Hangzhou Super Cup 2026: Ji Bowen and two more Chinese champions miss the finals
- Published
- 2026-10-01T08:51:28+00:00
- Author
- PaddleStats
Full competition results: ICF Hangzhou Super Cup
Olympic champion Ji Bowen will not race the C1 500m final at the Hangzhou Super Cup 2026. On Thursday in Fuyang he was seventh in his heat and fifth in his semi-final, and both times he took well over two minutes. Two more Chinese champions, Wang Nan and Li Chenhao, also missed out.
The first day of sprint racing decided all four finals. Sixteen heats and semi-finals reduced the 64 invited paddlers to 32 finalists, eight in each 500m event. Only the top two in each race went through, so half the field leaves the 500m without prize money. No team lost more big names than the hosts. Wang Nan is the Asian Games K1 500m champion, and Li Chenhao won the same event at the 2026 Asian Championships. Even so, China has ten of the 32 finalists and set the fastest Thursday time in three of the four events.
Who is in Saturday's four finals
Every finalist is already guaranteed prize money. The top eight in each event are paid, from $2,200 for the winner down to $600 for eighth place. The table shows each event's fastest Thursday time. The heats and semi-finals were more than four hours apart, so treat comparisons between rounds as a rough guide only.
| Final | Fastest on Thursday | Other finalists |
|---|---|---|
| C1 Women 500m | Maria Jose Mailliard (CHI), 2:12.782 | Teng Anshuo, Jiang Xina, Sun Mengya (all CHN), Ágnes Kiss (HUN), Sophia Jensen (CAN), Alena Nazdrova (AIN), Olympia Della Giustina (ITA) |
| C1 Men 500m | Wu Shengyue (CHN), 1:53.514 | Liu Yufei (CHN), Wiktor Glazunow (POL), Dániel Fejes, Balázs Adolf (both HUN), Jaime Duro, Pablo Graña (both ESP), Zakhar Petrov (AIN) |
| K1 Women 500m | Yu Shimeng (CHN), 1:57.617 | Yin Mengdie (CHN), Frederikke Mørcke (DEN), Emese Kőhalmi, Zsóka Csikós (both HUN), Selma Konijn (NED), Melina Andersson (SWE), Aimee Fisher (NZL) |
| K1 Men 500m | Wang Jinwei (CHN), 1:43.635 | Wang Cong, Ding Shengkai (both CHN), Martin Nathell (SWE), Quaid Thompson (NZL), Strahinja Dragosavljević (SRB), Gunnar Nydal Eide (NOR), Agustín Vernice (ARG) |
China entered 28 of the 64 paddlers and got ten into the finals. It has three in each of the C1 women's and K1 men's finals and two in each of the other two. Among the visiting teams, Hungary had the best day, with five of its six paddlers through. The only Hungarian to go out was Zsófia Csorba, fourth in the first C1 women's semi-final. The other 17 places went to paddlers from twelve countries and to neutral athletes (AIN).
Times were slow right through the field. Wu Shengyue has paddled the C1 500m in 1:45.25 this season, but won his heat on Thursday in 1:53.514. In K1 men, Wang Jinwei had the best time of the day with 1:43.635. That was six seconds slower than Vernice's season best of 1:37.59. In an invitation-only race, finishing position counts, not the clock.
Ji Bowen and two more Chinese champions miss the finals
Ji came to Hangzhou as Olympic champion and as the new Asian Games champion in C1 500m. His Olympic gold came in Paris in 2024, in C2 500m with Liu Hao (1:39.48). In 2026 he had made the podium in all six international C1 500m finals he raced. He won the Asian Championships in Hefei, the World Cups in Szeged (1:44.43, the fastest time of the season) and Montreal, and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya (1:47.338). He also finished second at the Brandenburg World Cup and third at the World Championships in Poznań (1:47.10). His Asian Games win came less than a week before Hangzhou.
Here he was off the pace from the start. In heat 2 he reached 250m in 1:04.139, almost ten seconds behind Wu Shengyue (54.370). He crossed the line seventh in 2:11.293, 17.779 s behind the winner. That sent him to a semi-final, where again only the top two advanced.
The semi-final went the same way. Ji was fifth at halfway (1:08.382) and fifth at the finish (2:18.230), 18.485 s short of the second qualifying spot. Only his teammate Yu Yuebin finished behind him, in 2:20.882.
It is not known why Ji raced so far below his best. China still has two paddlers in the C1 men's final. Liu Yufei won the first semi-final in 1:55.995, and Wu Shengyue qualified straight from his heat. Saturday's final, though, will be without the Asian Games champion and World Championship bronze medallist.
Wang Nan won the K1 500m at the Asian Games and the K4 500m at the World Championships. On Thursday she was sixth in her heat (2:06.681) and fourth in her semi-final (2:06.917), which sent Yu Shimeng and Selma Konijn through. Li Chenhao, the 2026 Asian champion in K1 500m, was fifth in his heat (1:54.601) and last in his semi-final (2:07.812).
C1 men: Wu fastest, Petrov and Fejes through
Wu Shengyue won the second C1 men's heat in 1:53.514, the fastest time of the day in the event. Second was Dániel Fejes, the 2026 world champion in C1 1000m (1:57.545). Hungary's Balázs Adolf won heat 1 in 2:00.081. Behind him came Zakhar Petrov (AIN), the 2025 world champion in C1 500m, in 2:02.306.
Liu Yufei (1:55.995) and Poland's Wiktor Glazunow, the 2024 world champion in C1 5000m (1:57.529), won the semi-finals. Glazunow finished 2.216 s clear of Pablo Graña. Jaime Duro took second in the first semi-final. Behind him, 0.980 s back, was Stefanos Dimopoulos, fourth at the World Championships in Poznań. Also out were Olympic C2 500m silver medallist Carlo Tacchini and Ivan Shtyl (AIN), the 2026 world champion in the same event.
In Saturday's final Wu starts in lane 5, Adolf in lane 4, Fejes in lane 3 and Petrov in lane 6. Liu Yufei has lane 2 and Glazunow lane 7. The Spaniards Graña and Duro are on the outside, in lanes 1 and 8.
Five thousandths of a second and a dead heat
The closest finish of the day came in the second K1 men's heat. Agustín Vernice won it in 1:46.233. Wang Cong took the second direct spot in 1:46.980, just five thousandths of a second ahead of Martin Nathell (1:46.985). The Swede still reached the final through the semi-finals. He finished second there behind Wang Jinwei in 1:43.957, the second-fastest K1 men's time of the day.
The first K1 men's semi-final was nearly as tight. Quaid Thompson won in 1:44.640, just 0.037 s ahead of Strahinja Dragosavljević. Liang Fengwei was third in 1:45.000 and missed the final by 0.323 s. In the second semi-final, Andrea Di Liberto and Pedro Casinha both stopped the clock at 1:48.045 and shared fourth place. Di Liberto, this year's world champion in K1 200m, had also finished last in his heat after being third at 250m.
Less than a tenth of a second separated the top two in the second K1 women's semi-final. Frederikke Mørcke, the world champion in K1 200m, won in 1:58.395, with Emese Kőhalmi 0.098 s behind. Anja Apollonio was third, 1.03 s down, and went out. The fastest K1 women's time came in the first semi-final, where Yu Shimeng won in 1:57.617 ahead of Selma Konijn (1:58.655).
Four women qualified for the K1 final straight from the heats. Melina Andersson won heat 2 in 1:59.656, 0.143 s ahead of Yin Mengdie. In heat 1, Aimee Fisher, the silver medallist in Poznań, beat Zsóka Csikós, the world champion over 1000m, by 0.225 s.
C1 women: Chile's Mailliard fastest
Chile's Maria Jose Mailliard set the fastest C1 women's time of the day, winning heat 2 in 2:12.782. Jiang Xina finished 0.555 s behind her and also qualified directly. Third was Sun Mengya, a two-time Olympic champion in C2 500m. She got through as runner-up in the second semi-final (2:16.022), which Alena Nazdrova won in 2:14.581.
Ágnes Kiss, the silver medallist in Poznań, won heat 1, 0.662 s ahead of world champion Sophia Jensen. Both went straight to the final. Teng Anshuo won the first semi-final in 2:13.584. European silver medallist Olympia Della Giustina was second in 2:14.187. Ekaterina Shliapnikova (AIN) went out after finishing third in the second semi-final in 2:17.722.
What's next: relays on Friday, finals on Saturday
Friday brings two mixed relays over 5000m. The C1 race starts at 15:04 local time and the K1 race at 15:34. Each pair has one woman and one man, drawn at the athletes' briefing, and the two split their prize money equally. Any athlete who misses a start without a medical exemption loses prize money in every event, including Saturday's final.
The four 500m finals are on Saturday 3 October at 15:30, 15:36, 15:42 and 15:48 local time (9:30–9:48 CEST). Results will be updated live on the Hangzhou Super Cup event page. The Dragon Boat World Championships are also taking place at the same venue. The federation's last event of the year is the SUP Cup in Kemer (28–31 October). Our Super Cup preview explains the format and the prize table, and lists the big names who stayed at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualified for the Hangzhou Super Cup 2026 finals?
32 paddlers: eight each in the women's and men's C1 and K1 500m. China has ten finalists and Hungary five. Spain, Sweden, New Zealand and the neutral athletes (AIN) have two each.
How did Ji Bowen do at the Hangzhou Super Cup 2026?
He was seventh in heat 2 (2:11.293) and fifth in the second semi-final (2:18.230). Only the top two in each race advanced. Both times were more than 20 s slower than his 1:47.338 at the Asian Games less than a week earlier. The reason is not known.
Who set the fastest times on day one?
Maria Jose Mailliard in C1 women (2:12.782), Wu Shengyue in C1 men (1:53.514), Yu Shimeng in K1 women (1:57.617) and Wang Jinwei in K1 men (1:43.635). Chinese paddlers set three of the four.
Did the hosts disappoint on home water?
The numbers do not support that. China got 10 of its 28 paddlers into the finals and set the fastest Thursday time in three of the four events. It did lose three champions: Ji Bowen, Wang Nan and Li Chenhao. Hungary had a better qualifying rate, with five of six paddlers through.
When are the Hangzhou Super Cup 2026 finals?
On Saturday 3 October, starting at 15:30 local time (9:30 CEST). The C1 women's final is first, followed at six-minute intervals by C1 men (15:36), K1 women (15:42) and K1 men (15:48).
What was the closest race on day one?
The second K1 men's heat. Wang Cong took the second direct place in the final in 1:46.980, 0.005 s ahead of Martin Nathell. Nathell still qualified through the semi-finals, where he clocked 1:43.957.
Can Hangzhou times be compared with season bests?
Only with care, because the whole field was slow, not just a few paddlers. Wu Shengyue won his heat in 1:53.514, against a season best of 1:45.25. The fastest K1 men's time was six seconds outside Vernice's season best. In this invitation-only format, the only goal was to finish in the top two.
Which world champions are in the finals?
Sophia Jensen (C1 500m, 2026), Zakhar Petrov (C1 500m, 2025), Dániel Fejes (C1 1000m, 2026), Zsóka Csikós (K1 1000m, 2026), Melina Andersson (K1 5000m, 2026) and Frederikke Mørcke (K1 200m, 2026).
On Saturday, Thursday's fastest qualifiers Wu Shengyue, Yu Shimeng and Wang Jinwei go for the titles. The C1 men's final will be raced without Olympic champion Ji Bowen. Follow every race on the Hangzhou Super Cup page, and read our event preview for a guide to the format.