Over this past weekend, from July 14th to the 16th, the Canoe Sprint European Championships were held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Dóra Bodonyi, rowing to victory in the women’s 5000-meter kayak finals. Bodonyi won the gold medal in the event on July 16th (Photo: MTI – Tamás Kovács)
At this event, in which the best canoers and kayakers from around the continent competed against one another, the Hungarian athletes won a resounding victory, taking home more gold medals, and more medals in total, than any other team.
While Hungary has traditionally performed quite well in water sports at the international and even Olympic levels, this weekend’s victories were unquestionably a tremendous triumph for the small, landlocked country.
Bence Nádas and Sándor Tótka paddling past the finish line for the gold in the mens’ duo kayak 500 meter race (Photo: MTI – Tamás Kovács)
At this year’s canoeing and kayaking championships, Hungary won 3 bronze medals, 3 silver medals, and 10 gold medals, granting them a medal total of 16. This was 6 higher than their closest competition, Russia and Germany. In addition, the Hungarian team’s 10 golds show how thoroughly dominant the country’s team was: the next highest gold-medal count came from Germany, with 6 golds.
Kayaker Dóra Lucz showing off both of her gold medals in Plovdiv (Photo: MTI – Tamás Kovács)
With 3 golds in Men’s kayak, 6 golds in women’s kayak, 1 gold in men’s canoe, along with silver and bronze medals in several categories, Hungary dominated in Plovdiv.
Speaking to the media, the team’s coach, Csaba Hüttner, described the weekend’s events as “the best Hungarian success ever” in canoe and kayaking.
Without a doubt, Hungary’s performance at the 2017 Canoe Sprint European Championships was a resounding success, for which the country’s athlete’s deserve congratulations and thanks.
Via europecanoeevents.com, nemzetisport.hu, and canoeicf.com
Images via MTI
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