The 2nd Balearic Sprint Cup tests kayakers ahead of the national championship.

Paddlers from various nautical clubs across the Balearic Islands gathered this weekend at Lake Esperanza in Alcudia to compete in the 2nd Balearic Sprint Canoeing Cup.

Thanks to favorable weather conditions and the excellent state of the course, this final Balearic Sprint Cup served as a valuable test ahead of the 2nd Spanish Olympic Sprint Cup, which will take place at the Pontillón de Castro reservoir in Verducido (Pontevedra) on May 24 and 25.

The Club Nàutic Sant Antoni attended with a total of seven Junior paddlers (four boys and three girls) and two U23 paddlers. The CNSA athletes returned home with an impressive haul of eight medals: three gold, three silver, and two bronze.

Two of the gold medals were earned by Noel López in Men’s Junior K1 200 m and 500 m, and the third went to the K2 team of Raúl Prendes and Álvaro Rubio (Men’s Junior 500 m). Raúl Prendes also took home two silver medals in Men’s Junior K1 200 m and 500 m, with the third silver awarded to Facundo González and Noel López (Men’s Junior K2 500 m). The bronze medals went to Alexander Manzanares (Men’s U23 K1 200 m) and María Gallego–Valentina Rodríguez (Women’s Junior K2 500 m).

From Club de Vela Puerto de Andratx, only one paddler participated this time, María Reus Arola, who finished fourth in the A final of the Women’s U23 K1 500 m.

Representing Club Marítimo de Mahón individually, in the Women’s Junior 200 m, Djamila López placed third, first in her age group. Ana Carreras came fourth, while in the 500 m, Djamila was fourth and Ana fifth. In the K2 500 m, the Mahón team placed second.

In the senior category, Dion López claimed second place, followed by Isma Fuentes in third and Joan Catchot in fifth in the day’s closest race. In the 500 m, Dion held onto second place, while Isma and Joan finished fourth and sixth, respectively. In the K2, Vinca Escandell and Dion López gave up first place for the first time in a long while, settling for second, while Joan Catchot and Alexis Capdevila stepped up and finished a solid fourth.

The U23 category featured only four participants but stood out for the very high level of competition between Alma Rabinerson and Claudia Vidal from Club Marítimo de Mahón and two athletes from the Centre de Tecnificació. One of the Mallorcan paddlers, who also competes internationally for Spain, took the win in the 200 m, with Alma finishing second and Claudia third. In the 500 m, both Minorcan paddlers pushed hard, but the Mallorcan pulled ahead in the final stretch to win again.

In the Men’s Junior 200 m category, Álvaro Iglesias and Pablo Espíldora reached the A final, finishing 8th and 9th, respectively. Federico Magliano, Facundo Suñer, and Ángel Vidal made it to the B final in the event with the highest participation. In the 500 m, Pablo’s seventh-place finish in the A final was the top result, while the rest competed in the B final. In the K2, Álvaro and Pablo finished fifth, while Ángel and Facundo came in sixth.