It was Russia’s turn to shine on day three of the ICF junior and U23 canoe sprint world championships in Portugal, with the nation picking up five of the 14 gold medals on offer.

Hungary continued its strong form with another three gold medals, Belarus won two, while host nation Portugal along with Canada, Denmark and Poland all picked up wins.

The Russian charge was led by a strong junior team who picked up half the gold medals on offer on Sunday, including wins to Iuliia Babashinskaia in the K1 200, Anna Pivovarova in the C1 200, and the C2 and K2 men ‘s 500 races.

Poland’s K1 200 men’s European champion, Jakub Stepun, held his firm to win the world title, while Frederikke Matthiesen won Denmark’s gold in the women’s U23 200 sprint.

The women’s U23 C1 200 final was one of the closest races of the day, with Canada’s Sophia Jensen, racing for the first time in the older age division after domination junior events, holding on by just 0.14 of a second to beat Georgia’s Mariami Kerdikashvili.

Pedro Casinha provided the excitement for the Montemor-o-Velho crowd with a stirring win in the men’s junior K1 200 metres. It’s the first gold medal of the event for the host nation.

With one day of competition remaining, Hungary continues to lead the medal table with 10 gold and 18 overall, ahead of Russia on five gold and 12 medals in total. So far 19 countries have won medals, with 18 golds on offer on the final day.