Great Britain claim four short course medals in a record breaking day at the 2026 Canoe Marathon European Championships.
It was raining medals in Romania as British athletes delivered standout performances across the marathon short course events, despite the hot and demanding conditions, leaving Great Britain second in the medal table.
The marathon short course features a 3.6km course with two portages, with athletes typically racing both a heat and a final on the same day. Known for its intensity, tactical positioning and relentless pace, it is one of the most action-packed formats in canoeing and one in which Great Britain has built a strong track record. The first full day of competition at the 2026 Championships proved no exception with four medals secured in just one day.
William Roeser (Wey Kayak Club) was crowned European Champion in the K1 Junior Men’s event, ensuring that Great Britain retained the title that had previously been secured by William Short (Elmbridge Canoe Club) in 2025. Roeser claimed victory in a strong and well-managed sprint finish against 2025 medallist Escuder from Spain.
Roeser entered the final full of confidence after comfortably progressing through his morning heat. After a fast start, he spent the opening stages working hard to secure a favourable wash position within the front group. Once through the first portage, he established himself firmly in the top three. An excellent final portage, combined with a decisive turn of speed on the last lap, left Escuder unable to respond, with Roeser crossing the line to claim gold in a time of 00:14:43.37.
Ecstatic with his race, Will said: “The start was as fast as usual. You would expect that from a junior boys race. I had a pretty good start and I managed to make it into the big groups on the right hand side of the start just about 100/150m into the race. There was a second big group coming in on me and … I stopped to get out of trouble and into a better place in the group where I wouldn’t be shoved out of the group. Cleaner water and a safer wash for a longer part of the race.”
“[The breakaway after the first portage] wasn’t really my work.That was the Portuguese athlete and Spanish athlete to be fair [and] I capitalized on that and it worked out in my favour. After the second portage, I got in and both of them looked at me to lead so I thought I’ll do my bit for a minute only. By that point, I turned around and saw the Portuguese athlete was dangling off so I said to the Spanish athlete please up it, which he did. I thought I better go early [after the turn] as I reckon the Spanish athlete would have a better sprint than me into the finish and if I can get in front I can hold him off.”
“[I didn’t know I had it in me to win gold] to be honest, especially after last year. I went to Worlds as the underdog and I enjoyed the short course but didn’t perform well. This year was a step-up for me but a good one.”
Roeser was not the only British junior to impress. On his international debut, Henry Pitt (Royal Canoe Club) produced a determined and mature performance in the final. Pitt showed composure well beyond his experience, battling for washes and positions throughout to secure an impressive 8th place finish in 00:15:16.99.
Both Roeser and Pitt will return to the water later in the week, with Roeser competing in the K1 Junior Men standard distance on Saturday, while Pitt partners Marcell Nagy (Reading Canoe Club) in the K2 Junior Men on Sunday.
Just half an hour before Roeser’s gold medal, British supporters had already been celebrating as 2025 World Championship bronze medallist Dianora De Bilio (Royal Canoe Club) claimed silver in the K1 Junior Women Short Course final. After Denmark’s Anderson broke away decisively on the first portage, De Bilio responded with a strong solo effort to secure second place. Despite pressure from behind in the closing sprint, her silver medal position was never seriously threatened, showing her strength as she heads into the standard distance race tomorrow.
She said: “It was definitely tough. I struggled with transitioning between the paddling and the running but I did my best and I look forward to tomorrow.”
“I was doing my best to run faster [when Anderson broke away] as it was on the portage. I reckon I could have pushed more once I got back on the water but once again, that transition is so hard…I just needed to focus on paddling long to get the lactic out.”
“I did think I would execute the portages a bit better so I think the general feeling, particularly with the heat, you feel unwell as you race. [But] yes [I am looking forward to the long course].”
Matilda Burton (Elmbridge Canoe Club) joined De Bilio in the final after a determined qualification from the morning heat. Making her K1 short course debut at this level, having raced K2 at last year’s Championships, Burton battled hard in challenging heat to finish 17th overall. She will return to her main event on Saturday, when she partners club-mate Imogen Field in the K2 Junior Women race.
Great Britain’s first medal of the day came from Isabella Keane (Richmond Canoe Club), who delivered a superb performance to claim bronze in the C1 Junior Women Short Course. Racing in a field traditionally dominated by canoe-specialist nations, Isabella showed determination, guts and an impressively high level of skill as she battled collisions from the start to the top turn as well as the 200m long portage. The race remained incredibly tight, with Keane staying calm to make a late stage overtake in an exciting finish. She secured bronze in 00:19:29.30, just seconds behind the athletes ahead, even challenging for silver in the closing stages.
After her race, she said: “[The race] was good. It was a bit unexpected in the last 500 being able to pull through that way but I’m really happy because I managed to not make any mistakes. I think I got that burst of motivation and I thought I could really do this. This was my first time racing the short course so I wasn’t sure how I was going to do so I thought just empty the tank, push my hardest.”
“This is the first year they are running Junior C1 short course for the women so it’s really exciting and it feels like a new age of canoeing has come for women.. And I think they are doing women C2 later in the week so it’s really exciting to see new races”
“I’m not doing the long course as I need to go to the sprint Worlds, which is really exciting for me. I am really sad I won’t get to do the long course but there are always more opportunities. I still have a year left of junior so hopefully next year.”
The final medal of the day was secured by seasoned international paddler Beth Gill (Nottingham Kayak Club). In her third international competition of the year so far, Beth looked calm and confident throughout the C1 Senior Women Short Course final. An early breakaway at the first portage from Daniela Cociu (Moldova) saw Beth having to chase throughout. However, the chase for gold meant that Beth created a strong gap for herself in silver medal position. She crossed the line in second only 14 seconds behind the winner in a time of 00:17:59.82. The result marks a significant return to the international marathon podium for Gill following shoulder surgery after her breakthrough season in 2022. It adds to an already impressive career record, including World Championship gold and silver medals, alongside multiple European podium finishes.
Gill will race again on Saturday in the C1 Senior Women standard distance.
At what seemed to be the hottest point of the day, Great Britain’s senior K1 athletes took to the water to close the opening full day of racing.
First off was the Senior Women K1 race with Katie Brookes (Richmond Canoe Club) and Brynde Kreft (Falcon Canoe Club) representing Britain. An impressively quick start from Brookes resulted in her making the first group confidently, where she found a side wash to take her to the first portage. However, as the race progressed, the high temperatures and high pace took its toll and Brookes found herself crossing the line in a respectable 10th place. She goesinto the standard distance race on Saturday as well as the K2 race on Sunday knowing that she can mix it with a world-class field. Kreft found herself within a chase group from the beginning but was able to work hard to secure a 14th place finish. She will also race again in the standard distance on Saturday as well as the K2 race on Sunday.
In the Senior Men K1, both James Russell (Chelmsford Canoe Club) and Matt Collinge (Fowey River Canoe Club) had confidently been able to secure their place in the final after strong heat times in the morning. Despite a false start and restart, both British boys demonstrated remarkable speed to secure themselves well into the front group heading into the first turn and then portage. However, a decisive change of pace from Denmark’s Mads Pedersen split the field, leaving both British paddlers working within smaller groups. Russell secured 6th in a strong sprint finish, while Collinge crossed the line in 14th. Both will race again in the standard distance race on Saturday afternoon.
With tomorrow seeing the remaining para races as well as the standard distance K1/C1, you can follow the racing live via Paddle Europe’s YouTube channel, with results published throughout the Championships via the Memosoft Spotfokus app.
Thank you to Betsy Ray at Paddle Daily for her support with the quotes for this article.