News

Hungary leads the way as first finalists emerge in Szeged

The opening day of the 2026 Paddle Europe Junior and Under 23 Sprint Championships came to an end in Szeged after a demanding programme of 75 heats across the 1000 and 500-metre distances.

No medals were awarded on Thursday, but the first day played an important role in shaping the remainder of the championships. A total of 123 entries secured direct qualification for their respective finals, while a further 388 progressed to the semi-finals. These figures refer to individual entries and crew boats rather than the number of different athletes.

Hungary secures 22 direct final places

Host nation Hungary produced the strongest overall opening-day performance, securing 22 direct final places and advancing a further seven entries to the semi-finals.

Among Hungary’s individual heat winners were Zoltan Mircse in the K1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres, Zita Bauer in the K1 Under 23 Women 1000 metres and David Uhrin in both the C1 Under 23 Men 1000 and 500 metres.

The home team also progressed directly through Lena Hamar in the C1 Junior Women 500 metres, Panna Gyore in the C1 Under 23 Women 500 metres, David Barna in the C1 Junior Men 500 metres, Sara Fojt in the K1 Under 23 Women 500 metres and defending European champion Balint Kollek in the K1 Under 23 Men 500 metres.

Hungary also demonstrated its depth in the crew boats, securing direct qualification for several K2, C2 and K4 finals. The Hungarian crews won their heats in the K4 Junior Men, K4 Under 23 Men, K4 Junior Women and K4 Under 23 Women 500 metres.

Poland, Spain, Czechia, Italy and Portugal make strong starts

Poland finished the first day with 12 direct final places and 17 additional entries in the semi-finals. Weronika Marczewska qualified directly in the K1 Under 23 Women 1000 metres and was also part of the Polish K2 Under 23 Women crew that progressed directly in the 500 metres.

Poland also secured direct qualification in several crew events, including the K2 Junior Men, C2 Junior Men, K2 Under 23 Men and C2 Under 23 Men 1000 metres, as well as the K2 Junior Women and both Under 23 K4 events over 500 metres.

Spain and Czechia each secured eight direct final places. Spain was particularly strong in canoe and the K4 events, progressing directly in both the C2 Junior Men 1000 and 500 metres, the C2 Junior Women and C2 Under 23 Men 500 metres, and all three of its afternoon K4 events.

Czechia’s direct finalists included Barbora Janotová, who won her heat in the K1 Junior Women 1000 metres, and Adam Rudolf, who led the opening heat of the C1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres. Czechia also qualified directly in the K2 and C2 Under 23 Men 1000 metres and in several 500-metre crew events.

Italy secured seven direct final places, led by Anastasia Insabella in the K1 Junior Women 1000 metres and Giorgia Lacalamita, who progressed directly in both the K1 Under 23 Women 1000 and 500 metres.

Portugal completed a successful opening day with six direct final places and 18 entries progressing to the semi-finals. Duarte Cunha won his heat in the C1 Junior Men 1000 metres, while David Macedo and Simao Barbosa qualified directly in both the C2 Junior Men 1000 and 500 metres.

Maria Sousa secured a direct place in the C1 Junior Women 500-metre final and later joined Lara Lopes in qualifying directly in the C2 Junior Women 500 metres. Portugal’s K4 Under 23 Women crew also booked its place in the final.

World champions progress directly

Several athletes who arrived in Szeged following successful performances at the recent Junior and Under 23 World Championships also avoided the semi-finals.

Czechia’s Barbora Janotová progressed directly in the K1 Junior Women 1000 metres, while her teammate Adam Rudolf secured a final place in the C1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres.

Türkiye’s Rahmi Karahan and Hasan Sarac produced the fastest performance across the two K2 Junior Men 1000-metre heats, winning their race in 3:24.295. Türkiye also qualified directly through Resul Aydin in the C1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres and Taha Usta in the K1 Under 23 Men 500 metres.

Other individual athletes already assured of final appearances include Ireland’s Sean Butterly in the K1 Junior Men 1000 metres, Denmark’s Valdemar Jorgensen in the K1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres, Moldova’s Mihai Chihaia in the C1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres and Estonia’s Elizaveta Fedorova in the K1 Under 23 Women 1000 metres.

Germany leads the semi-final qualification numbers

While Hungary led the direct qualification statistics, Germany placed the highest number of entries into the semi-finals, with 22 boats or individual entries still fighting for final places.

Spain, Italy and Ukraine each advanced 20 entries to the semi-finals. Portugal followed with 18, while Poland, Czechia and Slovakia each secured 17 semi-final places.

Serbia progressed with 16 entries, Denmark and Sweden each had 15, Latvia secured 14 and Great Britain advanced 13.

The two AIN delegations also recorded a significant number of qualifications. AIN-B secured 21 direct final places and five semi-final positions, while AIN-A progressed directly in 14 events and placed another 15 entries into the semi-finals.

Friday will define the remaining final line-ups

The second competition day will begin at 09:00 with the semi-finals of the K1 Junior Men 1000 metres. A total of 26 semi-finals are scheduled during the morning session, covering the 1000-metre events and several individual 500-metre races.

The first section will determine the remaining finalists in the K1 and C1 Junior Men 1000 metres, K1 Junior Women 1000 metres and K1 Under 23 Men 1000 metres. Semi-finals will then follow in the C1 Under 23 Men, K1 Under 23 Women, K2 Junior Men, C2 Junior Men, K2 Under 23 Men and C2 Under 23 Men 1000-metre events.

Attention will turn to the 500-metre events from 11:00, with semi-finals in the women’s canoe races and the Junior and Under 23 individual kayak events.

After the lunch break, racing will resume at 14:30 with the remaining 500-metre semi-finals. The programme includes the C2 Junior Men, K4 Junior Men, K4 Under 23 Men and C2 Under 23 Men events.

The focus will then move to the shortest distance of the championships. The first 200-metre heats will start at 15:05 and continue until 16:55, introducing the C1 Junior and Under 23 Women, C1 Junior and Under 23 Men, K1 Junior and Under 23 Men, C2 Junior Women and K1 Junior and Under 23 Women events.

No medals will be awarded, but by the end of the second day most of the finalists from the opening 1000 and 500-metre events will be known, while the leading 200-metre contenders will have made their first appearance on the Maty-ér course.