A fantastic field of Canoe Sprint paddlers including reigning Olympic and world champions will race at the upcoming International Canoe Federation Hangzhou Super Cup.
A total of 130 athletes from 23 countries are poised to do battle in the Canoe Sprint competition as part of the first-ever multi-discipline Super Cup running from October 11 to 13.
They will join paddlers from Canoe Slalom, Canoe Polo and Canoe Marathon at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre where a huge prize pot of $350,000 will be on offer.
All the Canoe Sprint events will be held over 500 metres with the programme featuring men’s and women’s races in kayak single and canoe single.
There will also be men’s, women’s and mixed races in kayak double and canoe double.
The undefeated pairing of Shixiao Xu and Mengya Sun headline China’s 77-strong Canoe Sprint team that will aim to deliver home success.
Xu and Sun have never been beaten since teaming up for the first time in 2019 as they retained their Olympic women’s C2 500m crown in Paris this year.
China’s other Paris 2024 gold medallists Bowen Ji and Hao Liu will also seek to delight the home fans when they line up in the men’s C2 500m.
The Chinese team also features Wenjun Lin, a three-time world gold medallist who captured two titles in Hangzhou when it staged the 2022 Asian Games.
Canada’s Katie Vincent and Germany’s Max Lemke are the other two Olympic champions from Paris 2024 in the field.
Lemke increased his Olympic gold medal tally to three with victories in the men’s K2 500m and men’s K4 500m in Paris.
Vincent made history in the French capital by becoming the first female paddler from Canada to win an Olympic canoeing title courtesy of her victory in the women’s C1 200m.
Lemke is in a six-member German team that also includes multiple world champions Peter Kretschmer, Conrad-Robin Scheibner and Jakob Thordsen.
Vincent is poised to team up with Connor Fitzpatrick in the mixed C2 500m having captured the world title in 2022 and 2023.
They will be among five Canadian paddlers in Hangzhou.
Hungary has the second largest Canoe Sprint squad with eight athletes including Adam Varga, a two-time Olympic silver medallist in the men’s K1 1000m, as well as 2022 women’s K2 200m world champions Anna Lucz and Blanka Kiss.
Balazs Adolf, a double world champion in the men’s C1 5000m, is another notable figure in the Hungarian team.
Several athletes that starred at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Samarkand, Uzbekistan will head to Hangzhou.
Among those are Poland’s Oleksii Koliadych and Wiktor Glazunow who were crowned world champions in the men’s C1 200m and men’s C1 5000m respectively.
Portugal’s Messias Baptista will be eyeing success in China after striking gold in both the men’s K1 200m and mixed K2 500m in Samarkand.
Baptista is set to combine with Joao Ribeiro in the men’s K2 500m – an event they won the world title in last year.
Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi is also arriving in Hangzhou after becoming world champion thanks to his success in the men’s C1 500m.
Double world champion Nicolae Craciun headlines Italy’s six-strong squad, while Spain has sent four paddlers including Olympic bronze medallist Joan Antoni Moreno.
Aimee Fisher is the sole representative from New Zealand as she targets gold in the women’s K1 500m after missing out on a medal at the Olympics.
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Great Britain, Georgia, Ireland, Lithuania, South Africa, Sweden and Ukraine will also be represented in Hangzhou.
Toshi Furuya, Chair of the ICF Canoe Sprint Committee, said: “It is a great thrill for our athletes to be part of such a fantastic event that will bring together four disciplines.
“I am delighted with the field of paddlers for Canoe Sprint which includes many Olympic and world champions.
“It has been a long season for these athletes, but I am sure they will be determined to put on a show in Hangzhou.
“The Fuyang Water Sports Centre was an excellent venue for the Canoe Sprint races at the Asian Games which took place at this time last year so it will be great to see it stage another important event 12 months later.”
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