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The highly successful Portuguese crew of Fernando Pimenta and Jose Ramalho left the home crowd anything but indifferent. Pimenta, a native of Ponte de Lima, and his senior teammate Ramalho added to their world title from Metkovic last year with another triumph – gold in the men's K2. They completed the 29.80-kilometre course in 2:01:57.68, finishing 2.19 seconds ahead of the Hungarian duo Adrian Borosz and Tamas Erdelyi. The bronze medal went to the Spanish pair Miguel Llorens and Alberto Plaza.

 

The Portuguese anthem played again for Rui Lacerda and Ricardo Coelho, who dominated the men's canoe double event. They crossed the finish line with a 1:24.69 advantage over Spaniards Jaime Duro and Oscar Grana. Another Spanish crew, Manuel Campos and Diego Romero, secured third place. Lacerda and Coelho won silver at last year's European Championships and bronze at the World Championships. Last year’s European and World champions, the Polish duo Zuchora and Borgiel, finished just off the podium in fourth place.

 

In the women’s kayak double over a 26.20-kilometre course, Hungary celebrated double victory. Zsofia Szerafin and Vanda Kiszli were the fastest, beating their compatriots Panna Sinko and Panna Csepe by 6.02 seconds. The Spanish pair Irati Osa and Eva Barrios came third, trailing by nearly 16 seconds. Last year, Irati Osa won the European title in Poznan, paddling with Arantza Toledo.

 

Hungary also secured a double victory in the junior men’s kayak double. Zarand Lanczi and Kevin Budai were the fastest over the 22.60-kilometre course, finishing just under 11 seconds ahead of teammates Hunor Mayer and Armin Palinkas. The bronze medal went to the young British duo William Short and Alexander Worgan.

 

The 2026 ECA Canoe Marathon European Championships will take place in Pitesti, Romania.