No O-See-Challenge without the HSZG

Flying beach volleyballs, hundreds of people wearing race numbers and carrying a bike under their arms, and a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled atmosphere further heightened by bright sunshine—that was the 2018 O-SEE Challenge.

It’s no wonder that the O-See Challenge—which this year also served as the venue for the XTERRA European Championship—attracts triathletes and sports enthusiasts from all over the world to Upper Lusatia every year. It is now considered one of the world’s best cross-triathlon competitions. At a major event of this magnitude, the university naturally couldn’t miss out and was represented on site in three different ways.

To energize the athletes and visitors, there was an opportunity to “pedal” one’s own fresh fruit drink on the smoothie bike provided by the “Mach-Mit” Environmental Management team —all it took was a little physical effort.

In addition, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Hentschel, Dr. Rafael Cavalcante Cordeiro, and Dipl.-Ing. Maria Urban from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering competed in the Team Challenge (mixed) (in the following order: swimmer, cyclist, and runner). From the Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM), M.Eng. Christian Vogel, Diplom-Ing. (FH) Sebastian Braun, and Diplom-Ing. (FH) Daniel Fiß from the Institute for Process Engineering, Process Automation, and Measurement Technology (IPM) competed in the Team Challenge (Men’s).

“It was important to us to compete as a university team and to represent the HSZG and our faculty,” says Maria Urban, who works as a lecturer with a specified function at the university and completed the 9-km run at the O-See Challenge for the Mechanical Engineering team. And indeed, the university can be proud of its teams. The Mechanical Engineering team placed 46th out of a total of 60 teams in its category, while the IPM team finished 29th out of 50 participating teams in its division.

“It was good. We made it back safe and sound and are satisfied with ourselves,” explains Maria Urban, though she also admits: “Of course, it could have been better. In any case, we want to participate again next year and improve our performance.” She can also imagine competing as an individual and completing the shortened triathlon. Other colleagues have also expressed interest in forming a relay team in 2019. So, of course, we’re already looking forward to the next O-See Challenge.

Our teams were supported by University Sports and the Public Relations Office. A big thank you goes to the Technical Administration for their logistical support with the booth setup.