Austria's Markus Swoboda added a second gold medal to his weekend collection on the final day of the European Paracanoe Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
 
The competition in paracanoeing is getting stronger and stronger, especially now that paracanoeing is part of the Paralympic programme. Paddlers who easily won the first editions of top level international competitions a few years ago now fight for the medal with many other athletes and only a few thousands of a second decide who the champions are.
 
But Swoboda remains a constant in the European men’s KL2 200 metres event, defending his title on Sunday. It was his second gold medal of the championships, after he finished Saturday’s VL2 event also in the top position. Mykola Syniuk from Ukraine picked up the silver medal and Nichols Beighton from Great Britain bronze medal.
 
“I am satisfied," Swoboda said.
 
"This year I started in the Va again. I stopped paddling in this boat at the beginning of 2015 because of the Paralympic kayak, but this year I said, ok, I still have the boat and paddle, let’s go for it!
 
"I was not the most ambitious guy over the winter, but I still managed to stay in the shape. Others I think did not do as much as well, but still I am happy."
 
In the first final of the day, the men’s KL1 event, Italian paddler Esteban Farias crossed the finish line ahead of Ian Marsden from Great Britain and Robert Suba from Hungary. The difference in the first two positions was only 0.384 second.
 
In the final paracanoeing event reigning Paralympic champion Serhii Yemelianov from Ukraine picked up another gold medal. He was the best in men’s KL3 final.
 
Robert Oliver from Great Britain picked up the silver medal to conclude another very successful championships for the British paracanoeing team, while Leonid Krylov from Russia won bronze medal.
Paracanoe
#paracanoe