Canoers João Ribeiro and Messias Baptista arrived at the Milan World Championships with big dreams. They had two gold medals on their minds, but the K2 500 meters race ended with a silver. This result, while excellent, fell just short of their ambitious plans.
João Ribeiro spoke about their feelings after the race. “We can’t be sad about being vice-world champions,” he said, “but we really wanted to take home two world titles this year.” He added that for years, they’ve been “hitting the crossbar,” often finishing fourth or fifth. Even at Paris 2024, they didn’t get the medal they wanted. So, he insisted, they can’t be truly unhappy with this silver.
The duo finished their K2 500m race in one minute, 28.44 seconds. They were just 16 hundredths of a second behind the gold medalists from Hungary. Germany took the bronze, trailing Hungary by 66 hundredths. João described their effort: “We started very strong and managed our energy well in the middle.” He admitted that in the last 50 meters, they were “very tired” but gave everything. He graciously congratulated the Hungarians, acknowledging they were simply better that day.
A unique twist in the race involved the Hungarian team. While João and Messias paddled in lane six, the Hungarians, who only competed in the K2 500 at these championships, raced surprisingly well from lane nine. This outer lane kept them “out of sight,” making them “impossible to control.” João even wondered if it was a boat filming the race. Still, he knows they delivered their best performance. He recognized that someone else just had a better day.
Messias Baptista reflected on what he called his “best season ever.” He earned two medals at these World Championships, plus two more at the Europeans. He noted his previous seasons were also “very good.” However, the memory of Paris 2024 still stings. “The result there was below our hopes, finishing sixth,” he explained. “It still hurts to think about. I haven’t fully moved past it.” He admitted he’s not “100% happy,” maybe 99%, because he truly believed they would win.
The tiny gap of 16 hundredths of a second is “hard to even notice,” Messias said. But now, their focus is on the pride of winning two medals in Olympic distances at the World Championships. Their first medal came earlier in the week, an unexpected K4 500 meters world title. For this event, they teamed up with Gustavo Gonçalves and Pedro Casinha, who were new to the world stage. This same K4 crew had also won the European championship.
João Ribeiro looks forward to the future. “We should be proud of this promising achievement,” he stated, especially since it’s the first year of a new Olympic cycle. He highlighted the “two young guys” in the K4. He believes they will improve even more. “We’ll see what the future holds,” he concluded. Beyond their two medals, Fernando Pimenta also contributed to the team’s success, earning a bronze in the K1 1,000 meters, another Olympic distance.