Opening Day Glory for British Paracanoe Team at the 2026 Canoe Marathon European Championships
Hot, humid and storm-charged conditions set the scene on the opening day of the 2026 Canoe Marathon European Championships but they did little to slow the British paracanoe team, who delivered a flawless performance with a clean sweep of medals.
Hosted in Bascov, Romania, on the regatta lake, the Championships return to a venue that last staged the World Championships in 2021 – one of the first major international events following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The venue had already seen three days of competition with the Masters Championships, where a 20-strong British contingent delivered an impressive medal haul. The team secured four gold, three silver and two bronze medals, highlighting the growing depth and standard of British master marathon paddling. A full Masters round-up will follow, with complete results available online here.
As the Elite competition began, all eyes turned to the opening paracanoe races.
Reigning KL1 Women’s World Champion Jeanette Chippington (Bisham Paddlesports) made her Canoe Marathon European Championships debut in commanding fashion. Leading from the start, she powered through the 8km course to claim gold in 00:54:55.49, finishing more than eight minutes ahead of the field.
Speaking after the race, Jeanette said: “It was a fantastic race in very hot conditions and a very long race for me coming from a sprint background. I am extremely proud to be representing GB and to be part of the marathon team. I’ve been given fantastic support from the whole team; athletes and staff. There is a great sense of camaraderie. Best of luck to everyone racing today and the rest of the week.”
In the KL3 Women’s race, Charlotte Creamer (Leighton Buzzard) faced a significantly stronger field than in her 2025 European title-winning campaign. A fast start saw her immediately in medal contention, and she held her ground in a tightly contested race to secure bronze in 00:55:39.86, just one minute behind silver.
Charlotte reflected: “I feel incredibly honoured to have been selected to represent GB at the European marathon championships. The race was a step up from 2025 with lots of incredible female athletes in all classifications which made for really exciting racing and I am very pleased to have come third and close to second. The extra excitement for the race was the visible thunderstorm and lightning that you could see and hear while racing – however fortunately the storm was just far enough away to allow for safe racing.”
The final British competitor of the day, Jon White (Exeter Canoe Club), competed in the Open Men’s paracanoe race – a category for athletes whose impairments do not fit within the current classification system, which focuses on trunk and leg disabilities more.
A triple amputee who also competes in KL2, Jon built on his 2025 World Championship gold with a strong performance to take silver in 01:19:31.00, despite difficulties during the race.
He said: “I got off to a good start and felt physically strong until I was frustrated by technical boat steering issues which slowed me down but now looking forward to racing on Friday [in the KL2 class],”
As competition continues today, the Short Course heats are already underway, with encouraging results for the British team. All junior K1 athletes have successfully qualified for their respective finals, and British paddlers will feature in six medal races later today.
With plenty more action to come, supporters are encouraged to follow the racing live via Paddle Europe’s YouTube channel, with results published throughout the Championships via the Memosoft Spotfokus app.