News

The final championship races were held over a course of approximately 13 kilometres between Saint-Anne du Portzic and the Beach of Moulin Blanc, with the wind and ocean movement providing ideal conditions for fast and spectacular downwind racing.

After eight European titles were decided in Thursday’s SS1 competition, the Senior Mixed, U23 Mixed and Junior Mixed SS2 races completed the official championship programme, taking the final number of European titles awarded in Brest to 11.

Bernardo Pereira completes a golden treble

One of the biggest stories of the championships belonged once again to Portugal’s Bernardo Pereira.

On Thursday, Pereira produced the fastest time of the entire Men’s SS1 field to become Senior Men’s European Champion, while simultaneously claiming the U23 Men’s European title.

Two days later, the Portuguese paddler returned in SS2 alongside Sara Sotero and delivered another winning performance.

The Portuguese crew won the Senior Mixed title in 55:50, finishing more than one minute ahead of the rest of the field.

France’s Pierre Vilella and Margaux Bouteloup claimed silver in 57:03, 1:12 behind the winners, while Spain’s Chloe Bunnett and Walter Bouzan completed the podium in 57:35.

It completed an outstanding championships for Pereira, who leaves Brest with three European titles — Senior Men SS1, U23 Men SS1 and Senior Mixed SS2.

The result also showed how strongly several of the leading SS1 paddlers carried their form into the doubles. Vilella had taken silver in the Senior Men’s SS1 race on Thursday, while Bouzan had claimed bronze in Senior Men and Bunnett bronze in Senior Women.

The Senior Mixed result also produced one of the notable surprises of the day. Hector Henot and Thaïs Delrieux, silver medallists at the 2025 World Championships and one of the strongest crews on paper ahead of Saturday’s race, did not reach the podium.

Rosie Edwards leaves Brest as double European champion

Great Britain’s Rosie Edwards had already produced another of the standout performances of the championships in Thursday’s SS1 race.

Edwards was the fastest woman overall, a performance that earned her both the Senior Women’s and U23 Women’s European titles.

Spain’s Judit Vergés Xifra took silver in the Senior Women’s classification ahead of compatriot Chloe Bunnett, while Lara Cellier and Sara Mengual Francisco completed the U23 podium behind Edwards.

The British paddler therefore leaves Brest with two European titles from a single outstanding SS1 performance.

Cellier and Quintana Labarta take U23 crown for Spain

Spain celebrated the U23 Mixed European title through Lara Cellier and Francisco Quintana Labarta, who produced a winning time of 59:02.

Cellier had already enjoyed a successful SS1 competition, taking silver in U23 Women, and added European gold in the double to her Brest medal collection.

France’s Tanguy Cattelle and Claire Dewaste took silver in 1:00:49, while Spain secured a second place on the podium through Sara Mengual Francisco and Josep Cifre Pascual, who finished third in 1:00:58.

The bronze-medal crew brought together two athletes who had already reached the podium on Thursday: Mengual was third in U23 Women SS1, while Cifre also took bronze in U23 Men.

The U23 Mixed category had only secured official European Championship status after the final start list confirmed crews from five different nations, reaching the minimum participation requirement for a continental title.

St Mary and Colmard Jiménez bounce back with Junior gold

Spain also took the Junior Mixed European title, with Julian St Mary and Andrea Colmard Jiménez winning in 1:01:09.

The result was particularly significant after a very different SS1 day for the Spanish pair. Colmard Jiménez, the reigning U18 World Champion coming into Brest, had finished second behind Portugal’s Constança Frazão in Junior Women SS1, while St Mary was unable to complete the Junior Men’s race.

Together in SS2, however, they returned to the top of the podium.

France’s Romane Penvern and Mathis Thicot claimed silver in 1:02:10, with Great Britain’s Katie Luen-Twining and Freddie Heard taking bronze just seven seconds later in 1:02:17.

Luen-Twining therefore also added another medal to her championships after taking bronze in Junior Women SS1 on Thursday.

A fitting Ocean Racing finale

Saturday’s conditions provided a fitting final test after a championships built around the unpredictability of the Brittany coastline.

The approximately 13-kilometre route from Saint-Anne du Portzic to the Beach of Moulin Blanc delivered excellent downwind conditions, allowing the crews to use the ocean swell and demonstrate the speed, technical ability and coordination that make SS2 racing so distinctive.

The result was a considerably faster race than Thursday’s 23-kilometre individual SS1 course, while providing an entirely different tactical and technical challenge.

The three Mixed races also highlighted the depth of the championship field. Several athletes who had already won or medalled individually returned to the podium, but new combinations and the different demands of SS2 produced some notable changes compared with both Thursday’s results and the 2025 World Championships.

Three new Mixed European champions

None of the winning combinations from the previous European Championships in the Azores in 2024 returned to defend their title as the same crew, guaranteeing new European champions in all three official Mixed categories.

Senior Mixed SS2

1. Bernardo Pereira / Sara Sotero (POR) – 55:50
2. Pierre Vilella / Margaux Bouteloup (FRA) – 57:03
3. Chloe Bunnett / Walter Bouzan (ESP) – 57:35

U23 Mixed SS2

1. Lara Cellier / Francisco Quintana Labarta (ESP) – 59:02
2. Tanguy Cattelle / Claire Dewaste (FRA) – 1:00:49
3. Sara Mengual Francisco / Josep Cifre Pascual (ESP) – 1:00:58

Junior Mixed SS2

1. Julian St Mary / Andrea Colmard Jiménez (ESP) – 1:01:09
2. Romane Penvern / Mathis Thicot (FRA) – 1:02:10
3. Katie Luen-Twining / Freddie Heard (GBR) – 1:02:17

Portugal tops the final medal table

Across the 11 official European Championship events contested in Brest, seven nations reached the podium, with Portugal finishing at the top of the final medal table with four European titles.

Bernardo Pereira accounted for three of those gold medals — Senior Men SS1, U23 Men SS1 and Senior Mixed SS2 — while Constança Frazão added Portugal’s fourth title in Junior Women SS1.

Spain collected the highest number of medals overall with 14, comprising two golds, five silvers and seven bronzes. Spanish athletes reached the podium in 10 of the 11 official European title events, with Junior Men SS1 the only category in which Spain did not win a medal.

Great Britain finished third in the medal table with two gold medals, both achieved by Rosie Edwards, who became Senior Women and U23 Women European Champion through her outstanding SS1 performance.

Czechia, Germany and Italy each claimed one European title, while France collected six medals — five silver and one bronze — despite not taking gold in any of the 11 official title events.

With the three SS2 titles added to the eight championships decided in SS1, 11 European titles were awarded across the official events in Brest 2026.

After two very different days of racing, the championships ended in perhaps the most appropriate way possible for Ocean Racing — with strong downwind conditions, moving water and a genuine ocean course providing a spectacular final test on the Brittany coast.