There was a first ever gold medal for Portugal’s Norberto Mourao and another title for Great Britain’s Charlotte Henshaw on day two of finals action at the ICF Paracanoe World Cup in Szeged on Saturday.

Henshaw has set herself a target of winning two gold medals at next year’s Paralympic Games, with the VL3 added to the Paris program. The 36-year-old has already won both VL3 and KL2 races at numerous world cups and world championships, and brought up another double with a win the KL2 over long-term rival and British teammate, Emma Wiggs, on Saturday.

“I’m no stranger to domestic rivalries,” Henshaw said.

“With the British team we really thrive with that challenge, we can’t ever rest on our laurels when we race at home domestically. When you have someone who is among the best in the world chasing you down it shows when we come to these major championships that we are close to these close races.”

Wiggs won the silver, with Hungary’s Katalin Varga repeating her bronze medal result from Tokyo and from the past two world championships.

Portugal’s Norberto Mourao finally broke through for his first ICF Paracanoe World Cup gold on Saturday, with a win in the men’s VL2.

Mourao has been a regular on podiums, including a bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, so his win on Saturday was long overdue. He said the win should give him confidence ahead of Paraylmpic qualifiers in Duisburg later this year.

“I have worked for so many years and trained so hard, training four times a day, and finally I can win a gold medal,” he said.

“My objective has always been to finish in first place. Today is my time, it’s very important for me after many years. There are only six places available at Paralympic selection, so we will see.”

Hungarian pair Robert Suba and Tamas Juhasz filled the minor placings.

The ICF Canoe Spint and Paracanoe World Cup will wrap up in Szeged on Sunday. 

Pics by Bence Vekassy