So much strength and speed on the Portuguese waters

Hungary dominated the marathon events with five medals out of 12, while the sprint crowned a variety of champions at the Montemor-o-Velho 2024 FISU World University Championship Canoe Sports.

In Montemor-o-Velho, the wind had decided to spice things up, making the waters choppier and harder to navigate. Nothing that the 227 student-athetes from 24 countries hadn’t seen before…

Hungary started off strong, emerging as the dominant force on the water, taking home the most gold medals. Among the other gold medallists were athletes from Italy, the Czechia, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, and host nation Portugal.

The first gold medal of the day was claimed by Katarzyna Szperkiewicz from Poland, whose smile was unshakable as she celebrated her victory. Thrilled with her achievement, she shared her excitement and mentioned that this being her final tournament of the season, she is looking forward to a well-deserved vacation with her partner, who has been a constant support throughout her journey.

Portugal’s own Andre Moreira and Pedro Casinha, partners in the K2 200m race, were overjoyed with their gold medal win. They expressed immense pride in winning on home soil.

A vibrant mix of champions

On day two of the competition, the focus was on the 1000m sprint races rather than on the light rain. Poland excelled, winning the most gold medals and reinforcing their strong presence in the championship. Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Czechia also celebrated their victories, contributing to the vibrant mix of champions emerging from this prestigious event.

One of the standout moments of the day came from Yeray Garcia Vidal, who continued his impressive streak. After winning gold in the C2 200m men’s race yesterday, he added a silver medal to his collection in today’s C2 men’s 1000m race.

On the last day of competition at the Montemor-o-Velho 2024 FISU World University Championship Canoe Sports the setting couldn’t have been more favorable. The bright sunshine provided ideal conditions for the athletes in the calm waters of the High Performance Center. The crowd in the stands, in perfect harmony with the event, brought a contagious energy that turned each race into a memorable experience and an extra source of motivation for the competing athletes.

The schedule was an extremely busy one, with nothing less than 16 finals, of which Hungary, Italy, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Portugal were the countries that took to the podium to win gold medals.

Five countries shared the marathon four podiums on the last day of competition, with Hungary’s flag hung highest with five medals, followed by Great Britain, Poland and Portugal who each took two and Czechia with one.

The day of victories for Portugal also saw Maria Rei win the women’s K1 marathon final. With a brilliant performance, she won another gold medal for the host country. The athlete, visibly moved, celebrated enthusiastically, drawing warm applause from the audience, who cheered her on with yet another victory on home soil.

The closing ceremony ended with the handing over of the FISU flag to Mr. László Foltán, representing the Organising Committee of the 2026 FISU World University Championship Canoe Sports, which will be held in Székesfehérvár, Hungary.

Canoe sports at their best

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The results

21.08.2024

Sprint C1 200m

Women:
1. Katarzyna Szperkiewicz (POL)
2. Ines Penetra (POR)
3. Denisa Rahova (CZE)

Men:
1. Petr Tettinger (CZE)
2. Gergo Rumi (HUN)
3. Filippo Poschetto (ITA)


Sprint K1 200m

Women:
1. Lucrezia Zironi (ITA)
2. Dorina Decsi (HUN)
3. Lara Feijoo (ESP)

Men:
1. Riccardo Lonigro (ITA)
2. Iago Bebiano (POR)
3. Jakub Remuta (CZE)

Sprint C2 200m

Women:
1. Ines Penetra/Beatriz Fernandes (POR)
2. Sandra Iballa/ Maria Martin (ESP)
3. Linett Szeman/Karolina Hegedus (HUN)

Men:
1. Diego Gonzalez/Yeray Garcia (ESP)
2. Adrian Klos/Gracjan Michalak (POL)
3. Francesco Poschetto/Filippo Poschetto (ITA)

Sprint K2 200m

Women:
1. Sofia Bergendi/Hana Zemankova (SVK)
2. Katerina Zarubova/Barbora Betlachova (CZE)
3. Lara Feijoo/Carla Vey (ESP)

Men:
1. Andre Moreira/Pedro Casinha (POR)
2. Piotr Morawski/Wiktor Leszczynski (POL)
3. Matteo Bazzano/Tommaso Mucelli (ITA)

Sprint K1 5000m

Women:
1. Katarina Pecsukova (SVK)
2. Katerina Milova (CZE)
3. Liv Liwowski (GER)

Men:
1. Lorinc Halmy (HUN)
2. Finn Cadell (GBR)
3. Tiago Henriques (POR)

Sprint C1 5000m

Women:
1. Borbala Zagyvai (HUN)
2. Alzbeta Veverkova (CZE)
3. Patrycia Mendelska(POL)

Men:
1. David Uhrin (HUN)
2.Thomas Lambert (GBR)
3. Maximilian Zollner (GER)

22.08.2024

Sprint K1 1000m

Women:
1. Weronika Marczewska (POL)
2. Stepanka Sobiskova (CZE)
3. Maria Rei (POR)

Men:
1. Tomas Sobisek (CZE)
2. Simon Weymann (GER)
3. Luca Lauper (SUI)

Sprint C1 1000m

Men:
1. Adrian Klos (POL)
2. Thomas Lambert (GBR)
3. Nicholas Fodor (HUN)

Sprint C2 1000m

Men:
1. Filippo Poschetto/Francesco Poschetto (ITA)
2. Pedro Torrado/Yeray Garcia (ESP)
3. Krystian Krzyzanowski/Piotr Kujawa (POL)

Sprint K2 1000m

Women:
1. Panna Sinko/Panna Csepe (HUN)
2. Zuzanna Blazejczak/Julia Gorska (POL)
3. Katerina Milova/Terezie Tettingerova (CZE)

Men:
1. Elias Kurth/Jan Graf (GER)
2. Filip Podleiszek/Matej Danas (SVK)
3. Vladimir Cerman/Jiri Humhal (CZE)

24.08 2024

Sprint K1 500m

Women:
1. Lucrezia Zironi (ITA)
2. Barbora Betlachova (CZE)
3. Weronika Marczewska (POL)

Men:
1. Balint Kollek (HUN)
2. Achille Spadacini (ITA)
3. Mikolaj Walulik (POL)

Sprint C1 500m

Women:
1. Beatriz Fernandes (POR)
2. Borbala Zagyvai (HUN)
3. Denisa Rahova (CZE)

Men:
1. Gergo Rumi (HUN)
2. Thomas Lambert (GBR)
3. Gracjan Michalak (POL)

Sprint K2 500m

Women:
1. Katerina Zarubova/Barbora Betlachova (CZE)
2. Reka Nemes/Dorina Decsi (HUN)
3. Lucrezia Zironi/Linda Lazzarini (ITA)

Men:
1. Gustavo Goncalves/Pedro Casinha (POR)
2. Wojciech Pilarz/Wiktor Leszczynski (POL)
3. Tomas Sobisek/Jakub Remuta (CZE)

Mix:
1. Achille Spadacini/Lucrezia Zironi (ITA)
2. Tomas Sobisek/Stepanka Sobiskova (CZE)
3. Anna Mielnik/Piotr Morawski (POL)

Sprint K4 500m

Women:
1. Dagmar Culenova/Katarina Pecsukova/Sofia Bergendi/Hana Zemankova (SVK)
2. Barbora Betlachova/Katerina Zarubova/Stepanka Sobiskova/Terezie Tettingerova (CZE)
3. Zuzanna Blazejczak/Anna Mielnik/Julia Krajewska/Weronika Marczewska (POL)

Men:
1. Wojciech Pilarz/Piotr Morawski/Wiktor Leszczynski/Jaroslaw Kajdanek (POL)
2. Iago Bebiano/Joao Silva/Rafael Oliveira/Antonio Ribeiro (POR)
3. Josef Zahora/Ondrej Prchlik/Vladimir Cerman/Jiri Humhal (CZE)

Sprint C2 500m

Women:
1. Katarzyna Szperkiewicz/Patrycja Mendelska (POL)
2. Sandra Iballa/Alba Rodriguez (ESP)
3. Linett Szeman/Karolina Hegedus (HUN)

Men:
1. Adrian Klos/Gracjan Michalak (POL)
2. Nicholas Fodor/David Hodovan (HUN)
3. Francesco Poschetto/Filippo Poschetto (ITA)

Mix
1. Laura Gonczol/David Uhrin (HUN)
2. Katarzyna Szperkiewicz/Adrian Klos (POL)
3. Angela Voltan/Filippo Poschetto (ITA)


Marathon K1

Women:
1. Maria Rei (POR)
2. Panna Csepe (HUN)
3. Katerina Milova (CZE)

Men:
1. Tiago Henriques (POR)
2. Matthew Collinge (GBR)
3. Timothy Dowden (GBR)

Marathon C1

Women:
1. Borbala Zagyvai (HUN)
2. Paulina Grzelkiewicz (POL)
3. Karolina Hegedus (HUN)

Men:
1. Eryk Wilga (POL)
2. Bulcsu Ferencz (HUN)
3. Imre Soos (HUN)

All competitions were streamed live on FISU.tv. You can find all the detailed results and much more on the the event’s official website. Congratulations to all participants and to everyone who worked for the local organising committee for a superb event!

Written by Thérèse Courvoisier, pictures courtesy of the organising committee