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The Slovenian trio of Nejc Znidarcic, Anze Urankar and Simon Oven continued their impressive form at major international competitions. The well-coordinated team had already claimed the team European Champion titles in both wildwater sprint and classic race at the 2023 European Championships in Skopje. They repeated the success this year on the River Noce. In Mezzana, in the sprint event they were closely followed by the French team of Maxence Barouh, Luca Barone and Augustin Reboul, who finished 1.28 seconds behind. Third place went to the Czech team of Jan Sindelar, Hynek Mika and Samuel Vejnar, trailing by 1.67 seconds.

 

The Slovenians also defended their team European Champion title in the classic race. Simon Oven, who has now won three gold medals at this championships from three events, together with Anze Urankar and Nejc Znidarcic, crossed the finish line with a 1.08-second lead over the Czech team with Jan Sindelar, Hynek Mika and Samuel Vejnar. Third place, with a 2.5-second deficit, went to the Belgian trio of Leo Montulet, Joren Bogaerts and Lean Bogaerts.

 

In the women’s events, the same Czech team dominated. Klara Vankova, Anna Retkova and Kristina Novosadova defended the European Champion title in the sprint, which the Czech Republic won in North Macedonia two years ago. They also claimed the top step of the podium in the team classic race, taking over the European crown from the German team.

 

In the sprint team race, second place went to the Italian team of Mathilde Serena Rosa, Giulia Formenton and Maya Bagnato, while the French team of Emma Lacoste, Phenicia Dupras and Laura Fontaine took third place. In the classic team race, the French team improved to second place, featuring again Dupras and Fontaine, this time joined by Manon Hostens, who won the individual classic race title on Wednesday. Third place in the classic race went to the Italian team of Mathilde Serena Rosa, Cecilia Panato and Maya Bagnato.

 

In the men’s canoe classic team event, the gold medal was claimed by the French team of Theo Viens, Nicolas Sauteur and Charles Ferrion, who finished more than half a minute ahead of the Italian trio of Tommaso Mapelli, Cesare Lorenzo Scapini and Stefano Mapelli.

 

Friday’s programme at the 2025 ECA Wildwater Canoeing European Championships in Mezzana features the wildwater sprint heats, where tough battles are expected for a place in Saturday’s final. In men’s and women’s kayak, the top 15 boats from the heats will advance to the final; in men’s and women’s canoe, the top 12 will go through; and in the doubles events, 10 boats qualify for the final.