Spanish Winter Championships: Javier Hernanz claims back the title while Eva Barrios and Antonio Campos get second gold in a row

Hernanz, Germade and Peña (left to right). Photo: E.P. Aranjuez

This is the first post of the few I will dedicate to the Spanish Winter Championship over 5,000 meters, held again in a splendid sunny Seville and marking the first milestone of an intense 2014 season just started.

After a tough 2,000m qualifying on Saturday, due to strong headwind and that was won again by Francisco Cubelos in the K1 Senior Men (4th consecutive year that Cubelos claims victory over this distance), the 70 fastest paddlers had an appointment in Sunday's final, which was expected, as usual, hotly contested.

The start had its particular role in this race. After forming two large spearheads, one on the left after Rodrigo Germade and one in the center led first by Carlos Perez Rial and later by one of the components of Kayak Tudense (which seemed Roi Rodríguez), it came the inevitable moment when paddlers begin to look to either side and the two spearheads come together and begin the fight for the best washes. After the usual sound of voices and clash of blades, one of the paddlers ended up in the water. Once he managed to get on the boat again, helped by the Red Cross zodiac (which actually made him tarrible waves after that) we all thought that he could be Paco Cubelos.

Saúl Craviotto and Alfonso Benavides show their London shape at Spanish Sprint Championships

Frenzy weekend of races last days at Trasona Dam (Asturias, Spain) with the Spanish Sprint Championships, with two of our Olympic paddlers doing their last test before giving everything at Eton Dorney in two weeks. Saúl Craviotto (K1 200) and Alfonso Benavides (C1 200) gave no chance to their opponents and claimed gold with terrific performances, showing that their olympic medal assault is in the right way.

Photo Finish had to decide the medals at the K4 200, amazing race

But not only the mediatic olympic paddlers were taking all the flashes. From our point of view, the main character of the event was junior female paddler Begoña Lazkano, who took six golds out of six races by winning K1 200, 500 and 1,000 and then doing the same with her teammate Amaia Benavente on the K2 over the three distances. These girls, under Ekaitz Saies coaching, are definitely looking forward for some exciting future.

Carlos Pérez Rial and Club Kayak Tudense, main characters at the Galicia Sprint Championship (Spain)

Last weekend was celebrated at Verducido Dam (Galicia, Spain) the Regional Sprint Championships of Galicia, one of the strongest that can be seen in Spain. Despite some absences, due to the Junior&U23 European Championships, to be held from Thursday at Montemor-o-Velho (Portugal), the different races showed a very high level, with some of the first aces of Spanish Sprint on the water.

Ana Varela claimed gold on 500m. over the 200m. winner Tania Fernández

Many were the races competed, but as the most important to comment, we could say that the 1.000 metres distance is patrimony of Kayak Tudense. The strong club from Tui dominated the Senior Men in kayak with no discussion. They took gold and silver in K4, gold and silver in K2 and five of the 9 finalists of the K1 belonged to them, claiming the four first positions. Gold went to Diego Piña, who got a nice triple crwon leading also the K2 and The K4. It was different on the canoe, where they could only take silver after the pushing of the boats from Náutico Ría de Betanzos. C2 of  Antonio Campos and José Manuel Sánchez, who also made the C4 together with Adrián Edreira and Alejandro Fraga, claimed gold in both disciplines. At Ladies distance of 500 metres, Kayak Tudense also took gold in K1 (through Ana Varela), K2 and K4.

Spain has decided the K2 and C2 to go for the Olympic berths

After the first day of national trials in Spain to choose the paddlers who will fight for the olympic berths at the European Preolympic at Poznan (Poland), the K2 and the C2 are already decided. The Verducido Dam has seen closed races in a chilly rainy morning, but the contestants have given a true spectacle to the last metre of the course. In K2, the defending couple, Javier Hernanz and Diego Cosgaya, have set the best time, stopping the clock in 3'22" and avoiding that way a second race in case they have lost, so they have earned the right to be the Spanish contestants at Poznan. In second position arrived Víctor Rodríguez and Diego Piña (3'24"), who were a serious menace through the first three quartes of the race, head by head in the lead, but couldn't keep the winners pace over the las 200 metres. Third place went to Emilio Merchán and Pablo Baños (3'26").

Twenty minutes later it was the time for the C2, with five boats on the start line. It was a direct final, so the winner would earn the place for Poznan with no second leg possible.