Second European Games in Belarus

Belarus victorious in Women’s K2 500m at European Games in Minsk

MINSK, 26 June (BelTA) – Belarusian Volha Khudzenka and Maryna Litvinchuk won the gold medal in the Women’s K2 500m at the 2nd European Games, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusians, who have long been performing together, were off to a speedy start from the first meters of the race at the Zaslavl regatta course, took the lead and held on to it till the finish line.

Winning time was 1:40.888. Silver went to well-experienced Anna Karasz and Danuta Kozak from Hungary, bronze to Russia’s Kira Stepanova and Anastasia Panchenko.

This season the Belarusian team of Volha Khudzenka and Maryna Litvinchuk are among the leaders of the season as they won gold in the K2 500m at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World-Cup in Poznan.

Litvinchuk and Khudzenka: The European Games are featuring the strongest athletes

MINSK, 26 June (BelTA) - Belarusian Volha Khudzenka and Maryna Litvinchuk, the Women’s K2 500m champions of the 2nd European Games, praised the level of the competitions as they spoke to the media on 26 June, BelTA has learned.

“The canoe sprint events in Minsk feature very strong athletes: Sebastian Brendel, Fernando Pimenta, Hungarians, Danuta Kozak, a five-time Olympic champion. The competition in Zaslavl these days is similar to the Olympic Games. The organization of the European Games matches and in some parts even better than many big international competitions,” Volha Khudzenka said.

The current season is going well for her and Maryna Litvinchuk, she said. “Ahead of the 2nd European Games we had again tried to compete together. We did not perform together for several years, since 2013. However, the World Cup in Poznan in May showed that we were on the right track. In Zaslavl, the side wind slightly hampered. We know how to cope with it. I will not disclose the secrets. The speed was great. We took the lead from the very first meters,” the athlete said.

“It was a great race. We have not watched the video yet. We beat the Hungarians. It is worth a lot to defeat Anna and Danuta, who have not lost a competition since 2015. We understand that at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged (Hungary), where athletes will compete for Olympic berths, our rivals will try to take revenge. We are also ready for it. We feel confidence, strength, as if we were born once again,” Maryna Litvinchuk said.

The canoe sprint competitions are underway as part of the 2nd European Games in Zaslavl Regatta Course.

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