Georgia’s Serhii Yemelianov marked his three-year hiatus from the sport with a stunning victory at the International Canoe Federation Paracanoe World Cup in Poznan, Poland.
Yemelianov, the two-time Paralympic gold medallist in the men’s KL3, last competed internationally when representing Ukraine at the ICF Paracanoe World Championships in September 2021.
It has been a long and frustrating wait for Yemelianov as he switched his allegiance from Ukraine to Georgia.
Fuelled by this frustration, Yemelianov was back to his best in Poland as he triumphed in 40.77.
“I have waited three years and nine months for this race,” said Yemelianov.
“It was a really hard time for me so this medal is for my family, my father and my country so thank you for everyone who supported me.
“I am back.”
The other two podium places were filled by Brazilians as Gabriel Paixao Porto took silver in 41.09 and Miqueias Elias Rodrigues sealed bronze in 42.06.
Hennessy secures long-awaited gold
Canada’s Brianna Hennessy celebrated her first-ever World Cup medal with a dominant display in the women’s VL2 final.
With Great Britain’s Emma Wiggs, the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 gold medallist in the event, ruled out through injury, Hennessy seized her opportunity.
The Canadian paddler clinched victory in 1:01.58, as Brazil’s Debora Raiza Ribeiro Benevides claimed silver in 1:03.69.
Bronze went to Italy’s Veronica Biglia in 1:08.84.
“I am very happy,” said Hennessy.
“As you know I go up against the legend Emma Wiggs and she is good friend of mine who I look up to a lot.
“It’s very earie not having her at the finish line to have our traditional hug which means so much to me but it is incredible to have a taste of that gold for Canada.
“I wish Emma a speedie recovery as I need her back on the course because we have some unfinished business.”
Phillipson prevails in Poznan
Great Britain’s David Phillipson made the most of the absence of Australia’s multiple Paralympic champion Curtis McGrath to seal men’s KL2 gold.
Phillipson made a superb start before holding on to beat Ukraine’s Mykola Syniuk by a mere 0.07.
The Paris 2024 silver medallist crossed the line in 44.21, as Syniuk took silver in 44.28 and Italy’s Christian Volpi picked up bronze in 44.91.
“I didn’t know what to expect as I haven’t been back to my full training yet as I’ve still been celebrating that silver from Paris,” said Phillipson.
“But I went out there and enjoyed it.
“It’s been a great week, the support has been amazing and the conditions have been good.”
Gordon wins British battle
It was a British one-two in the women’s VL3 as Hope Gordon defeated Paralympic champion Charlotte Henshaw.
A superb start from Hope was the key to victory, leaving Henshaw with too much to do in the closing stages.
Hope, the 2023 world champion, took the win in 58.49 as Henshaw placed second in 59.26.
There was a thrilling battle for third as Elea Charvet of France and Maria Jimenez of Spain shared bronze in 1:01.56.
“I am pleasantly surprised by that as I didn’t have a very good heat and messed up my timing,” said Hope.
“I went into this race not sure where I was at because of that heat.
“This year has been different for me as I’ve focused more on other things that aren’t necessarily about making the boat go faster – I did a bit of travelling and just had a lot of fun.
“I got back to full-time training in March.
“If you are happy and enjoying the sport, you are going to perform well so it’s exciting for the first competition of the year and it is always nice to be on the podium in both boats as well.”
Full coverage of the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Cup can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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