Just moments after Messias Baptista experienced the joy of capturing the world title, he was settling himself back in his boat for another race.
It’s been a hectic yet glorious few days for the Portuguese paddler in Samarkand where he had little time to revel in his success.
Two of Baptista’s three medals achieved at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships came in 20 minutes.
The 25-year-old stormed to the men’s kayak single 200m title before making up a Portuguese quartet in the mixed kayak four 500m final – an event making its debut on the international stage.
Having won gold with Teresa Portela in the mixed kayak double 500m on Saturday, Baptista had hoped to complete a hat-trick of titles in the Uzbek city but had to settle with bronze.
“I was sure that we could win,” said Baptista.
“Unfortunately, we came third, but I think that’s a good result.
“We had a lot of races, and I just had two in 20 minutes so I can be happy with a bronze.”
Baptista had not allowed himself to celebrate his victories in Samarkand due to his packed schedule.
Even after standing on the podium with Portela hearing the Portuguese national anthem ring out, Baptista was swiftly back in his boat preparing for the men’s K1 200m heats.
“It is good to share a gold medal with a partner but of course my goal for this World Championships was the K1 200,” said Baptista.
“It’s the distance that I enjoy the most.
“I can say that I am the fastest in the world.
“I didn’t have time to really celebrate as I had just done the K1 and then I was into the K4 for another race.
“I need to now feel what I have accomplished in Uzbekistan.”
Baptista puts his achievements at this year’s World Championships down to the work he has done to improve his endurance.
“It's all part of the training with my coach,” said Baptista.
“We are doing a very good job with this matter.
“I wasn’t like this before.
“Years before I was doing one race and that’s it whereas on Saturday I did four races in a day, race after race and I was feeling good in all of them.
“Sunday was another example. I just did a K1 200 and the K4 and got two medals so I think I can be very proud of this.”
Baptista now has three world titles to his name having clinched men’s K2 500m gold with Joao Ribeiro last year.
He arrived in Samarkand fueled by the frustration of missing out on a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Our goal was the Olympic Games in Paris,” said Baptista.
“The year before I became world champion in the K2 500m, so our stakes were very high.
“We managed to finish sixth in Paris which is a good result.
“It’s not what we aimed for, but we have good indications that Los Angeles 2028 will be better.
“I decided to come here to Uzbekistan before the Olympics as I really wanted to race the K1 200 because I really like that distance.
“I think I’m fast and I proved it.
“It was hard, I’m not going to lie.
“To finish the Olympic Games not with the result that I wanted.
“It was a hard week to train one more week, but we leave with three medals – two being gold, so it is the right way to end the season.”
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