Young Portuguese Paddlers Shine at Montemor Canoe Worlds, Offering Expats Ringside Seats

The roar that echoed across the flat-water course in Montemor-o-Velho last weekend signalled more than a handful of Portuguese victories. It reminded many foreign residents that a country best known for surf-beaten beaches and sun-drenched vineyards is quietly becoming a heavyweight in canoe sprint—and doing so on its own doorstep.

Home-water advantage pays dividends

Portugal’s junior and under-23 squad wrapped up the 2025 World Championships with five podium finishes, the nation’s richest harvest in the age-group event’s history. Hosted at the Centro de Alto Rendimento do Baixo Mondego—a purpose-built facility ninety minutes south of Porto—the regatta brought together nearly 1,000 athletes from 66 countries between 23 and 27 July. A modest seventh in sheer podium count and 10th in the overall table, the host federation nevertheless savoured an outing that produced 1 gold, 3 silvers and 1 bronze on familiar water.

Local supporters could hardly miss the golden moment: Pedro Casinha and Gustavo Gonçalves powered their K2 over 500 m in 1 min 33 s, holding off traditional powerhouse Hungary. “You never hear a crowd like this in Szeged,” one Hungarian journalist quipped, conceding that the Iberian noise did its job.

The medals, stroke by stroke

Beyond the K2 triumph, the standout on the women’s side was Beatriz Fernandes, whose silver in the C1 500 m marked Portugal’s first world medal for a female canoeist in the under-23 bracket. Her 2 min 11 s run puts her firmly on the radar for senior selection next season. Junior duo Leonardo Barbosa and Lara Lopes grabbed another silver in the C1 mixed 5 km relay, before João Duarte and Maria Luísa Gomes replicated the colour in the K1 mixed 5 km under-23 race. Casinha, already clutching gold, added bronze in the men’s K1 200 m, giving the poster-boy of the event three trips to the ceremony platform.

From lean years to record haul

For expatriates following Portuguese sport, the jump is striking: the squad managed only one bronze in Plovdiv in 2024. In 2023 Portugal left empty-handed in sprint categories. This year’s five-medal spurt therefore signals a turnaround that Federation president Ricardo Machado credits to heavier investment in club coaching and fewer Covid-era travel hurdles. Foreign observers note that hosting the championships saved the federation dozens of flight and freight bills—money redirected toward physio support and nutrition.

Springboard toward Los Angeles 2028

Machado calls Montemor “the first checkpoint of a new Olympic cycle.” Only three of the medal-winning athletes—Casinha, Gonçalves and Fernandes—are expected to line up at the absolute world championships in Milan later this season, but the federation believes their age profile aligns perfectly with Los Angeles 2028. For newcomers to Portugal, this means a good chance of watching future Olympians develop at national regattas over the next three summers. Technical director Hélio Lucas notes that wind lanes, often decisive on the Montemor course, “taught our youngsters the value of adaptable race plans”—a lesson he insists will matter on the more exposed Californian lake.

Discovering Montemor-o-Velho

If you live in Lisbon, a quick train to Coimbra and a 20-minute taxi drop you at the 8-lane artificial basin carved out of rice-paddy country. The medieval castle overlooking the venue provides a photogenic backdrop and, as several foreign coaches joked, the only hill you will see all week. Local restaurants have seized the moment: menus now flaunt "Paddler’s Special" carb dishes and English-language chalkboards. The municipality estimates €4 M in visitor spending during championship week, a useful reminder that top-tier sport can funnel cash into Portugal’s less-touristed interior.

Getting involved—no paddle required

Foreign residents keen to plug into the scene need not be Olympians. The Clube de Canoagem de Montemor offers introductory sessions in English on Wednesday evenings, equipment included. Parents can enrol children from age eight, and the federation routinely seeks bilingual volunteers for time-keeping and media translation at international meets. With the European University Games arriving in 2027, chances to help—or simply cheer with pastel de nata in hand—will only grow.

For now, the message from the Baixo Mondego valley is clear: Portugal’s young paddlers have found both speed and confidence. And anyone living here has a front-row seat as they chart a course toward the next Olympic horizon.