Fernando Rufino de Paulo overcame Igor Alex Tofalini in a thrilling all-Brazilian battle as Great Britain’s Charlotte Henshaw and Laura Sugar continue to reach new heights in the sport at the International Canoe Federation Paracanoe World Championships in Milan, Italy.
There was also an historic gold for China as Yi Pu became the first paddler from his country to win the men’s VL3 world title, while Chile’s Katherinne Wollermann and Hungary’s Peter Kiss were the other Paracanoe gold medallists on the penultimate day of competition.
Rufino and Tofalini are best friends, but they put that all to one side to produce gripping races that could go either way.
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On this occasion, it was Rufino, the double Paralympic champion, who emerged victorious by the narrowest of margins.
It was a photo finish as Rufino triumphed by a mere 0.04 after going head-to-head with Tofalini throughout the race.
The two paddlers were neck and neck before Rufino crossed first in 51.80, before Tofalini crossed in 51.84.
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“I am proud of the gold medal today,” said Rufino.
“As Igor said, it is a pleasure to be able to race with such a big athlete.
“This is the World Championships. It’s such a big competition with so many gold medals, and I am happy to come away with the gold.”
There was also a terrific battle for bronze with Edward Clifton of Great Britain edging Portugal’s Norberto Mourao by 0.19.
The men’s VL3 final was even closer as China’s Pu beat Uzbekistan’s Turabek Nazarkulov by 0.03.
The top four were separated by 0.29 as Pu, Nazarkulov, Brazil’s Giovane Vieira de Paula and New Zealand’s Peter Cowan battled for the title.
Pu took the title in 47.25 as Nazarkulov had to settle for silver in 47.28 and Vieira de Paula got the better of Paralympic medallist Cowan for bronze in 47.50.
“I am very excited, I just made history,” said Pu.
“This is the first medal in the VL3. It is a huge step in my career.
“I have made great progress in such a short time.
“With my coach’s guidance and hard training, I hope I can keep progressing.”
There was only going to be one winner in the women’s KL2 as Great Britain’s multiple world and Paralympic champion Henshaw cruised to victory.
Henshaw continues to raise the bar in Paracanoe, setting the world’s best time to 48.55 in the heats before going even quicker in the final, clocking 48.07.
Hungary’s Katalin Varga was second in 50.80, with Germany’s Anja Adler earning bronze in 51.94.
“I think there's a lot more to come,” said Henshaw.
“I'm trying to rewrite the history books, I suppose, and I want to see what's possible in this event.”
Sugar delivered Great Britain’s second gold of the day courtesy of her victory in the women’s KL3.
The reigning Paralympic champion powered to the title in 46.15 as France’s Nelia Barbosa claimed silver in 47.26.
Great Britain’s Hope Gordon and Germany’s Felicia Laberer shared bronze after they both crossed the line in 47.59.
“To be on the podium with Hope is pretty special,” said Sugar.
“I did not think this would happen a couple of weeks ago.
“It's always really tough in the first year post Games to get that motivation back and then kind of do it all again.
“I have had stuff in the past, I've been injured or whatever, but I know as long as I can be on that start line, I'll be able to race, and I knew I was in decent shape.”
Earlier in the day, Chile’s Katherinne Wollermann came from behind to beat Ukraine’s Maryna Mazhula in an absorbing men’s KL1 final.
The reigning world and Paralympic champion came under pressure against the Ukrainian, who held the edge for much of the race.
There was little between them in the closing stages before Wollermann found that extra edge to win by 0.64 after crossing in 53.52. China’s Maosan Xie claimed bronze in 55.06.
“It was a great race and I am very happy with the result,” said Wollermann.
“It was tough, but I got through it.
“I want to thank my friends and family back home.”
Hungary’s Kiss secured his fifth world title in the men’s KL1 after overcoming defending champion Luis Carlos Cardoso da Silva of Brazil.
Cardoso da Silva recently beat Kiss at the ICF Paracanoe World Cup in Poznan, but the Hungarian got the better of the Brazilian this time around.
Kiss triumphed in 45.96 as Cardoso da Silva crossed in 46.93 for silver, and AIN paddler Aleksandr Ilichev bagged bronze in 49.93.
“It was exhausting, and I had to push,” said Kiss.
“I knew Luis was behind me, so I needed to be prepared.
“He is a great person and athlete.
“Thanks to all my fans who have always supported me.”
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