Brazilian rising star Lucas Santos captured two gold medals in commanding style at the International Canoe Federation Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Halifax, Canada.
Santos made his mark by winning both the men’s junior canoe single 500m and the men’s junior canoe four 500m.
Czechia’s Barbora Janotova stunned spectators with victory in the women’s junior kayak single 1000m, overcoming significant challenges just to reach the start line in Canada.
Click here for live startlists and results from Halifax
Hungary and Slovakia each secured two gold medals, while Slovenia’s Matevz Manfreda also struck gold and Czechia added another title through Adam Rudolf’s impressive performance in the non-Olympic events.
Defending world champion Santos came from behind to snatch victory in the men’s junior C1 500m, making it back-to-back victories for the Brazilian after finishing in 2:04.40.
“I feel like my race had a lot of quality,” said Santos.
“I didn’t quite make it to the finish line with full steam.
“At the beginning when I got on the water, I didn’t feel too confident, but I pushed through and I managed to do it.”
Despite a strong start from Hungary’s David Barna, he was forced to settle for silver after losing ground in the final stretch, finishing in 2:06.42. Czechia’s Ondrej Prochazka completed the podium in 2:08.31.
Shortly after his solo success, Santos added a second medal in the men’s junior C4 500m.
Teaming up with Joao Silva, Tailon Nascimento and Rafick Santos, the Brazilian quartet delivered a narrow victory in 1:41.72.
Spain pushed hard after a strong start but faded slightly in the closing metres, taking silver by just 0.14 seconds in 1:41.86.
Poland rounded out the podium in 1:43.07.
Czechia’s Janotova captured the world title in the women’s junior K1 1000m in 4:14.31.
Janotova turned on the gas in the last 100 metres to launch a sneak attack on Italy’s Anastasia Insabella who led for the majority of the race.
"I’m feeling amazing. I'm really happy with how the race went because last year at the World Championships in Montemor the conditions were really difficult. I'm so glad I was able to make up for that here at my last Junior World Championships,” said Janotova.
"It was really challenging leading into the race. There were a lot of constraints over the last two weeks, we had to borrow a boat here, and I was racing in a different type of boat than I'm used to, but once the race started, I felt really confident, and throughout the race I believed I was able to win.”
Less than a second separated the pair as Insabella captured silver in 4:15.10.
Hungary’s Nora Kalmar took bronze in 4:17.88.
In the men’s U23 C1 500m, Czechia’s Rudolf stormed to victory in 2:02.28.
"It feels amazing. I'm a world champion now," said Rudolf.
"I wasn't that confident going into the race. After we arrived, everything around the flight and the travel had me mentally down. But I was able to come out of that, get really motivated and get into the right mindset for the final. That made all the difference."
China’s Jia Wang claimed silver in 2:03.42, with Moldova’s Mihai Chihaia completing the podium after an early lead.
Slovakia’s Alex Gavlider powered to victory in the men’s junior K1 500m, finishing in 38.32.
"I'm very happy. It was a good race, and everything went as planned," said Wang.
"I felt pretty confident when I got on the water because I knew I had it in me. I just had to go out there and do it."
Hungary’s Vince Rasztotzky shortly followed to take silver in 38.47 while Turkiye’s Rahmi Karahan took bronze in 38.79.
Slovenia’s Manfreda claimed the men’s U23 K1 200m world title in 36.01.
"I'm really happy with this race. I felt good, so it's a really nice feeling,” said Manfreda.
"I was a bit nervous when I got on the water, and my start wasn't that great. But I just kept pushing until the end.
"I just told myself that I needed to keep pushing. I don't really know what happened after that, I just went for it."
Hungary’s Gergo Keller continued his nation’s strong showing with silver in 36.52, while Spain’s Manuel Pousa took bronze in 36.74.
Defending champion Strahinja Dragosavljevic finished fifth after slipping off the pace early.
In the women’s U23 K1 1000m, Hungary’s Sara Fojt captured victory in 4:10.57 to take the world title.
"I'm very happy," said Fojt.
"It was a very hard race. The wind wasn't ideal for me, and this was a new challenge racing over 1,000 metres, so I'm really happy I was able to do it.
"I believed I was capable of winning. I think I raced a very smart 1,000 metres, and that made the difference."
China’s Yuexin Zhou placed less than a second behind the victor in 4:11.39, as Poland’s Weronika Marczewska took bronze in 4:11.80.
In the men’s U23 C4 500m, Hungary controlled the race from the front to take gold in 1:36.63.
China and Ukraine battled closely behind, claiming silver and bronze respectively in 1:38.28 and 1:38.61.
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