Benilson Sanda and Manuel Antonio shone on home waters as Angola staged the Confederation of African Canoeing African Canoe Sprint Championships in Luanda.
A total of 89 athletes from 12 nations participated in the event which took place from November 28 to 30.
Egypt topped the standings with 18 medals including seven golds, nine silvers and two bronzes, finishing ahead of Algeria and Tunisia who both won 16 medals.
Sanda and Antonio both came away with two titles as hosts Angola celebrated a 17-strong medal haul, including four golds.
The home favourites swept to the men’s senior canoe double 500m crown before winning individually as Sanda clinched the men’s senior canoe single 1000m title and Antonio sealed men’s senior C1 200m gold.
They are two beneficiaries the International Canoe Federation’s Talent Identification Programme having both been involved since 2023.
There were many TIP athletes that starred at the African Championships, winning junior, U23 and senior medals.
Mohamed Gouda, another TIP paddler, claimed two silver medals after finishing behind Antonio over 200m and Sanda over 1000m.
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The women’s senior C1 200m final also saw TIP paddlers win medals with Senegal’s Combe Seck securing gold and Sao Tome and Principe’s Herminia Santana claiming bronze.
Egypt’s Mohamed Ismail, who joined the ICF Development Camp this year, powered to the men’s kayak single 1000m title.
It was an impressive African Championships for Egypt across the senior, U23 and junior categories with Asmaa Aly and Farah Hewidy emerging victorious in the women’s senior C2 500m.
Aly also linked up with Gana Marsy to win both the women’s junior C2 500m and women’s U23 C2 500m titles and came out on top in the women’s junior C1 200m.
The men’s U23 K1 1000m title was also won by an Egyptian in Hamza Ahmed, while fellow TIP athlete Fernandes Ngonza claimed silver.
As well as triumphing individually, Ismail and Ahmed joined forces to win the men’s U23 K2 500m crown.
Other TIP athletes to win medals in the U23 category included gold for Angola’s Domingos Pacavira and bronze for Nigeria’s Isyaka Ibrahim in the men’s U23 C1 1000m, gold for Nigeria’s Feanyi Okuchukwu and Ibrahim and silver for Egypt’s Gouda in the men’s U23 C2 500m and gold for Sao Tome and Principe’s Santana in the women’s U23 C1 200m, while Tunisia’s Sabiha Othmane won silver in the women’s U23 K1 500m and gold in the women’s U23 K2 500m.
Othmana also won bronze in the women’s senior K1 200m and gold in the women’s junior K2 500m.
Algeria’s Wassim Boukazoula picked up three gold medals, winning the men’s junior K1 1000m, men’s junior K2 500m titles and men’s junior K1 200m titles.
Click here for all the results from Luanda
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