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The Hungarian kayakers and canoeists delivered an impressive performance at their home World Cup in Szeged with a real medal shower. With a total of 20 podium places, including seven gold, five silver, and eight bronze medals, the athletes demonstrated their strength and also provided some emotional moments.
On the first day of the finals on Saturday, the quartet of Márk Opavszky, Bence Fodor, Gergely Balogh,. and Zsombor Tamási delivered an impressive performance in the men’s kayak four (K4) on 500m. Following a strong start, they fought their way back to the top after the German Olympic champions had temporarily taken the lead, and they managed to secure gold. “We knew we were in for a tough fight, but we worked as a real team,” explained Márk Opavszky after the race. The second Hungarian boat with Bence Nádas, Hunor Hidvégi, Zalán Hidvégi, and Gergő Keller showed a furious final sprint and took bronze.
It was a good feeling to see that the future of the Hungarian men’s kayak four is secure,”
said Bence Nádas proudly.
The women’s K4 race also caused jubilation. Alíz Gombás, Emese Kőhalmi, Laura Ujfalvi, and Hanna Pető won the silver medal, which surprised them: “We only started training together last week, but it worked out fantastically,” said Kőhalmi, overjoyed.
Ágnes Kiss and Bianka Nagy dominated the women’s canoe double (C2) 500m and celebrated a well deserved home victory. “It was a tough race, but we were able to do our own thing,” said Kiss after the race.
In the women’s single kayak 1000m, Zsóka Csikós proved her class with silver and Eszter Rendessy with bronze. After an unsuccessful start, Eszter Rendessy fought her way onto the podium with an impressive final spurt, overtaking the Swede opponent.
Second-placed Zsóka Csikós. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
Third-placed Eszter Rendessy. Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
Bálint Kopasz set the golden final point on Saturday in the men’s single kayak 1000m. “That was a top performance in an extremely strong field,” the champion summed up his achievement.
Sunday also brought further Hungarian success. Ádám Varga took gold in the men’s single kayak 500m. The athlete was relieved after his victory: “This victory means a lot to me, especially after yesterday,” Varga said, referring to his disappointing sixth place in the 1000m on Saturday.
Levente Kurucz and Márk Opavszky demonstrated their strength in the men’s K2 500m and paddled to gold on the final day. “We had a very good race, but it was not perfect yet,” Kurucz said, already looking ahead.
Noémi Pupp and Sára Fojt fought their way to bronze in the women’s K2 500m in a strong field. “After a difficult time, this success is very good for our souls,” admitted Sára Fojt after the race.
A special highlight was the victory of the women’s C4 500m with Ágnes Kiss, Bianka Nagy, Réka Opavszky, and Zsófia Csorba. “Our goal was to go straight ahead, and that is what won us the race,” explained Opavszky.
In the 5000-meter distance, the Hungarian women’s single canoeists once again showed their stamina: Zsófia Csorba took gold despite an incident and Borbála Zagyvai secured bronze. Balázs Adolf won bronze in the men’s C1 5000m, while Emese Kőhalmi won silver in the women’s K1 5000m, and Bálint Noé completed the Hungarian medal collection with a bronze medal.
In the end, the Hungarian national team collected a total of twenty medals, seven gold, five silver, and eight bronze at the World Cup in Szeged.
Both the national captains, László Foltán Jr., in charge of the canoeists, and Dávid Tóth, leading the kayakers, were satisfied with the Hungarian team’s performance over the weekend. Foltán told M4 Sport that the event was an absolute success.
Highlighting the duo of Ágnes Kiss and Bianka Nagy, he remarked, “this weekend confirmed that they are on the right track, thus they have given up their plans to try themselves at singles. They will also compete in pairs and fours at the World Cup in Poznan this weekend, with a similar program to Szeged.”
Speaking about the men’s canoeists, he said he believes the background is there with the youngsters,
and nothing proves this better than the fact that eight Hungarian competitors stood on the podium at the C4 results ceremony.
Dávid Tóth stressed that he was really enjoying his first international competition, where he was the coach of the Hungarian kayak team. “I can be satisfied, because at the World Cups both A and B teams from the same nation can compete, and there were quite a few events in which both of our teams did very well,” he said.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt