Norberto Mourão takes third European VL2 200m title in record time as Messias Baptista lands K1 200m silver in Montemor-o-Velho
Norberto Mourão set a European record in the VL2 200 m adaptive event to claim his fourth career continental title, while Messias Baptista repeated his 2025 silver in the K1 200 m on the final day of the European Canoeing Championships in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal.
Mourão’s record run
Norberto Mourão stormed to his third consecutive European title in the adaptive VL2 200 metres, stopping the clock at 52.242 seconds in Montemor-o-Velho. The time is a new European record. Spaniard Higinio Rivero finished 100 milliseconds adrift for silver, and Roman Serebriakov, competing under a neutral flag for Russia, took bronze at 590 milliseconds back. The 45-year-old Portuguese para-canoeist, a bronze medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, now owns European gold medals from 2021 (Poznan), 2024 (Szeged), 2025 (Racice) and 2026.
Baptista claws back silver
Messias Baptista overcame a slow start to capture silver in the K1 200 m. His time of 34.178 seconds left him 75 milliseconds behind the winner, Spain’s Carlos Arevalo. Hungary’s Gergely Balogh completed the podium, 115 milliseconds off first place. Baptista had also taken silver in this event at the 2025 European Championships, marking the fourth year in a row he has won a World or European medal in the 200 m distance.
Pimenta’s opening bronze
Portugal’s first medal of the championships arrived on Saturday, when Fernando Pimenta finished third in the Olympic K1 1000 metres. His bronze came a day before the double success of Mourão and Baptista on the water.
A home championships with three podiums
The European Canoeing Championships, hosted in Montemor-o-Velho, ran from Thursday 11 June through Sunday 14 June. The three Portuguese medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze) were the country’s full tally from the event.
- Championships begin with heats and preliminary rounds in Montemor-o-Velho.
- Fernando Pimenta wins bronze in the Olympic K1 1000 m.
- Norberto Mourão wins gold with a European record in VL2 200 m; Messias Baptista takes silver in K1 200 m.
Mourão’s gold with a European best and Baptista’s late charge brought the final day’s racing to a close. Organisers noted that Baptista was also scheduled for a K2 500 m final later that afternoon, though no results from that race were immediately available.
