Germany captured two kayak double gold medals as Ukraine’s canoe queen Liudmyla Luzan made a big statement on the final day at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged.
Olympic champions Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke dug deep to clinch the men’s K2 500m crown before Paulina Paszek and Pauline Jagsch won the women’s event to deliver a golden double for Germany.
It was a big boost for Germany at the end of the first World Cup to count towards the Olympic Ranking as they accumulated maximum points across the two K2 events.
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Roared on by the Szeged crowd, Hungary’s Levente Kurucz and Bence Fodor staged a sensational fightback and came within a whisker of snatching gold from Schopf and Lemke.
There was just 0.04 seconds between the two crews as Schopf and Lemke took gold in 1:27.12.
Kurucz and Fodor, the world champions, secured silver in 1:27.16 as Portugal’s Joao Ribeiro and Messias Baptista clocked a time of 1:27.54 for bronze.
Schopf and Lemke were delighted to bounce back after missing out on a medal in the men’s kayak four 500m.
“After the K4, it felt good to be back in the K2,” said Lemke.
“We felt like we were in a very good rhythm and it was really fun to do the race.
“When I crossed the finish line, I saw it was quite close.
“I felt that we had a good race and when I feel like that I am satisfied with the outcome.”
Just 10 minutes later, the German team were celebrating another victory courtesy of a stunning performance from Paszek and Jagsch in the women’s K2 500m.
It was a one-sided final as the German crew pulled clear to triumph in 1:36.92.
Poland’s Dominika Putto and Adrianna Kakol clinched silver in 1:38.69 while Spain’s Carolina Otero Garcia and Nerea Garcia Zabalegui bagged bronze in 1:39.01.
“We did a really good semi-final so we got a great feeling and we said to each other that we didn’t want to do anything different,” said Jagsch.
“I am really happy that we did the same in the final and took this good feeling with us.
“I am really proud.”
There was also a dominant display from Luzan who blew away the field to secure the women’s canoe single 200m.
After a sensational 2025, Luzan ensured there was no let-up at the start of the 2026 season as she won by almost a second from Cuba’s Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys.
Luzan cruised to victory in 43.23 as Cirilo Duboys secured silver in 44.19 and Ukraine’s Iryna Fedoriv sealed bronze in 44.35.
“I am very happy to get gold medals here,” said Luzan.
“I was in very good form, and I am looking forward to the next competition.
“They are very strong girls so it’s really hard work.
“My dream is to win an Olympic gold medal.”
The men’s C2 500m crown went to reigning world champions Zakhar Petrov and Ivan Shtyl.
The Individual Neutral Athletes crossed the finish line in a time of 1:35.90 while there was a tight battle for the other medals.
A superb late push from Italy’s Olympic medallists Gabriele Casadei and Carlo Tacchini saw them seal silver from lane nine in 1:36.32.
There was also a brilliant finish from Brazil’s Gabriel Assuncao Nascimento and Jamael Jacky Nascimento Godmann which resulted in a bronze in 1:37.16.
“It’s a good race in front of very good people in Hungary,” said Shtyl.
“This World Cup is always very strong.”
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