After closing the World Cup in Canada with the first place in the medal table (with eight metals, 4 gold) Spanish canoeing takes 15 medals in the European Championship that ended this Sunday in Munich (5 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze) .
The team, led by a tireless María Corbera (world silver at the beginning of August in the C1-200 and European champion in the German city in the C1-500, and in the C1-5000) and by Antía Jácome, European champion in the C1-200, shows once again the optimal state of health enjoyed by the second Spanish sport with the most Olympic medals (20, one less than sailing).
And the state of grace of Corbera, who leaves the German city with three metals in three days.
The paddlers and boats that did not qualify for the World Cup in early August in Halifax competed at the European Championships in Munich.
This was stipulated by the rules of the Federation: due to the very high level of Spanish canoeing, some internal selections were made last April to determine which boats would fight for the medals in the World Cup and which, by
default
, would go to the European after passing through the Racing World Cup.
There cannot be more than one boat per country and Spain, which is a world power, has plenty of talent.
More information
Calendar, tests and schedules of the European Athletics Championships 2022: today's agenda
The three Corbera medals
María Corbera and Antía Jácome, who started on Sunday with silver in the C2-200 (the gold escaped them by 52 thousandths, Hungary won it) are a good example of the level of Spanish canoeing.
They maintain a sports
pulse
from the previous Olympic cycle.
In July of last year, the place for the Tokyo Games was disputed in an
internal
final .
Jácome won, who, in Tokyo, at the age of 21, reached her first Olympic final in the debut of the women's canoe and was fifth.
A few weeks later, she won silver at the World Cup in Denmark.
This year, the selective for the C1-200 (which will be the Olympic test in Paris 2024) for the World Cup was won by Corbera, a 29-year-old from Madrid, who in Canada was silver behind the Olympic champion Nevin Harrison (and bronze in the long distance). of the C1-5000).
In Munich this week Corbera has competed in two other categories and in all three she won a medal.
In the C1-500 (more resistance, less speed) the gold was hung, which increases the loot of the silver of the C2-200 and another gold, after the marathon of the C1-5000 (best European mark with 25m: 46s ; the second, the German Annika Loske reached 55 seconds).
The C1-200 was disputed by Jácome and he won it with great authority and a great comeback from 150 meters.
She celebrated with a smile from ear to ear.
More knowing that she prepared the European with the occasional shock: in another place and with another coach.
His since 2015, Marcel Glavan – the same as the world champions Tano García and Pablo Martínez – left by surprise at the beginning of June.
The three young canoeists had no choice but to leave Seville and rush to Mallorca to train with Kiko Martín, the Sete Benavides coach.
Spain's Maria Corbera competes to win the women's C1 500 meters canoe sprint final at the European Canoe Sprint Championships in Munich, Germany, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)Sven Hoppe (AP)
On the other hand, Paco Cubelos, the captain of the team, 29 years old and a life in the elite, who returned from Canada with a world bronze in the K1-5000, won two medals in this European: silver in the K4-1000 ( along with Roi Rodríguez, Pedro Vázquez and Íñigo Peña) and silver in the K2-1000 with Iñigo Peña, his adventure partner at the Tokyo Games.
Neither of these two tests will be Olympic in Paris 2024 (men will only compete in the K1-1000, K4-500 and K2-500).
In the women's K2-1000, Begoña Lazkano and Laia Pelachs won the bronze medal.
Bronze was also Isabel Contreras in the K1-1000.
In the longest distances, Walter Bouzan, 44 years old, was silver in the K1-5000 and in the women's category Eva Barrios, 29, was bronze.
Pablo Graña, who in Canada climbed to the highest step of the podium in the C4-500 (non-Olympic event in Paris 2024) together with Joan Moreno, Manuel Fontán and Adrián Siero, won silver in Munich in the C1-200.
In canoe, Spain was also proclaimed champion of Europe with Adrián Sieiro and Juan Antonio Moreno in C2-500 who could not compete in the World Cup because the place was won by Tano García and Pablo Martínez (gold in Canada and the couple with the most future in canoe Spanish).
The C2-500 will be an Olympic test in Paris 2024. In the C2-200 Alfonso Benavides and Antoni Segura were silver.
In paracanoe, Juan Antonio Valle was proclaimed European champion in the KL3-200 test.
Higinio Rivero was silver in VL2-200.
A year ago, at the European event in Poznan (Poland), Spain finished sixth in the medal table with two golds (C1 200 and C2 200) and one silver (K2 1000 women).
This year she is third, ahead of Great Britain and behind Hungary and Germany.
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