Canoeist Fernando Pimenta snagged a bronze medal in the K1 1,000 meters World Championship race on Saturday. This marked Portugal’s second podium finish in Milan. The result was a heartbreaker for Pimenta, who was just a breath away from claiming gold.
Starting in lane seven, Pimenta finished his race in 3 minutes, 26.16 seconds. He was only 0.66 seconds behind the gold medalist, Balint Kopasz of Hungary. Kopasz, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, edged out Australia’s Thomas Green by a mere 0.18 seconds for the top spot. It was a truly tight finish, with fractions of a second separating the medalists.
Pimenta, originally from Lima, was trying to defend his K1 1,000m title from 2023. He won that championship in Duisburg, Germany. Despite not retaining his crown, this bronze adds to an impressive collection. He now boasts three gold, two silver, and three bronze medals at track World Championships in this specific Olympic discipline.
This wasn’t Portugal’s only success in Italy. The nation also celebrated a gold medal in the K4 500 event. That winning team included Gustavo Gonçalves, João Ribeiro, Messias Baptista, and Pedro Casinha. They are also the reigning European champions in their category, showing Portugal’s strength on the water.