Spanish canoeing shines at the Szeged World Cup with 12 medals

 

This success is the result of a combination of established paddlers and a new generation of emerging talent.

 

The final day was particularly fruitful, with Spain securing several notable medals. The first joy of the day came in the women's C1 200m final, where the big surprise was the victory of Viktoriia Yarchevska (AD Pinatarense), who took gold with a time of 49.02 seconds, beating favorites such as Antía JácomeYarchevska, who finished sixth, said, "I'm so happy to have won the medal. It was a final with a lot of Olympians, but I did quite well."

 

Shortly after, the Majorcan Alex Graneri He added a silver medal to the tally in the men's K1 500, finishing just 0.27 seconds behind the Hungarian gold. Graneri expressed his satisfaction: "It's been a very good season so far, even though I didn't have high expectations for the K1 500 since I hadn't trained for it in a while." Adrián del Río, the other Spaniard in the event, finished sixth.

 

Clash of the Titans in the Men's C2 500 and Surprises in K2

 

One of the most anticipated moments was the men's C2 500 final, which pitted the two powerful Spanish pairs against each other. Diego Dominguez and Joan Antoni Moreno, Olympic bronze medalists, won by a razor-thin margin of 0.11 seconds over Daniel Grijalba and Adrián SieiroThe victory of Domínguez and Moreno, with a time of 1:46.68, reaffirms the extremely high level of this discipline in Spain. "In Spain, the level in this event is incredibly high," stated Domínguez, adding that "to start like this, with a gold medal in an event where the best compete, is simply breathtaking."

 

The silver medal also came in the men's K2 500, courtesy of Enrique Adán and Carlos García Ruiz. The young pair were euphoric after their "dream come true," finishing just 0.73 seconds shy of gold. "We followed our plan, the boat performed perfectly, and we're incredibly happy," commented García Ruiz, while Adán emphasized the difficulty of the journey to this achievement. Both paddlers, who are rowing a new boat, already have their sights set on the European and World Championships.

 

Success in the 5000 Meter Races and a Look to the Future

 

The afternoon also brought good news, with two additional medals in the 5000-meter events. María Corbera earned a creditable silver in the women's C1 5000m, demonstrating her endurance and skill. Meanwhile, Pontevedra native Jaime Duro took another silver in the men's C1 5000m.

 

Although there were no medals in the K1 5000 finals, the Spaniards performed well. Estefanía Fernández finished fifth and Miriam Vega eighth in the women's category, while Walter Bouzan was just outside the podium in fourth place, and Paco Cubelos finished ninth in the men's category.

 

The excellent performance in Szeged not only celebrates current successes but also heralds a promising future for Spanish canoeing, with a team that combines experience and new talent, ready to take on the next international challenges.