Canoe Slalom European Championships 2026, day 2: Franklin wins C1 by 0.03 s as no champion retains title
- Published
- 2026-09-27T09:20:02+00:00
- Author
- PaddleStats
Full competition results: ECA Canoe Slalom European Championships - Ivrea
Four individual European titles were decided in Ivrea on Friday 25 September, with the closest final settled by just 0.03 seconds. Great Britain's Mallory Franklin edged France's Doriane Delassus in the women's C1, Poland's Klaudia Zwolińska and Czechia's Jakub Krejčí won the K1 titles, and France's Yohann Senechault took men's C1 gold.
None of the four European champions crowned in Vaires-sur-Marne in May 2025 retained their title. Czechia's Jiří Prskavec finished fourth in the men's K1 after a two-second gate penalty. Andorra's Mònica Dòria placed 12th in the women's C1 with a 50-second penalty, Spain's Miquel Travé missed the men's C1 final, and Germany's Ricarda Funk did not compete.
France leads the medal table, Italy has the most medals
After two days and eight medal events at the European Championships in Ivrea, France leads the standings with three golds, while Italy has the most medals overall. The table includes Thursday's four team events and Friday's four individual finals, with each team medal counting once towards its nation's total.
| Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Italy | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Czechia | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Slovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
France added a gold and a silver on Friday to its four team medals from day one, which included both men's titles. Czechia collected a medal of each colour on Friday: gold for Krejčí, silver for Lukáš Kratochvíl in the men's C1 and bronze for Tereza Kneblová in the women's C1.
The hosts won four medals across three events on Friday but did not take a title. Lucia Pistoni and Xabier Ferrazzi claimed silver in the women's and men's K1 respectively, while Giovanni De Gennaro and Elio Maiutto took bronze in the men's K1 and C1. Italy's only gold so far remains Thursday's women's C1 team title.
Franklin secured Great Britain's first gold in Ivrea, following bronze medals in the men's K1 and women's C1 team events. Emily Apel's women's K1 bronze is Germany's only medal of the championships so far.
K1 finals: Zwolińska breaks 95 seconds, Krejčí wins by almost two
Zwolińska was the only paddler to break 95 seconds in the women's K1 final. The reigning K1 and C1 world champion delivered a penalty-free run of 94.69 s, finishing 0.99 s ahead of Pistoni (95.68 s) and 1.21 s ahead of Apel (95.90 s). Dòria placed fourth in 96.37 s. All four completed their runs without penalties. Apel reached the podium after qualifying fifth from the semi-final in 99.05 s.
Zwolińska built her advantage in the middle of the course. Pistoni led at the first split, recording 21.57 s to the Pole's 22.27 s. Zwolińska was fastest through the second sector in 23.86 s and led at both the second and third timing points. Her advantage over Pistoni stood at 0.47 s at the third split and grew to 0.99 s by the finish.
Pistoni recorded exactly the same time in both Friday runs: 95.68 s. It was enough to win the semi-final by 1.73 s, but brought silver in the final. Switzerland's Alena Marx posted the fourth-fastest time before penalties, 96.32 s, but a gate touch added two seconds and left her fifth in 98.32 s.
One of Thursday's standout performers did not make the final. Slovakia's Eliška Mintalová had topped the K1 heats and won team gold, but four seconds in penalties left her 13th in the semi-final, one place outside the twelve qualifiers.
Krejčí won the men's K1 by the largest margin of the day. His penalty-free 82.41 s was also the fastest time before penalties and put him 1.97 s ahead of Ferrazzi. De Gennaro, who had won the semi-final in 86.26 s, took bronze in 85.33 s. It was the only event in which Italy won two medals on Friday.
The Czech paddler did not lead throughout. De Gennaro was fastest to the first split in 19.20 s, while Ferrazzi led at the second in 40.80 s, 0.22 s ahead of Krejčí. The race turned in the third sector: Krejčí covered it in 12.03 s, gaining 1.22 s on Ferrazzi, before also setting the fastest final sector at 29.36 s.
Defending champion Prskavec recorded the second-fastest time before penalties, 84.11 s. A two-second gate touch took his total to 86.11 s and left him fourth, 0.78 s off the podium. His time without the penalty was faster than silver medallist Ferrazzi's result.
Krejčí's European gold follows his silver behind France's Titouan Castryck at the 2025 World Championships in Sydney. Castryck, who added team gold in Ivrea on Thursday, finished only 25th in Friday's semi-final with a two-second penalty.
C1 finals: Franklin wins by three hundredths
Franklin had placed second in Thursday's C1 heats, 0.43 s behind Alsu Minazova, before qualifying fifth from the semi-final. In the final, she delivered a penalty-free run of 100.47 s. Delassus also went clean, finishing in 100.50 s, while Kneblová took bronze in 100.93 s. Just 0.46 s separated the three medallists.
Kneblová led at all three timing points. At the final split, she was 0.35 s ahead of Franklin and 1.23 s clear of Delassus. The last sector decided the medals: Delassus was fastest in 35.29 s, Franklin took 36.14 s and Kneblová 36.95 s. Delassus was the first finalist down the course and held the lead until Franklin, the eighth starter, beat her time.
The top ten in the women's C1 final all completed penalty-free runs. Only Taisiia Pospelova (AIN), 11th with six seconds in penalties, and defending champion Dòria, 12th with a 50-second penalty, picked up penalties.
The semi-final results gave little indication of the eventual podium. Delassus and Kneblová had taken the last two qualifying places, finishing 12th and 11th respectively. Delassus improved on her bronze at Vaires-sur-Marne a year earlier. Zwolińska won the semi-final in 101.15 s but placed seventh in the final in 104.30 s.
Senechault won the men's C1 with a penalty-free 90.26 s, also the fastest time before penalties. Kratochvíl, who had won the semi-final in 90.18 s, took silver in 91.70 s. Maiutto claimed bronze for Italy in 92.45 s, while France's Nicolas Gestin, the reigning world champion, finished fourth in 92.69 s, just 0.24 s off the podium.
As in the women's final, the decisive move came in the last sector. Senechault was ninth at the first split, 1.96 s off the lead. By the third timing point he had climbed to third, but still trailed Kratochvíl by 0.94 s. He then covered the final section in 31.54 s to the Czech paddler's 33.92 s.
Slovakia's Marko Mirgorodský posted the third-fastest time before penalties, 91.57 s. Only Senechault and France's Jules Bernardet, who recorded 91.39 s before four seconds were added, were quicker. A two-second gate touch left Mirgorodský fifth.
Three hundredths also decided the final qualifying place in the men's C1 semi-final. Great Britain's Ryan Westley, the 2025 world silver medallist, finished 13th in 95.57 s, just behind Slovakia's Dominik Egyházy in 95.54 s.
No titles retained by the 2025 European champions
| Event | 2025 European champion | Result in Ivrea 2026 | 2026 European champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's K1 | Ricarda Funk (GER) | not entered | Klaudia Zwolińska (POL) |
| Men's K1 | Jiří Prskavec (CZE) | 4th in the final | Jakub Krejčí (CZE) |
| Women's C1 | Mònica Dòria (AND) | 12th in the final | Mallory Franklin (GBR) |
| Men's C1 | Miquel Travé (ESP) | 15th in the semi-final | Yohann Senechault (FRA) |
Travé also entered the K1 but finished 31st in the heats.
Of the reigning world champions from Sydney, only Zwolińska added a European title in the same event, winning the women's K1. Castryck missed the men's K1 final, Gestin finished fourth in the men's C1, and Zwolińska placed seventh in the women's C1.
None of Thursday's heat winners went on to take gold in that event either. Mintalová had won the women's K1 heats, Ferrazzi the men's K1, Alsu Minazova (AIN) the women's C1 and Maiutto the men's C1. Ferrazzi finished with silver and Maiutto with bronze, while Mintalová and Minazova were eliminated in the semi-finals in 13th and 17th. All four titles went to paddlers who had won neither the heats nor the semi-final in their winning event.
The men's K1 semi-final had the smallest gap between its first and last qualifiers. Just 3.19 s covered all twelve finalists, from De Gennaro in 86.26 s to Czechia's Jan Bárta in 89.45 s. Castryck and Anatole Delassus, both members of Thursday's gold-medal French team, missed out. Delassus finished 27th after a 50-second penalty.
Five women contested both individual finals on Friday. Zwolińska won the K1 and finished seventh in the C1, while Marx placed fifth in both. Slovakia's Zuzana Panková was eighth in K1 and fourth in C1, and Slovenia's Eva Alina Hočevar finished sixth and tenth respectively. Dòria placed fourth in K1 and 12th in C1 after her 50-second penalty.
Kayak cross to close the championships
The championships conclude with kayak cross on Saturday 26 September. The women's individual time trials are scheduled for 14:20, followed by the men's at 15:05, local time.
France enters the final day with three gold medals, two more than any other nation. Italy has the most medals overall with seven, but the hosts are still waiting for an individual title: all four of their Friday medallists finished second or third.
Full results are available on the European Championships event page. Thursday's team finals are covered in the day one recap.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the individual European titles on 25 September 2026?
Klaudia Zwolińska won the women's K1 in 94.69 s, Jakub Krejčí the men's K1 in 82.41 s, Mallory Franklin the women's C1 in 100.47 s and Yohann Senechault the men's C1 in 90.26 s. All four winners completed penalty-free final runs.
Which final had the smallest winning margin?
The women's C1. Franklin beat Doriane Delassus by 0.03 s, with bronze medallist Tereza Kneblová just 0.46 s behind the winner.
Which nation led the medal table after two days?
France, with three gold, two silver and one bronze. Italy had the most medals overall with seven, followed by France with six and Czechia with five.
How many medals did Italy win over the first two days?
Seven: four individual medals on Friday and three team medals on Thursday. The hosts' only gold came in the women's C1 team event.
Did any defending European champion retain their title?
No. Prskavec had the best finish, placing fourth in the men's K1 after a two-second penalty. Dòria finished 12th in the women's C1, Travé did not reach the men's C1 final, and Funk did not compete.
Did any semi-final winner go on to win gold?
None won the final of the same event. Pistoni and Kratochvíl took silver, De Gennaro bronze, and Zwolińska finished seventh in the C1 final after winning its semi-final. She did, however, win the K1 title.
Whose medal chances were affected by penalties?
Prskavec in the men's K1 and Mirgorodský in the men's C1 both recorded times before penalties that were faster than the silver medallists' final results. Two-second gate penalties left them outside the medals. Every medallist in the four finals completed a penalty-free run.
What remained after Friday's finals?
Kayak cross on Saturday 26 September, with the women's individual time trials scheduled for 14:20 and the men's for 15:05, local time.