MARATHON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – BASCOV 2021

Tuesday, 19 October 2021

Marathon is back after two years and Bascov, in Romania, was the stage. The Venue was up to the task and gave the audience a great overview of the races. The 3,4K of the Short Race introduced excitement to the competition, but it needs some work as the athletes are often the same as those in the long distance.

A lot can change in two years, but not for Mads Pedersen. Some weeks before, in Denmark, he had already shown how fast he can be with the 5K big names. In Romania he was second in the short race only to prove after that he is the new Marathon King. A perfect performance in the long distance race, making the group smaller and smaller until there was only him and Ivan Alonso. The duo worked together to secure what was like a win for both of them. Mads became double World Champion (first time in Shaoxing 2019) and Ivan celebrated his comeback to the medals in the K1 (a double comeback as he was Bronze in the short race), six years after the Bronze in Gyor 2015 and ten after his victory in Rome 2011. The same happened to Stefan Boulanger, he was the last to loose touch with the first group and a couple of laps alone granted him a Bronze that tasted like Gold. The first individual medal for him. Later, he would double the bronze in K2 with Cyrrille Carré – it's great to see him back to the fight for the medals after the olympic deception.

It was a very hard week had Szofi Czellai-Voros. She had to cancel the Short Race entry and almost saw herself out of the long distance competition. In the end, she came to Romania and put up a fight for the Gold. She was second, but she showed once again that she has what it takes to be a champion. One day, the Gold will come.

In the Short Race, Kristina Bedec finished third, closing a very successfull season in marathon. She was previously European Champion in the 3,4K and Bronze in the Long Distance.

In the U23, two very impressive danish wins: Cathrine Rask and Nikolai Thomsen. Junior World Champion in 2019, Nikolai lost no qualities. He dominated the race, leaving Agustin Rodriguez (Silver) behind and paddling alone in the last laps. A fall in the seniors race took away the possibility of a medal, but he will have more chances in the future. Cathrine raced beautifully. She jump out of the boat in the last portage and took off for the win.

A very special word for Sara Fojt. In 2021 she was Junior World and European Champion in K1 and K2 500. In Romania, she won the Junior K2. Very impressive.

Also, for Volha Klimava, that is a very talented Canoe paddler and left the Marathon Worlds with two silver medals in C1.

Here is the list of Jantex Medalists

Mads Pedersen – Gold K1 Long Distance, Silver K1 Short Race

Nikolai Thomsen – Gold U23 K1

Cathrine Rask – Gold U23 K1

Sara Fojt – Gold Junior K2

Ivan Alonso Lage – Silver K1 Long Distance, Bronze K1 Short Race

Szofi Czellai-Voros – Silver K1 Long Distance

Agustin Rodriguez – Silver U23 K1

Nikolaj Bryde – Silver Junior K2

Jeppe Maretti – Silver Junior K2

Volha Klimava – Silver C1 Short and Long Distance