Canoeist Fernando Pimenta was crowned world champion of this Thursday short race, marathon specialty, successor to compatriot José Ramalho in Ponte de Lima. It was Portugal’s fifth podium in the competition.
Pimenta, who has won three medals this season in the world championships and another that many in European speed races (inline regattas), extended the season to compete at home, delivering an impeccable event for thousands of fans that earned him unprecedented gold.
Pimenta, who always drove up front, completed the race in 12.49 minutes, beating Dane Mads Pedersen, who was still forcing in the final stretch, by 65 hundredths of a second.
The last place on the podium went to Spaniard Ivan Alonso, at 19.48 seconds, in a race in which 2021 champion José Ramalho finished eighth, at 31.87, after a problem at the first toll road that caused him irreparable delay .
Pimenta hasn’t competed in marathons since 2012 at the world championships in Rome, when he was runner-up in the world under-23 and bronze in seniors, on consecutive days.
On Saturday, Pimenta and Ramalho will compete in the K1 long race and on Sunday they will team up in K2. The Marathon World Championships will bring together 890 canoeists from 36 countries through Sunday.
Source: DN
