Mads Brandt Pedersen of Denmark and Melina Andersson of Sweden showed their class and emerged victorious on the first day of Canoe Marathon action at The World Games Chengdu 2025.
The duo took the gold medal in the men's and women's kayak single short distance, with Pedersen defending his title from three years ago.
The men's final was a thrilling affair with the Dane and South Africa's Hamish Lovemore exchanging leads multiple times in the final stretch.
The reigning world champion, however, managed to edge the race in a nail-biting final in 13:45.46.
Lovemore secured the silver medal 0.15 later while Jose Ramalho of Portugal equalled his result from Birmingham, taking the bronze medal again with a timing of 14:08.95.
Pedersen, the reigning world champion, finished fifth in the heats in the morning but saved his best for when it mattered the most.
On a hot day in Chengdu, the Canoe Marathon star reminded the world why he is among the best in business.
“There is a lot of strategy that comes into play. The best guys in the world are here. To win this is a huge honour. The heat was a bit too much. When the body temperature is rising, it is hard to keep up the speed,” he said after the win.
“I did not have the best portages. I was a bit surprised. Hamish was very close to me, but I managed to find an extra gear in the last few buoys and managed to edge it. He is a fantastic athlete, but it was great to take the win.”
In the women's final, Andersson dominated the field from start to finish and was flawless during the portages for her first title at the multi-sport event.
The Swede has been sensational in the discipline in 2024, getting the better of Hungarian stalwart Vanda Kiszli at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Marathon World Championships in Metkoic, Croatia and at the ICF Hangzhou Super Cup.
In Chengdu, she continued the streak as Kiszli, who won two gold medals in Birmingham, settled for silver in 15:36.86.
“I am very happy with the race, especially that I could handle this extreme heat so much better than I expected,” Andersson said.
“It was a very though race with strong competitors, but I felt strong the whole way.
“I am very excited for tomorrow and ready to see how far my very best can take me!”
Italian Susanna Cicali took the bronze medal in 15:43.79, with Spaniard Eva Barrios, another double medallist in 2022, finishing fifth.
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