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A total of 759 athletes representing 38 delegations are entered in the championships. Across the four competition days, 42 European titles will be awarded in the Junior and Under 23 categories.

The opening day will feature a demanding program of 75 heats, beginning at 08:30 and concluding at 17:10. No medals will be decided on Thursday, but the first day will be extremely important, with athletes and crews competing for direct qualification to the finals or places in the semi-finals.

The 1000 meters events open the championships

The championships will begin at 08:30 with the first heat of the K1 Junior Men 1000 meters.

The opening block includes 24 heats over 1000 meters, covering individual and crew boat events across both age categories. The morning program will feature the K1 and C1 Junior Men, K1 Junior Women, K1 and C1 Under 23 Men, K1 Under 23 Women, as well as the K2 and C2 Junior and Under 23 Men events.

Several athletes who recently reached the podium at the Junior and Under 23 World Championships in Halifax will begin their European campaigns during this opening block.

Türkiye’s Rahmi Karahan, one of the standout athletes in Halifax after winning three medals, including the K1 Junior Men 500-metre world title, will race in the second heat of the K1 Junior Men 1000 meters at 08:37. He will later return in the K2 Junior Men 1000 meters alongside Hasan Sarac.

The K1 Junior Women 1000 meters will also feature Czechia’s Barbora Janotová, who won the world title in this event in Halifax. She will start in the second heat at 09:19, while Denmark’s returning European champion Frida Søborg will contest the opening heat seven minutes earlier.

Another recently crowned world champion, Czechia’s Adam Rudolf, will begin his campaign in the first heat of the C1 Under 23 Men 1000 meters at 09:54. Rudolf won the C1 Under 23 Men 500-metre title at the World Championships earlier this month. The 1000-metre program will conclude shortly after 11:00.

Individual 500 meters races complete the morning session

Following the changeover from 1000 to 500 meters, racing will resume at 11:27 with the heats of the C1 Junior Women 500 meters.

Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Vozniuk, one of the returning champions from the 2025 European Championships, will compete in the opening heat. Hungary’s Lena Hamar, Germany’s Stine Lemke and Portugal’s Maria Sousa are among the athletes entered in the second heat.

The program will then continue with four heats in both the K1 Junior Women and K1 Junior Men 500 meters, highlighting the considerable depth of the entry list in the individual kayak events.

The Under 23 individual races will also provide important early tests. Ukraine’s Ivanna Dyachenko, the 2025 European champion in the K1 Under 23 Women 200 meters, will race in the opening heat of the K1 Under 23 Women 500 meters at 12:42.

One of the main home hopes will appear shortly afterwards. Hungary’s Bálint Kollek, the defending European champion in the K1 Under 23 Men 500 meters, will begin his campaign at 12:57 against a field that includes Germany’s Lucas Kluge, the Netherlands’ Cartouche Mensink and Sweden’s Ludvig Nordberg.

The morning session will finish at 13:22 with the third heat of the C1 Under 23 Men 500 meters.

Crew boats take center stage in the afternoon

After the break, racing will resume at 15:00 with four heats of the K2 Junior Men 500 meters.

The afternoon program will be entirely dedicated to 500-metre crew boats, beginning with the K2 events before moving to C2 and concluding with the K4 races.

Recently crowned K1 Junior Men 200-metre world champion Alex Gavlider will represent Slovakia in the K2 Junior Men 500 meters alongside Jakub Bartolcic at 15:10. Karahan and Sarac will also return to the water in the following heat for Türkiye.

The program will continue with K2 races for Junior and Under 23 Men and Women, followed by the C2 Junior Men, Junior Women and Under 23 Men events.

The closing section of the day will begin at 16:30 with the K4 Junior Men. The K4 Under 23 Men, K4 Junior Women and K4 Under 23 Women will follow, with the second heat of the K4 Under 23 Women bringing the opening day to an end at 17:10.

Although the first European titles will not be awarded until later in the championships, Thursday’s heats will immediately reveal the strength of the leading nations and establish many of the main contenders.

The opening day promises a busy and highly competitive start to the 2026 Paddle Europe Junior and Under 23 Sprint Championships.

Start List and results here 

Youtube Live Playlist for Szeged 2026  here