Hungary’s kayak four overcame boat problems to snatch victory on an absorbing day at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cup in Montreal, Canada.
The Hungarian quartet revealed that they had to turn to a rented boat to propel them to men’s K4 500m gold from lane one.
Czechia’s reigning Olympic champion Martin Fuksa continued his hot streak in the men’s canoe single 1000m, making it 11 months since his last defeat in an individual competition.
China powered to gold in the women’s K4 500m, while Ukraine came out on top in the women’s canoe double 500m.
Click here for the live start lists and results from Montreal
There was a stunning performance from Hungary in the men’s K4 500m final as they edged reigning world champions Portugal.
Hungary snatched the win in an impressive 1:22.10, despite having to borrow a boat from the venue after facing difficulties with their own.
Bence Nadas, Bence Fodor, Levente Kurucz, and Sandor Totka clinched the gold just 0.12 seconds ahead of the Portuguese paddlers.
"We had to change boats because our original boat was flexing and wasn't stiff enough,” said Kurucz.
“The bow was sitting too low in the water during the race, which was making us slower, so we decided to make the change."
"We changed boats today, on race day. Fortunately, we were able to use another boat that was available here.
"We're really happy with the result. To come away with the win after making such a late change makes it even more satisfying."
Australia were only marginally behind, as they captured bronze in 1:22.27 to cap off an exciting race.
It was neck and neck between reigning world and Olympic champion Fuksa and Italy’s Gabriele Casadei in the men’s canoe single 1000m final.
The Czech paddler found his rhythm as he powered home in 4:09.49.
“I’m really happy. This is my third World Cup medal this year, so I’m really pleased with how the season is going,” said Fuksa.
“It’s nice to hear that it’s been so long since I last didn’t win an individual race. I really enjoy competing, I love canoeing, I love training.
“I give 100% every day, so I’m happy to see that work paying off.
“It’s an honour to be here and compete, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.
“The medals are always nice to win, but I think the key is discipline. Every day I go to trainings do my best. I love the sport, and that’s the reason I’m here. That’s my motivation.”
Casadei was bound for silver, until Hungary’s Daniel Fejes came from behind to clinch the medal.
Fejes finished in 4:10.12, while Casadei settled for bronze in 4:10.29.
The Chinese quad stormed ahead in the women’s K1 500m, setting an early lead.
Shimeng Yu, Mengdie Yin, Nan Wang, and Siyu Shen set the pace and had their competitors chasing their tails for the entire run.
They captured the gold in an impressive 1:34.02.
World champions Spain settled for silver in 1:34.98, while the bronze went to Germany as they finished in 1:35.44.
There was no stopping Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok as they dominated the women’s C2 500m final.
They finished in 2:02.02, as China’s Mengya Sun and Yanan Ma took silver in 2:03.23.
Spain’s Angels Moreno and Viktoria Yarchevska completed the podium in 2:03.59.
"It was a very good race and a very strong competition,” said Rybachok.
“This season is important because it's part of our journey towards Olympic qualification for Los Angeles.
"This was my first time racing here in Montreal. The water and the course were quite different from what we're used to, and we didn't have much opportunity to train on it beforehand, so that made it challenging.
"The conditions were good. The weather was nice, and we enjoyed racing here.”
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