Australia’s Natalia Drobot clinched gold in thrilling fashion and Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta saw off Hungary’s Balint Kopasz on a day of high drama at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged.
Many of the races were decided by the narrowest of margins as paddlers battled to gain Olympic Ranking points for their respective nations.
Australia’s Natalie Drobot produced one of the performances of the day to capture her first-ever World Cup win in the women’s kayak single 500m.
Drobot got off to a flying start, establishing a boat-length lead and looked to be cruising but New Zealand’s Aimee Fisher refused to give in.
Click here for live schedule and results from Szeged
The race went down to the wire as Drobot held off a stirring fightback from Fisher to win in 1:46.43.
Fisher took silver in 1:46.54 as world champion Anna Pulawska of Poland claimed bronze in 1:47.44.
“It is my first gold in a K1 which is really nice to add to the collection,” said Drobot.
“It was really special out there, it felt really lovely.
“I executed my race plan. I had fun out there and that’s the main thing.
“I crossed the line and had no idea where I had come but I was stoked that I put down a good race.
“I think the result of the gold makes it even better.”
Pimenta also dug deep as he withstood a late challenge from Kopasz to secure men’s K1 500m gold in an absorbing final.
After powering ahead, Pimenta managed to hold his form before a kick at the finish saw him pip Kopasz on the line, winning in 3:22.25.
Kopasz took silver in 3:22.33 with Australia’s Thomas Green winning bronze in 3:22.93.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Pimenta.
“I am back to the first spot on the podium.
“This is a new season, and we start with points for Olympic qualification and this is my mission.
“This was a very fast race, close to 3.21.00. This is what canoeing wants to show, it wants to show a photo finish.
“I’m so happy to win.”
A mere 0.02 seconds separated the top two in a dramatic women’s kayak four 500m as China edged Spain.
It was a pulsating battle between the two crews as world champions Spain came within a whisker of snatching victory from China.
The Chinese team of Shimeng Yu, Mengdie Yin, Nan Wang and Siyu Shen held firm to triumph in 1:29.61.
Spain had to settle for silver in 1:29.63, with Individual Neutral Athletes placing third in 1:30.79.
Hungary’s new-look quartet led from start to finish to secure the men’s K4 500m crown in front of a passionate home crowd.
Just two weeks after coming together, Bence Nadas, Bence Fodor, Levente Kurucz and Sandor Totka powered in front before surging to gold in 1:18.45.
Australia battled hard to take silver in 1:18.77 as Lithuania overcame world champions Portugal by just 0.02 to claim bronze in 1:19.00.
Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok pulled off a sensational fightback to beat China’s Mengya Sun and Yanan Ma on the line in the women’s canoe double 500m final.
There appeared to be no stopping the Chinese duo only for the Ukrainian pair to come roaring back in the final 100m.
Luzan and Rybachok, back together for the first time since 2024, sealed the title in 1:51.55, edging out Sun and Ma by 0.09.
Hungary’s Agnes Anna Kiss and Bianka Nagy secured bronze in 1:52.66.
“We feel good because it’s the first competition of the season and it was a quality competition,” said Rybachok.
“We have Olympic Ranking points and we are very happy.
“It’s very important for us and Ukraine.”
There was a dead heat in the men’s canoe single 1000m final after an epic dual between Czechia’s Olympic champion Martin Fuksa and AIN paddler Zakhar Petrov.
They both finished in 3:41.46, resulting in another photo finish as Italy’s Gabriele Casadei bagged bronze in 3:42.17.
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