African Canoe Sprint Championships 2026: Lovemore wins K1 1000m, Egypt take three titles on day one
- Published
- 2026-10-10T11:33:29+00:00
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- PaddleStats
Full competition results: 2026 CAC Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe African Championships - Boumerdes
Hamish Lovemore won the K1 1000m by 9.19 seconds on the opening day of the 2026 African Canoe Sprint Championships in Boumerdès, Algeria. Egypt took three of the six titles decided on Saturday at Kedara Dam, and São Tomé and Príncipe, with a team of five, won two.
All six races were 1000m direct finals: canoe and kayak for men in the junior, under-23 and senior categories. With no heats and fields of three to eight boats, the six starts went off between 08:30 and 09:45 local time.
Overview
Medals are counted per boat in each of the six finals (junior, U23 and senior separately), 18 in total.
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Algeria | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Angola | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Cape Verde | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tunisia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Egypt's titles came from Mohamed Gouda in the U23 C1, Mohamed Ismail in the U23 K1 and Ahmed Ibrahim in the junior K1. São Tomé's two came in canoe: Admilson Sousa in the senior C1 and Jacuberto Dias in the junior C1.
The hosts did not win a title on day one, but they finished with three medals. Junior silvers went to Walid Tiachache in the C1 and Mohamed Beneddine in the K1, and Ryad Bentouati took bronze in the U23 K1. Four Kenyan entries did not start.
Egypt topped the medal table at the 2025 African Championships in Luanda with 18 medals, seven of them gold, ahead of Angola with 17 (four gold) and Algeria and Tunisia with 16 each. The organisers bill Boumerdès as the first canoe sprint regatta in Africa to award ICF ranking points towards qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Full results: all six 1000m finals
Start times are local (UTC+1).
C1 1000m men U23 (08:30 local)
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Gouda | Egypt | 4:32.68 |
| 2 | Silvio Tchilanda | Angola | 4:35.55 |
| 3 | Jacuberto Dias | São Tomé and Príncipe | 4:38.47 |
| 4 | Mohamed Hmida | Tunisia | 4:53.93 |
| 5 | Walid Tiachache | Algeria | 5:09.62 |
K1 1000m men U23 (08:45 local)
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Ismail | Egypt | 3:52.40 |
| 2 | Diogo Araujo | Cape Verde | 3:57.89 |
| 3 | Ryad Bentouati | Algeria | 4:00.40 |
| 4 | Slehddine Maknine | Tunisia | 4:07.98 |
| 5 | Fernandes Ngunza | Angola | 4:12.29 |
| 6 | Abkey Sousa | São Tomé and Príncipe | 4:51.77 |
| – | Rony Otieno | Kenya | DNS |
C1 1000m men junior (09:00)
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacuberto Dias | São Tomé and Príncipe | 4:42.98 |
| 2 | Walid Tiachache | Algeria | 4:52.32 |
| 3 | Aly Ahmed | Egypt | 4:52.73 |
| – | Mouhamadou Thiaw | Senegal | DNS |
K1 1000m men junior (09:15)
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahmed Ibrahim | Egypt | 4:00.32 |
| 2 | Mohamed Beneddine | Algeria | 4:14.11 |
| 3 | Mohamed Naffeti | Tunisia | 4:17.41 |
| 4 | Joao Diba | Angola | 4:18.70 |
| 5 | Lamine Samb | Senegal | 4:43.00 |
| – | Imran Zuberi | Kenya | DNS |
C1 1000m men senior (09:30)
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Admilson Sousa | São Tomé and Príncipe | 4:15.39 |
| 2 | Manuel Antonio | Angola | 4:17.03 |
| 3 | Mohamed Gouda | Egypt | 4:18.12 |
| 4 | Joaquim Lobo | Mozambique | 4:37.82 |
| 5 | Mohamed Hmida | Tunisia | 4:40.72 |
| 6 | Ibrahima Seck | Senegal | 4:56.54 |
| 7 | Walid Tiachache | Algeria | 5:08.19 |
| – | Josephat Ngali | Kenya | DNS |
K1 1000m men senior (09:45)
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamish Lovemore | South Africa | 3:38.44 |
| 2 | Mohamed Mrabet | Tunisia | 3:47.63 |
| 3 | Diogo Araujo | Cape Verde | 3:48.00 |
| 4 | Hamza Ahmed | Egypt | 3:53.25 |
| 5 | Ayoub Haidra | Algeria | 4:04.56 |
| 6 | Laercio Manuel | Angola | 4:15.80 |
| 7 | Abkey Sousa | São Tomé and Príncipe | 4:36.67 |
| – | Rishad Juma | Kenya | DNS |
Lovemore wins the K1 1000m by nine seconds
Hamish Lovemore came to Algeria for one race and won it in 3:38.44. Tunisia's Mohamed Mrabet was second in 3:47.63, and Diogo Araujo of Cape Verde took bronze in 3:48.00, 0.37 behind him. Egypt's Hamza Ahmed was fourth and Algeria's Ayoub Haidra finished fifth.
Lovemore's record is on a different level from his rivals'. He won the Olympic B final in Paris in 3:27.94 and finished ninth overall at the 2024 Olympic Games. At the 2026 world championships in Poznań in August he won silver in the K1 5000m (24:17.17) and the K1 1000m B final (3:30.08). His 2026 season had already brought second place in the K1 1000m at the Brandenburg World Cup in May (3:36.04) and a place in the A final in Szeged. The K1 1000m was his only start in Boumerdès.
Araujo is the only athlete Cape Verde sent to Algeria, and he left the first morning with two medals. Before the senior final he had already taken silver in the U23 K1 1000m.
São Tomé and Príncipe win two of the three C1 finals
The smallest winning margin of the day came in the senior C1 1000m, and it went to Admilson Sousa. He finished in 4:15.39, 1.64 seconds ahead of Angola's Manuel Antonio, who raced the C2 500m B final at the Paris Olympics. Gouda took bronze in 4:18.12. Two-time Olympian Joaquim Lobo of Mozambique was fourth in 4:37.82.
Earlier in the morning Jacuberto Dias, born in 2008, won the junior C1 1000m in 4:42.98, 9.34 seconds clear of Tiachache. Dias also raced the U23 final and took bronze there in 4:38.47.
Tiachache raced all three C1 1000m finals in one morning: fifth in the U23 race, second among juniors and seventh among seniors. He is entered in nine finals across the three days.
Egypt take three titles
Gouda won the U23 C1 1000m in 4:32.68, 2.87 seconds ahead of Angola's Silvio Tchilanda, and returned for bronze in the senior race an hour later. In 2025 he reached the C1 1000m semi-final at the junior and U23 world championships.
Mohamed Ismail, born in 2005, won the U23 K1 1000m in 3:52.40, 5.49 seconds ahead of Araujo, with Bentouati third in 4:00.40. Ismail reached two C finals in Poznań in August, finishing sixth in the K1 200m (37.75).
The widest margin of the day came in the junior K1 1000m. Ahmed Ibrahim won in 4:00.32, 13.79 seconds ahead of Beneddine. Tunisia's Mohamed Naffeti, born in 2009, took bronze in 4:17.41. In August he raced the senior K1 5000m at the Poznań world championships.
What's next
Sunday: 15 finals over 500m and the first women's races
Sunday at the African Championships brings 15 finals over 500m between 08:30 and 12:00 local time (07:30–11:00 UTC). Women race for the first time, and the doubles programme begins in K2 and C2.
Several of Saturday's champions return in crew boats. The senior C2 500m at 10:00 local time puts the two São Tomé winners, Admilson Sousa and Jacuberto Dias, in the same boat. Six crews start, among them Angola's Domingos Pacavira and Manuel Antonio, who reached the C2 500m B final at the Poznań world championships in August, and Tiachache with Mohamed Sahnoune for the hosts.
Egypt pair Mohamed Ismail with Hamza Ahmed in the U23 K2 500m at 11:15. Their rivals include Bentouati with Sid Berkani for Algeria and Tunisia's Slehddine Maknine with Mohamed Ghali. Ahmed Ibrahim goes for a second junior title in the K2 with Mahmoud Gouda at 09:15, against Beneddine and Abdelkrim Lamani, and Naffeti with Adam Lahbib.
The last race of the day, the senior women's K1 500m at 12:00, brings together South Africa's Olympian Esti Olivier and Algeria's Aya Ferfad. Olivier reached the quarter-finals of the K1 500m and K2 500m at the Paris Olympics and was seventh in the K1 500m C final in Poznań (1:59.40). The two also meet in the senior K2 500m at 09:45: Olivier with Alexa Godden, Ferfad with Salsabil Rebouh.
Monday closes the championships with 16 finals over 200m, four of them in paracanoe. Paralympic champion Brahim Guendouz races the KL3 200m in front of the home crowd.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the K1 1000m at the 2026 African Canoe Sprint Championships?
Hamish Lovemore of South Africa won the senior K1 1000m in 3:38.44, ahead of Mohamed Mrabet of Tunisia (3:47.63) and Diogo Araujo of Cape Verde (3:48.00).
Who won the C1 1000m at the 2026 African Championships?
Admilson Sousa of São Tomé and Príncipe won the senior C1 1000m in 4:15.39. Manuel Antonio of Angola was second in 4:17.03 and Mohamed Gouda of Egypt third in 4:18.12.
Which nation won the most gold medals on day one?
Egypt, with three of the six titles: Mohamed Gouda (U23 C1), Mohamed Ismail (U23 K1) and Ahmed Ibrahim (junior K1). São Tomé and Príncipe won two and South Africa one.
How many medals did Algeria win on day one?
Three: junior silvers for Walid Tiachache (C1) and Mohamed Beneddine (K1), and U23 bronze for Ryad Bentouati (K1).
Who leads the medal table at the 2026 African Championships?
Egypt, with three gold medals. Only six of the 37 finals have been raced, and 31 remain over 500m and 200m, including the women's events, the doubles and paracanoe.
Did Hamish Lovemore race anything else in Boumerdès?
No. The K1 1000m was his only entry at the championships.
When are the next finals?
Sunday 11 October brings 15 finals over 500m from 08:30 local time (07:30 UTC). Monday 12 October has 16 finals over 200m, including paracanoe.
Can São Tomé and Príncipe's two champions win the C2 500m together?
Admilson Sousa and Jacuberto Dias start as one crew in the senior C2 500m on Sunday at 10:00 local time. Angola's Domingos Pacavira and Manuel Antonio reached the C2 500m B final at the Poznań world championships in August, which makes them the most experienced crew in the six-boat final.
Lovemore's athlete page has his full record, and every result from Boumerdès is on the championships page.