Spanish Winter Championships (II): Youngsters set the bar high

In the younger categories, we could see lively and very colorful races in the Spanish Winter Championships. Not only because of the number of paddlers, but the times achieved in less than favorable wind conditions, make us optimistic about the development not only of the season, but the next few years regarding the junior national teams, where the last year we already got a few world and European medals.

Pelayo Roza, Junior K1 champion. Photo: E. Durán

The Junior Men K1 was a good example, with special involvement of the sprint national team members. The trial over 2,000 meters was won by Pedro Vázquez (Los Rápidos - Jayre Aventura) with 8:14, a time that due to the strong headwind could only be beated by 11 senior paddlers. Pelayo Roza (SCD Ribadesella) took second place, followed by Ramón Lecumberri (Náutico Sevilla , first U17). The same podium would be given the next day at the end of the 5,000 final, but with the exchange of the first two positions, because after a great comeback in the sprint, the gold went to Pelayo Roza.


The people from Ribadesella had a double joy in the K1 men, as Roza's teammate Fran Capín won the K1 U16 beating in the final sprint Roque López (Náutico de Sevilla) , while third was Luis Rodríguez (Portonovo).

Je Junior Women medalists. Photo: E. Durán

In the Junior Women K1, double medal for Galician club Pontecesures, who got the two first spots at the finish line through Camila Morison (gold) and Rachel da Costa (silver) who made Estefanía Fernández (Iuxtanam - Monteoro) had to settle for a well-deserved bronze. It is remarkable that these three paddlers stopped the clock under 22:30 a really fat pace for their category showing a very demanding pace. In fact, they were faster than the seniors, although we know that the course conditions change and it's always difficult to compare times. But the fact is that Junior's bronze was in the same time than Senior's gold. Great news for the future.

Doublet of a Galician club was also seen in the Junior Men C1, where Sergio Vallejo and Alex Bernárdez (Poio - Conservas Pescamar) allied in their own race strategy, beating in the last lap Gonzalo Martín (Náutico de Sevilla), who finally took the bronze medal.

Noel Domínguez, C1 U16 Spanish champion. Photo: Lorena Vinuesa

Another remarkable news was that for the first time as long as remembered, a paddler just arrived from the U14 category won the championship in U16 C1, and certainly not because of lack of haigh-level contestants. Noel Domínguez (Alberche Kayak), with 25:15, made good the feelings left after the 2,000 trial in the morning. With an easy-looking paddling, he made ​​almost the entire second half of the race by himself to win the Spanish title with authority over Manuel Ramón Gómez (Pinatarense) and Carlos Alonso (Aranjuez), first second year paddlers.

In the increasingly crowded discipline of the Women C1, thirty paddlers of the three categories (senior, junior and U16), offered a good race which shown the lead of the upcoming young paddlers. Adriana Paniagua (Náutico Palma - La Caixa OS ) achieved the absolute and victory as well as the Junior gold while second in both things was another Majorcan, Maria Araceli (Náutico Port de Pollença). Belén Arnau, also from Náutico de Palma, was third in the finish line and Senior winner, only a few seconds away from her young rivals. The senior silver and junior bronze traveled to Ciudad de Pontevedra Club, in the hands of Raquel Rodríguez (senior silver) and Jenifer Casal (junior bronze), while senior bronze went to Nerea Fernández (Iuxtanam - Monteoro).

In U16 Women C1, Galicia and Mallorca were also main characters, curiously taking all medals through first year paddlers. In this order, the podium was for Antía Jacome (gold, Ciuded de Pontevedra), Mercedes Giménez (silver, Port de Pollença) and Andrea Vázquez (bronze, Rías Baixas).

Waiting for the Master races post, full results can be seen in the following links:
Junior and senior
U16
Masters