Category: Para

Jon White (Exeter Canoe Club) celebrated his birthday in style by winning gold in the KL2 Men’s para race, while Tim Lodge (Wey Kayak Club) claimed silver in the KL3 Men’s category. Their success marked a triumphant end to the British Para Team’s campaign in Ponte de Lima, Portugal.

Friday began with a full schedule for the British Canoe Marathon Team as racing moved to the traditional long marathon distance. The day opened with the K1 Junior Women’s 19km race, which included four portages. Dianora De Bilio (Royal Canoe Club), fresh off a fifth-place finish in the Short Course, returned to the water alongside teammate Kamila Sklenarova (Norwich Canoe Club), who was competing in her third European Championship.

Both athletes made a strong start, settling into the lead group early. However, the relentless pace set by two Hungarian competitors broke the group apart on lap two. Dianora managed to hold the wash for another half lap before dropping back, while Kamila continued her effort in a chase group. In the closing stages, Dianora battled Ireland’s Lucy Cullen and secured fourth place with a time of 1:35:16. Kamila followed in eighth, finishing in 1:37:59. Dianora still has two years left of the junior category so we look forward to seeing her at future internationals, whereas Kamila goes again in the K2 tomorrow morning.

The midday session featured the second set of Para Exhibition races, including the KL2 and KL3 Men’s events. It marked the international debut of Finlay Stallard (Fladbury Canoe Club) in the KL3 category, alongside seasoned athlete Tim Lodge (Wey Kayak Club). Jon White competed in the KL2 event. All para categories shared a start line, and a long hold followed by a quick start unfortunately caused Finlay to capsize after just a few strokes. Despite the early setback, he restarted and showed resilience by finishing fifth in 1:13:47. Tim Lodge fought a fierce battle against two French paddlers in the first lap before breaking away to secure silver with a time of 1:10:01.

Reflecting on his race, Tim said: “It was a great race and one I’m really proud of. It was an honour to be on the start line with Serhii Yemelianov (Georgia), the most decorated para KL3 athlete in the sport. I last raced him back in 2015 at the 200m Worlds, so to still be here competing at this level means a lot. Even after a tough winter rehabbing two major shoulder tears and spending time off the water, I’m still learning, still improving, and my love for the sport never fades. I feel incredibly luck to be part of such a supportive group at Wey Kayak Club, and to be working with Ivan [Lawler], Roland [Lawler], and the brilliant young athletes at Elmbridge as well. My training will now focus on building aerobic capacity and overall fitness as I prepare for the World Championships in Hungary, the first official para marathon worlds. At 53, I’m still here, thirteen years after this life-changing journey began with a phone call from David Battershell, a man who changed my life forever. This silver is for you, my old friend, someone who gave so much and is deeply missed.” 

In the KL2 race, Jon White got off to a clean start, benefiting from a year’s focus on sprint work. He gained an early advantage after the first turn and held his lead over the three-lap course, finishing in 1:13:06 to take the gold medal.

After his race, Jon said: “the start line was a bit disorganised and I found myself at the end of the line, so I gave myself space and got a clean start. Two of my competitors initially moved ahead of me but I was able to enter the first turn just ahead and took a couple of boat lengths out of them there. Then it was just head down and focus on the KL3 paddlers ahead to keep me going. It was hard work today as I was paddling along for most of the race, but it was nice to be in the lead with just a bit of pressure from behind. I am obviously focusing on the Worlds in Hungary next, but I also want to try and log a 200m PR before then too.”

These medals conclude the para racing at the 2025 European Championships. The team now shifts its focus to the inaugural Para Canoe Marathon World Championships this September, where athletes will compete for official world titles for the first time.

The afternoon brought the U23 K1 events, with four British athletes in action. 

The Women’s Under 23 race was a hotly contested but competitive field which saw Elise Montagna (Royal Canoe Club) having a spectacular start to make the front group comfortably and in a good position. Katie Brookes also had a strong start but a small collision as the groups merged, resulting in her having to do a massive catch up to secure the front group again. Both managed to stick with the front group heading into the first portage, but as the pace increased, they struggled to stay on the washes to maintain contact. A dedicated race saw Katie finish in 11th and Elise in 16th. They pair up for the K2 Senior Women’s race on Sunday, where we are excited to cheer them on.

The final race of the day featured U23 Men Harry Freeland (Elmbridge Canoe Club) and Joe Enoch (Nottingham Kayak Club). The race was action-packed and engaging from the beginning with both British paddlers making the front group of over 15 paddlers. Frustratingly, a collision as the large group came out of the bridge saw Harry take a swim, which sent him immediately to the back of the field. However, his task was reset and he put his head down and spent the rest of the race clawing his way back through the field in impressive style. Harry finished in 14th position in a time of 00:57:10.

Joe made his Under 23 debut, after winning World silver in the junior boys K2 in 2024, and he demonstrated an air of confidence and resilience throughout with multiple catch-ups and some epic tactically moves into optimal positions to support his survival in the top group. This dedication clearly demonstrated Joe’s ability to make the step into the senior races and secured him an 8th position in a time of 01:54:09. Joe will compete again in the Senior Men K2 on Sunday.

To see the full results from Friday’s races, visit the Memosoft site here.

Racing continues Saturday with newly crowned Junior Men’s K1 Short Course European Champion Will Short (Elmbridge Canoe Club) competing in the long course race at 09:00 BST, alongside Alex Worgan (Richmond Canoe Club). Beth Gill (Nottingham Kayak Club) will also be in action in the Senior Women’s C1 at 09:05 BST.

Follow all the live action on the PaddleUK social media channels and Canoe Europe’s YouTube livestream.

Good luck to all our athletes!