Portugal concludes its participation in the European Canoe Championships in Hungary this Sunday with a legitimate bid for three more podium finishes: two from Fernando Pimenta in the K1 1000m and 5000m and one from Paralympian Norberto Mourao in VL2.
Fernando Pimenta, who already won silver in the K1 500m on Friday, has the 1000m in Szeged as his main goal as it is the distance he will compete at in Paris 2024, where he is seeking his third Olympic medal at the distance – a fact that would make them unique in Portugal.
Despite some top international athletes being bailed out for Paris, Fernando Pimenta will nevertheless remount the great world showdown of recent years against Hungary’s Bálint Kopás, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion when Limiano, the reigning world champion, was bronze.
Four and a half hours later, the 34-year-old Pimenta concludes his performance in the 5,000 meters, where he has also regularly finished on the podium barring any unexpected technical problems with his boat or oar.
Norberto Mouran has European, World and Paralympic medals in VL2 and heading into the Paris Games the final will be a stern test of his current situation some two and a half months before the competition.
So far, Portugal have won silver from Pimenta in the K1 500m and gold from Iago Bebiano and Kevin Santos in the K2 200m.