malinovschi also manages to occupy a new place on the national podium. He is the runner-up in the Long distance youngsters category, a trophy won with the pigeon RO-21-1061631, which obtained a coefficient of 63.84 points. “For this year I had two batches of young birds. Some of them were competed on natural method, and others, about 30 of them, competed in the dark. I started this method two or three weeks after I separated them from their parents and left them back to normal five weeks before the first race of the season. The runner-up is a hen, from the same family as the 2020 champion and was bred from two fliers. After finishing third, I had hopes for the county podium, but I wasn’t thinking about a national cup again. The joy when I found out that I am in second place nationally was immense. For me, it is the third national trophy won in two consecutive seasons. The program, if I may say so, was identical to the one for the 2020 season “, Andrei Malinovschi detailed.

Also from Suceava, Mihai Iureniuc completes the national podium

With 70.92 penalty points, obtained by the youngster with series RO-21-0933323-21, Mihai Iureniuc is the happy winner of the third national place. However, if in the case of his colleagues above, we are talking about the repetition of some performances, for Mihai Iureniuc the 3rd place in this category is the first national trophy in his career. However, the prospects are very gratifying, because he is only in his fourth season of pigeon fancier activity at a sustained level. “I have been a pigeon fancier since 2009, but since 2018 I can say that I have taken care of pigeons seriously, even with the change of location. The youngsters usually compete in the long distance races, but it is not mandatory for the whole group to participate for three races in the flight plan. In the first stage, every pigeon is engaged, after which only those who rank and have a chance to fulfill the norm will continue. This is what happened this season, when we had a batch of about 70 youngsters. All of them competed naturally and I used Vanrobaeys and Elpol food. For this performance I want to thank my colleagues, the Gagea Brothers, because the pigeon that won the national trophy comes from their pigeons, more precisely from those of Ionuț Gagea, but also to Cristi Gheorghe, who also helped me a lot”, said Mihai Iureniuc.