News

France remains at the top of the overall medal table after Day 2 with 6 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals, for a total of 15. Czechia also has 15 medals, with 4 gold, 7 silver and 4 bronze, while Italy moved into third position after an excellent day and now has 3 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze medals.

Italy opens the day with a Junior K1 double

Italy enjoyed the perfect start to Thursday’s competition by winning both Junior K1 Team titles.

In Men’s K1 Junior, Agostino Gesualdi, Alessandro Monaro and Andrea Madella produced the fastest team run in 14:42.56. Germany finished 6.90 seconds behind to take silver, while France completed the podium.

The Italian women followed with another victory. Marilu Brambilla, Milla Lazzarotto and Elisa Bonafini won the Women’s K1 Junior title in 16:13.25, ahead of Germany and Slovenia.

The result gave Brambilla her second gold medal of the Championships after her victory in Wednesday’s individual K1 Junior race.

Germany and Great Britain take the U23 K1 titles

One of the closest contests of the day came in Men’s K1 U23.

Germany’s team of Finn Vogler, Nicolas Niederle-Gomez and Philipp Bluhm stopped the clock at 14:13.27, beating Slovenia by only 1.22 seconds. Belgium took bronze, 6.39 seconds behind the winners.

Great Britain then gave the home supporters another reason to celebrate in Women’s K1 U23.

Freya Pryce, Emma Christie and Kerry Christie claimed the European title in 15:48.65, finishing 16.38 seconds ahead of Belgium, with Italy taking bronze.

For the Christie sisters, the victory added another medal to an already successful Championships following their C2 U23 Classic Individual gold on Wednesday.

France, Croatia and Czechia lead the canoe team races

France claimed the Men’s C1 Junior Team title through Gabriel Dominique Daniel Auvolat, Ilyan Dinally and Emile Pichard, who finished in 17:00.96.

Italy took silver, 20.01 seconds behind, while Czechia completed the podium in third place.

The Men’s C1 U23 title went to Croatia, with Janko Presecki, Petar Habek and Damjan Hohnjec producing a winning time of 17:08.15.

Italy was again second, just 6.12 seconds behind, with Czechia taking another bronze only 8.69 seconds away from gold.

Czechia then moved to the top step of the podium in Women’s C1 U23. Anna Retkova, Jana Strilkova and Sandra Bergmannova won in 18:18.21, ahead of France by 6.26 seconds. Italy finished third.

France closes Team Classic with C2 victory

The final European title of the day came in Men’s C2 U23, where three C2 crews combined for each nation.

France finished the Classic competition on a high as Dimitri Tostain / Jerome Payen, Elouan Bezilles / Anael Canevet and Gabriel Dominique Daniel Auvolat / Emile Pichard combined to win in 16:40.43.

Czechia took silver, 46.27 seconds behind, while Great Britain completed the podium.

The victory gave France its second Team Classic gold of the day and strengthened its position at the top of the medal standings.

France and Czechia tied on 15 medals

After two days of Classic competition, France and Czechia have both accumulated 15 medals.

France retains first position thanks to its six gold medals, while Czechia has four. Italy’s two Junior K1 Team victories helped move the nation into third place overall.

The leading nations after Day 2 are:

France — 6 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze — 15 medals
Czechia — 4 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze — 15 medals
Italy — 3 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze — 10 medals
Great Britain — 3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze — 5 medals
Germany — 2 gold, 3 silver — 5 medals

Croatia follows with two gold medals, while Belgium, Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland have also reached the podium during the opening two days.

All eight Team Classic events contested on Thursday met the minimum participation requirement of five National Federations for a European Championship title to be awarded.

Grandtully Rapids take centre stage on Friday

With the Classic competition complete, the Championships now move onto the much shorter and more explosive Sprint course.

Friday will be entirely dedicated to the Sprint Individual heats, with competition beginning at 09:00.

The 500 meters course starts at the top of Grandtully Rapids on river left and takes athletes through two rapid sections, separated by a flatter section, before continuing underneath the bridge and towards the finish below Fourth Falls.

Women’s K1 Junior will open Heat 1 at 09:00, followed by Women’s K1 U23, Men’s C1 Junior and U23, Men’s K1 Junior and U23, and Women’s C1 Junior and U23 during the morning.

The second heats for those categories begin before midday, giving athletes who do not qualify directly from their first run another opportunity to reach Saturday’s finals.

The C2 categories will take over during the afternoon, beginning from 15:01.

Two chances to reach Saturday’s finals

The Sprint format gives athletes two opportunities to qualify.

In K1, the five fastest paddlers from Heat 1 advance directly to Saturday’s final. The remaining athletes return for Heat 2, where another ten qualify, creating a 15-athlete final.

For C1, five athletes qualify from the first heat and seven more from the second, producing a 12-athlete final.

In C2, five boats progress from each heat for a 10-boat final.

Saturday will then bring the individual Sprint finals followed by the Sprint Team competition, before the Championships conclude with the medal presentations and Closing Ceremony in Grandtully.

With the longer Classic races now complete, the nature of the competition changes dramatically. Speed, precision and finding the fastest possible line through Grandtully Rapids will decide who remains in contention for the final European titles of the week.