After two World Cup events in May, the elite of canoe sprint has gathered once again in Portugal, where they will compete for European champion titles at the Montemor-o-Velho High Performance Centre. The host nation will be represented by a team of 31 athletes in canoe sprint and paracanoe, led by their top star Fernando Pimenta. Among the main favorites are also other national team members who have already proven themselves with outstanding results at previous championships, such as Messias Baptista, Pedro Casinha, Teresa Portela, Maria Rei, Maria Gomes, and Norberto Mourão in paracanoe.
The advantage of the home venue and local supporters will be important, as virtually all of Europe’s top competitors have arrived to Portugal. The start line-up will include experienced and well-established athletes, as well as new names among young sprinters who are already making an impression and represent the future of the sport.
To highlight just a few of the names competing at this championship: Josef Dostál and Martin Fuksa (Czechia), Hungarians Bálint Kopasz, Sándor Tótka, Anna Lúcz, Italians Carlo Tacchini, Gabriele Casadei, Lucrezia Zironi, Poles Anna Puławska, Martyna Klatt, Dominika Putto, Wiktor Głazunow, Spaniards Antía Jácome, Sara Ouzande, Pablo Graña, Carlos Arévalo, Marcos Cooper, Danes Mads Pedersen and Thorbjørn Rask, Germans Paulina Paszek, Pauline Jagsch, Max Lemke, Max Rendschmidt, Jacob Schopf, Tom Liebscher-Lucz, French athletes Pauline Freslon and Loïc Léonard, Ukrainians Liudmyla Luzan and Ivanna Dyachenko, Sweden’s Melina Andersson, Slovenia’s Anja Apollonio, Lithuania’s Artūras Seja, individual neutral athlete Zakhar Petrov, Belgians Artuur Peters, Hermien Peters, and Lize Broekx, and many more.
The lineup in the paracanoe competition is equally impressive. After a serious injury, Great Britain’s Emma Wiggs has successfully returned this year and comes from a very strong team that also includes Charlotte Henshaw, Jack Eyers, and Stuart Wood. Georgia will be represented by Serhii Yemelianov, the French team once again features Nelia Barbosa, Abel Aber, and Rémy Boulle, Hungary fields Péter Kiss, Erik Kiss, and Katalin Varga, while Poland’s Katarzyna Sobczak, Ukraine’s Mykola Syniuk and Vladyslav Yepifanov, Austria’s Marcus Swoboda, and Spain’s Higinio Rivero will also be at the start, among many others.
Thursday brings all heats in canoe sprint and paracanoe, followed by semifinals on Friday, while finals will take place on Saturday and Sunday.
For the first time, the Masters category will also be part of the official Paddle Europe Sprint European Championships. Competitors will race in different age groups and compete for medals across all four days of competition.
The competitions will be available via livestream on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
Participating nations: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, and approved individual athletes.
LIVESTREAMING: https://www.youtube.com/PlanetCanoe
RESULTS AND TIMETABLE (SELECT SPRINT AND PARACANOE OR MASTERS):
https://timetable.europecanoeevents.com/index.php?gmt=2&gmt2=-120
Photo: Luis Eiras
10.6.2026
