Canoeists Gustavo Gonçalves and Pedro Casinha, under-23 world champions in K2 500

Canoeists Gongaço Gonçalves and Pedro Casinha were crowned under-23 World Champions in K2 500 meters today, the third podium for the Portuguese team in Montemor-o-Velho, Coimbra.

Leading the race from the first meter to the last, the Portuguese duo finished in 1:33.12 minutes, beating the Italians Francesco Lanciotti and Nicolo Volo by 89 hundredths of a second and the Slovenians Matevz Manfreda and Anze Pikon by 1.01 seconds.

On Friday, Pedro Casinha had secured the bronze medal in the K1 200 meters under-23, the category in which Beatriz Fernandes was world runner-up on Saturday, in the C1 500 meters.

The U23 and Junior Canoeing World Championships, which end today at the High Performance Center, bring together around 1,000 athletes from 66 countries.