Szeged Hosts European Canoe Sprint Championships Again after 22 Years

Hungary Today 2024.03.05.

After 22 years, Hungary will once again host the ECA Canoe Sprint, Paracanoe and SUP European Championships, where for the first time the best of the SUP category will compete. With 100 days to go until the start of the event in Szeged, southern Hungary (June 12-16), a press conference was held, reports Index.

The European Championships in Szeged will be the last international event before the Paris Olympics, hence there are huge expectations ahead.

Gábor Schmidt, Deputy State Secretary for Sport at the Ministry of Defense and President of the Hungarian Canoe Federation, was the first to speak during the conference: “We are preparing for the European Championships with some real big guns, as the entire Olympic team will be competing. By then, the list of competitors for Paris will be clear, this is the last chance to battle with the best of Europe,” he stressed.

Photo via Facebook/Magyar Kajak-Kenu Szövetség

Tickets are already on sale for the European Championships, which will start in 100 days’ time and will be a family-friendly event with discounts,”

the federation’s president pointed out.

Gergely Boros, the professional director of the Hungarian Canoe Federation, added that everyone in the squad is preparing without any major injuries or problems. The kayak team is already training in South Africa, from where Ádám Varga will return in the next few days, while Bálint Kopasz is in Turkey for a training camp. Several of our women’s representatives have also started their training, with Danuta Kozák in Portugal.

Paralympic bronze medalist and European champion Katalin Varga said at the press conference that her preparations are going well, she is in the form of her life – and hopefully she will be in the race too.

Dávid Tóth, SUP head coach, remarked that he was pleased that the discipline was not only organizing competitions for adults, but also for youth and masters.

Fact

The ECA Canoe Sprint, Paracanoe and SUP European Championships is an international canoeing, kayaking, and SUP event organized by the European Canoe Association (ECA). It was first held in 1933 in Prague, and has taken place annually since 1997. It was held one time in Hungary, in Szeged in 2002. Last year, it was organized in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal.

Sailor Mária Érdi Is European Champion after Last Year’s World Title

The Hungarian was followed by Lithuania's Viktorija Andrulytė in second place and France's Louise Cervera in third.Continue reading

Via Index; Featured image via Facebook/Magyar Kajak-Kenu Szövetség