Messias Baptista
- Country
- Portugal
- Club
- Sport Lisboa e Benfica (S.L. Benfica)
- National team
- Portugal Canoe Sprint
- Born
- 1999-06-25
Messias Baptista is one of the sharpest sprint kayakers of Portugal's golden generation — a four-time world champion from Vila do Conde, born on 25 June 1999, who races for S.L. Benfica and covers the full spread of crew boats, from the K1 200 to the K2 500 and K4 500. His rise through the world ranks has been rapid. In Duisburg in 2023 he won world gold in the K2 500 with João Ribeiro. A year later in Samarkand he doubled up, taking the K1 200 world title and adding mixed K2 500 gold with Teresa Portela. In Milan in 2025 came a fourth crown, this time in Portugal's K4 500. Along the way he collected European Games gold in the K1 200 in Kraków in 2023 and represented Portugal at two Olympic Games — eighth in the K4 500 in Tokyo and sixth in the K2 500 in Paris. The 2026 season has been his busiest yet: 28 international starts across K1, K2 and K4, with two silver and two bronze medals between the [European Championships in Montemor-o-Velho](/news/european-canoe-sprint-championships-2026-wrap-up-en) and the World Cup circuit. He lined up as one of the names to watch in the [continental championship preview](/news/2026-eca-canoe-sprint-european-championships-preview-en) and fought his way through to [finals day](/news/european-canoe-sprint-championships-2026-day-2-semifinals-en) on home water. With the World Championships in Poznań (26–30 August) on the season calendar and Los Angeles 2028 qualification running through the world rankings, the 27-year-old sits at the heart of Portugal's team-boat plans.