ABANCA Ciutat de Palma Canoeing Trophy celebrates a successful third edition

Carlos Arévalo and Emily Lewis win the K1 events, Álex Graneri and Nerea García take the K2 Mixed title, while Joan Toni Moreno and Antía Jácome make history as the first winners of the C1 events, in a competition that attracted a large crowd around the lake and the city walls of Palma.

Carlos Arévalo (Men’s K1), Emily Lewis (Women’s K1), Álex Graneri and Nerea García (Mixed K2), Joan Toni Moreno (Men’s C1) and Antía Jácome (Women’s C1) were crowned winners of the third edition of the ABANCA Ciutat de Palma Canoeing Trophy, held on the lagoon at Parc de la Mar in front of a large crowd, who took advantage of the good weather in the Balearic capital to enjoy a top-level sporting event.

Organised by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, the competition brought together Olympic, World and European champions in an exceptional setting at the foot of Palma Cathedral, with a completely innovative competition format. The kayaks raced over a course of just under 300 metres, featuring a turn and with the start and finish at the same point, while the canoe events were held over a distance of less than 100 metres, with no turn and in successive knockout races. The field of competitors boasts more than 300 international medals, including ten Olympic medals.

In the team classification, Coral Boat claimed victory ahead of Team RCNP and Gráfiques De Salabert, who completed the podium. The Elite competition featured eight teams: Ses Gràfiques Salabert, Coral Boats, Trui, RCNP, MAPFRE, Quirón, Eulen and Europcar, each made up of six paddlers, with both male and female representation in kayak and canoe.

Carlos Arévalo won the Men’s Elite K1 after an extremely close finish against Portugal’s Messias Baptista, decided by photo finish. The two-time Olympic medallist and World Champion reclaimed a victory he had already secured in the first edition of the Ciutat de Palma, before Baptista took the title last year.

“It was exciting. That’s what canoeing is all about, fighting until the very last moment, and doing it in such a beautiful and iconic place makes it even more special,” he explained. The Galician paddler also highlighted the atmosphere among a field of athletes accustomed to facing one another at major international competitions: “Here I can enjoy myself with my friends and also with those who are my rivals elsewhere, but who are teammates today. The opportunity that the Real Club Náutico de Palma and Paddle Games give us to compete like this is amazing.”

Mallorca-born RCNP paddler Álex Graneri was another of the day’s standout performers, winning the Fantasy class, taking the Mixed K2 title alongside Nerea García and finishing third in the Elite K1.

“I’m exhausted because it’s the beginning of the season and we haven’t spent much time on the water yet, but I felt fit and, above all, very motivated,” Graneri explained. The RCNP athlete attributed part of his performance to his knowledge of the course and to the tactical element of a format that differs greatly from the usual one.

“Strategy is something you absolutely have to get right. Being in my city, at Parc de la Mar, where I have competed all my life, and having the crowd cheering me on gives me extra motivation.”

Joan Antoni Moreno, bronze medallist at the Paris Olympic Games, was particularly pleased to secure a victory on home soil against a world-class field.

“I’m very happy to have come here, to have been able to compete at this level and to achieve this result at home. It’s an international competition with some of the best athletes in the world. Here, everyone is a favourite, everyone has a lot of experience, but it’s a format nobody is used to and we are all learning. That’s part of what makes this competition so special,” said the Reial Club Nàutic Port de Pollença canoeist.

Antía Jácome, a two-time European champion and World medallist, dominated the Women’s C1 competition, winning every race in her series.

“I’m very happy. I was competing for the victory against some of the best female canoeists in Spain and the world, and I managed to finish first. Above all, I really enjoyed it because it’s a completely different experience from the competitions we normally take part in,” Jácome explained.

The Galician athlete was also delighted to be part of the inaugural C1 event at the trophy: “It’s the first time canoeing has been included here and I’m happy to have been one of the pioneers. It’s been a really great experience and hopefully I can come back next year.”

British World medallist Emily Lewis claimed victory in the Women’s Elite K1 and highlighted both the setting at Parc de la Mar and the characteristics of a course that requires athletes to deal with different situations in a very short space of time.

“It was great. I’m very happy with the victory and competing here, in such a beautiful setting, was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. It’s very exciting because the race has many different elements. There’s the start, the turn, and then you have to make sure you save enough energy to finish strongly. I had a lot of fun,” Lewis said.

The day had begun in the morning with the qualifying races in the Open class, which determined the final members of the eight teams competing in the Elite event. Slovenia’s Anja Apollonio and Mallorca’s Lluc Matas won their respective categories.

The programme continued with the Balearic Autumn Cup for Young Promising Athletes, organised by the Balearic Canoeing Federation. Pep Alemany Cirer, from Club de Vela Port d’Andratx, won the Men’s Cadet K1; Theo Wolff Curetti, from Club Nàutic Portitxol, took the Junior title; and Felipe Aita Fontenla, from CN Santa Eulària des Riu, won the Infantil category. In the women’s events, the winners were Ariadna Jaume Munar, from RCNP, in Cadet; Paula Pericas Rigo, from RCN Portopetro, in Junior; and Júlia Roselló Mayne, from CN Sant Antoni, in Infantil.

One of the most special moments came with the Fantasy class, designed to allow eight young paddlers, four boys and four girls, to team up with top-level international athletes. Carlos Arévalo, João Ribeiro, Messias Baptista, Álex Graneri, Sara Ouzande, Emily Lewis, Katrine Jensen and Daniela García shared boats with the young competitors in a format that brought international champions and medallists together on the same course with emerging talents from Balearic canoeing.

Denmark’s Katrine Jensen and RCNP cadet Ariadna Jaume claimed the women’s victory, while Álex Graneri and Nacho Amenós, an Infantil paddler from the host club, won the men’s competition.

RCNP coach and trophy coordinator Carlos Borrás described the third edition as a “great success”, placing particular emphasis on the public response.

“It has been the edition with the largest crowd and the greatest atmosphere since we launched this project three years ago together with Palma City Council. This shows us that the event is now firmly established both from a sporting and organisational perspective,” he said.

Borrás also highlighted the conditions that allowed the entire programme to go ahead as planned.

“The weather was on our side. We had a magnificent day in every respect and I think the athletes really enjoyed it. What they tell me is that they love coming to Mallorca and competing in this spectacular and unique setting,” he said.

The trophy coordinator is already looking ahead to the future: “The Ciutat de Palma is here to stay, and we are already thinking about next year’s edition.”

The ABANCA Ciutat de Palma Canoeing Trophy is organised by the RCNP with the support of Palma City Council and the collaboration of Paddle Games and Nelo Kayaks, as well as the Spanish and Balearic canoeing federations.