Paralympic medallists Robert Suba of Hungary and Markus Mendy Swoboda of Austria were among the Paracanoe paddlers that starred at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkovic, Croatia.
It is the third successive year that Paracanoe marathon races have been showcased at the World Championships.
Entries in the demonstration races have continued to grow as Paracanoe paddlers look to challenge themselves over the long distances.
There were a record 37 entries for this year’s event with participants coming from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Senegal and Sweden.
The biggest field was in the men’s KL3 class as nine Paracanoe paddlers lined up in Friday’s race.
France’s Gabin Keirel finished first in 58:12.28, while Great Britain’s Timothy Lodge came second in 59:06.92 and fellow Frenchman Yves Grondin crossed in 1:01:28.89 for third.
Suba, a men’s KL1 silver medallist at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, four-time European champion and multiple world medallist, featured in Metkovic.
The 44-year-old, who also represented Hungary at Paris 2024, overcame Great Britain’s Shaun Cook to win the men’s VL2 race on Wednesday and was the only competitor in the men’s KL1 on Friday.
Swoboda, a men’s KL2 silver medallist at Rio 2016 and six-time world gold medallist, also showed his quality in marathon.
The 34-year-old topped the standings in both the men’s VL3 and men’s KL2.
Ruud Heijselaar, Chair of the ICF Canoe Marathon Committee, said he was delighted with the growth of the Para classes in marathon.
A decision is set to be made at the ICF Congress in November over whether to make the Paracanoe races medal events for next year’s Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor, Hungary.
“It is really nice to have Para athletes here as it’s good for our sport,” said
“Many of the paddlers that competed on Friday I saw them paddle for the first time in this World Championships in 2022 so they are coming here and we are also getting medallists from the Paralympics as they also like to paddle long distance.
“Going from sprint to marathon is a big jump but we are getting a high quality field with great races and I expect a lot of paddlers next year.
“It is a demonstration now with 37 entries so we are growing and next year I hope we will have a World Championships where more countries will come.”
Pictures by Garry Bowden
For the results and competition schedule, click here.
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