European Canoe Championship Highlights and Medal Sweep
Walter Bouzan from Astury, age 44, earned a silver in the K1 5,000-meter final. He finished three seconds behind Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta, who claimed the European canoe title in Munich with a time of 20:14.447. Bouzan’s performance underscored a seasoned career marked by endurance, precision, and a relentless drive that keeps him at the forefront of marathon-style racing on the continental stage.
Across the weekend, the Ribadesella athlete demonstrated his versatility by collecting six World Cup medals in the marathon discipline and four European medals in other events. The canoeist, known for his long-standing success on Spain’s rivers, has also celebrated ten victories at the renowned Sella descent. These achievements reinforce his status as a persistent force in European competition and reflect a career enriched by consistency and resilience on both river courses and championship dashes.
In a notable moment of the closing day, the bronze medal went to Rafal Losowski of Poland, a reminder of the deep field that characterizes European canoeing. Losowski stood on the podium as one of the few athletes to push the pace and convert a strong performance into a medal at the continental championships, contributing to a results table that showcased broad international depth among the challengers.
The event culminated in Spain achieving a seventh medal for its canoeing program on the final day. Before stepping onto the podium at the Munich Olympic channel, Isabel Contreras claimed a place in K1 1,000, with Paco Cubelos and Iñigo Peña taking silver in K2 1,000. Jamo me and María Corbera earned a podium spot in C2 200, Antoni Segura and Sete Benavides did the same in C2 200, Joan Antoni Moreno and Adrián Sieiro produced a strong result in C2 500, and Antía Jácome added C2 200 to the tally. The collective performance highlighted a robust national program capable of delivering multiple boats into medal contention across different race formats and distances, affirming Spain’s sustained strength in European canoeing and signaling encouragement for the next generation of paddlers. [Canoe Federation European Championship report, attribution]