The Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor are proving to be a big stage for Portugal. This past Friday, the nation celebrated another medal, with young talent Leonardo Barbosa earning a silver. His strong performance in the C1 junior race added to an already impressive showing by the national team.
Barbosa’s podium finish was easily the standout moment for Portugal on Friday. It became the second medal the country secured at these championships. He paddled through the demanding 14.4-kilometer course, clocking in at 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 0.97 seconds. Barbosa finished 44.07 seconds behind the new world champion in his category, Martin Novacek of the Czech Republic, who completed the race in 1:11:16.90. Muhammadi Rajabov from Tajikistan took the bronze medal with a time of 1:12:25.23.
This silver medal for Barbosa wasn’t an isolated event. It came just one day after Fernando Pimenta, a widely recognized paddler, had already grabbed a gold medal. Pimenta had conquered the K1 short race world championship, setting a high standard for the team.
The excellent performances didn’t stop there. In the women’s K1 under-23 event, Maria Rego Gomes put up a fight. She just missed out on a medal, finishing in a respectable fourth place. Gomes completed the 21.8-kilometer race in 1:46:04.06. Her teammate, Andreia Duarte, also competed in the same event, crossing the finish line in 13th place with a time of 1:47:55.94.
Despite her near-podium finish, Gomes found herself nearly three minutes behind the bronze medalist, Jade Wilson of South Africa, who finished in 1:43:13.12. The race was won by Denmark’s Pernille Kuijers Hostrup in 1:43:01.83, closely followed by Hungary’s Panna Csepe, who secured silver in 1:43:06.93.
The men’s K1 under-23 race, covering 25.5 kilometers, also saw a strong Portuguese showing. João Sousa delivered a solid performance, securing sixth place with a time of 1:47:47.07. His compatriot, Francisco dos Santos, finished in 16th place, completing the course in 1:54:05.98. Denmark’s Philip Knudsen claimed the gold in this event, clocking 1:44:59.83. Pedro Ratto from Argentina earned the silver medal, finishing in 1:45:38.30.