Portugal finishes the U23 and Junior Canoeing World Championships with five podiums

Portugal concluded the U23 and Junior Canoeing World Championships today with one gold medal and two silver medals, bringing the competition in Montemor-o-Velho to a total of five podiums and 14 appearances in the top 10.

Pedro Casinha and Gustavo Ribeiro won the under-23 world title in K2 500 meters, in a race they led from the first meter to the last, with time to celebrate before the finish line, in a tribute to the large crowd that cheered them on in the stands.

At the Montemor-o-Velho High Performance Center, the Portuguese were always consistent and won in 01:33,12 minutes, beating the Italians Francesco Lanciotti and Nicolo Volo by 89 hundredths of a second, and the Slovenians Matevz Manfreda and Anze Pikon, by 1.01 seconds

Pedro Casinha justified his choice as the 'face' of the World Championships poster, having also, on Friday, secured bronze in the K1 200 meters, a regatta in which he failed in his strong point, the start.

These podiums were all in the under-23 category, in which Beatriz Fernandes secured silver in the C1 500 meters on Saturday, showing, at 20 years old, that she is also an athlete to watch for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

In the junior category, Leonardo Barbosa and Lara Lopes teamed up in the mixed relay to become world runners-up in the C1 5,000 meters, in 24:30.91 minutes, only beaten by the Chinese Haozhe Zhang and Qinghua Liang, 41.98 seconds faster.

In the final challenge of the championships, João Duarte and Maria Luísa Gomes, in their first year in the under-23 category, fought for gold until the end in the K1 5,000 meter mixed relay, concluding with another silver medal for the host team.

The duo completed the race in 21:36.12 minutes, only behind the Hungarians Lorincz Halmy and Eszter Rendessy, who won the sprint by 53 hundredths of a second.

In addition to the podium finishes, Portugal also had the European junior K2 500m runners-up, Gonçalo Costa and Hugo Carvalho, who finished fourth after being surprised by Germany on track nine – they were 48 hundredths of a second off the podium.

With one gold, three silver and one bronze, Portugal was the seventh country to reach the podium most times, but finished the World Championships in 10th place: Hungary prevailed, as always, with eight gold, eight silver and five bronze, on a podium that also included Italy and Germany.

Results of the Portugal team in the World Top 10:

U-23

– Kayaks:

K1 200 meters: Pedro Casinha BRONZE MEDAL

K1 200 meters Clara Duarte – 9th

K1 Mix 5,000 meters (mixed relay): João Duarte and Maria Pereira Gomes – SILVER MEDAL.

K2 500 meters: Gustavo Gonçalves/Pedro Casinha – GOLD MEDAL.

K4 500 meters: Ricardo Gonçalves/Bruno Brasileiro/Rafael Oliveira/Duarte Cerdeira – 6th

K4 500 meters: Clara Duarte/Ana Brito/Ana Rodrigues/Ana Batista – 7th.

– Canoes:

C1 500 meters: Beatriz Fernandes – 10th

C1 500 meters: Beatriz Fernandes – SILVER MEDAL.

C4 500 meters: Ana Ferreira/Marta Bizarro/Ana Cardoso/Bruna Resende – 9th.

JUNIORS

– Kayaks:

K1 200 meters: Hugo Carvalho – 5th.

K1 Mix 5,000 meters (mixed relay): Rui Esteves and Mafalda Cruz – 7th

K2 500 meters: Gonçalo Costa/Hugo Carvalho – 4th.

K2 500 meters and Inês Carapinha/Lara Martins – 7th

K4 500 meters: Ianis Bebibano/Martim Conceição/José Matos/Dinis Martins – 9th.

K4 500 meters: Mercedes Pinheiro/Mariana Marinha/Sofia Marques/Lara Martins – 10th.

– Canoes:

C1 200 meters: Lara Lopes – 8th

C1 1,000 meters: Leonardo Barbosa – 10th.

C1 Mix 5,000 meters (mixed relay): Leonardo Barbosa and Lara Lopes – SILVER MEDAL.

C2 200 meters: Lara Lopes/Maria Maia – 7th.