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It has been an intense week for the future stars of canoe sprint, filled with outstanding performances at the Championships in Romania. By the end of the competition, athletes from 20 different nations had earned at least one medal. However, Hungary’s young athletes were the most successful, finishing the event with a total of 34 medals. On the final day alone, Hungarian competitors claimed 13 European champion titles, along with several silver and bronze medals.

 

The success began early in the day, when Balint Kollek won the first final in the K1 U23 500, becoming the new European champion and succeeding his fellow countryman Hunor Hidvegi, last year’s winner. Hungary also secured gold in the junior men’s K1 500 thanks to Marcell Gazdag, while Hanna Hollo won the first gold in the junior women’s K1 500 final, later adding another gold in the junior K2 500 with Hanna Acelos.

 

In the women’s K1 U23 500 final, Eszter Rendessy (HUN) claimed the European title, while the defending champion, Kristina Armstrong of Great Britain, finished fourth. Hungary also triumphed in the junior K2 500 with Zoltan Mircse and Vilmos Szabo, in the junior C2 500 with Viktor Palfalvi and Milan Gyanyi, and in the junior women’s C2 500 with Vanda Matkovics and Petra Paragi.

 

Hungarian celebrations did not stop there. Milan Gyanyi took gold in the junior men’s C1 500, Marcell Gazdag won the junior men’s K1 200, and Hungary also triumphed in the junior men’s K4 500 (Zakany, Herk, Gyarmati, Borda), junior women’s K4 500 (Varro, Debreczeni, Gazdag, Petrik), and the U23 mixed C4 500 (Gyore, Biday, Kurczina, Molnar).

 

Fans also heard the Ukrainian anthem six times on Sunday. Yelyzaveta Vozniuk won gold in both the junior women’s C1 500 and C1 200, as well as in the C2 junior 200 metres with Oleksandra Turchyn. Her success was complemented by Ivanna Dyachenko’s victory in the women’s U23 K1 200, Iryna Fedoriv and Anastasiia Dezhytska’s win in the women’s U23 C2 200, and the junior mixed C4 500 crew (Zhushman, Nedilko, Bovkun, Ivanchuk).

 

Italy also enjoyed success on the final day, with Olympia Della Giustina taking two gold medals – first in the women’s U23 C1 500, and then in the 200-metre race. Italy earned two more golds on Sunday, with Sofia Zucca winning the women’s junior K1 200 final, and Riccardo Caporuscio taking gold in the men’s junior C1 200.

 

The Polish anthem was played three times. Alex Borucki and Valerii Vichev were unbeatable in the men’s U23 K2 500 final, Juliusz Kitewski won the men’s U23 C1 200, and Poland also triumphed in the men’s U23 K4 500 with Wojciech Pilarz, Valerii Vichev, Wiktor Leszczynski, and Jaroslaw Kajdanek.

 

Six countries won one gold medal each. Just two weeks after becoming the senior European champion in men’s K1 200, Serbian paddler Strahinja Dragosavljevic added another gold to his collection in the U23 category, defeating last year’s champion Anze Pikon from Slovenia. Czech canoeist Adam Rudolf added a second European title in U23 C1 500 to his earlier victory over 1000 metres. Germany celebrated gold in the women’s U23 K2 500 with Lena Roehlings and Enja Roesseling, Spain’s Pedro Torrado and Martin Jacome won the men’s U23 C2 500, Slovakia’s Reka Burgar, Sofia Bergendi, Hana Gavorova, and Bianka Sidova were the fastest in the women’s U23 K4 500, while France’s Chloe Nicot and Axelle Renard took the title in the women’s U23 C2 500.

 

Next year, the ECA Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint European Championships will take place at one of the most iconic locations in the sport – Szeged, Hungary.