Taekwondo leads the Spanish harvest of gold at the European Games

The Spanish team adds eight medals in Malopolska and another golden metal in Silesia, during the European Athletics Team Championship

MADRID, 23 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish delegation starred this Friday in another brilliant day at the European Games, which are being held in Krakow-Malopolska (Poland), adding three bronze medals and five gold with the impetus of the taekwondo champions Hugo Arillo, Adriana Cerezo and Adrián Vicente , along with another golden metal achieved in Silesia during the European Athletics Team Championship.

That great vintage for Spain began in flatwater canoeing thanks to the gold medal in the men’s K4 500m. Carlos Arévalo, Rodrigo Germade, Saúl Craviotto and Marcus Cooper Walz clinched the title by winning the final with a time of 1:19.964. The Ukrainian boat took the silver, with 1:20,500, and Serbia the bronze, with 1:20,800.

Next, Pablo Graña obtained bronze in the C1 200m test with a time of 39.852; the Lithuanian Henrikas Zustautas was proclaimed champion with a time of 39.700 and the Georgian Zaza Nadiradze took the silver finishing the final regatta in 39.796.

Without leaving the Kryspinow Waterway channel, located in the town of Budzyn, María Corbera also achieved bronze in the C1 200m according to her time in 47.441; Poland’s Dorota Borowska took gold in 46.653 and Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan was runner-up with a time of 46.937.

The next Spanish medal was won by María Torres, on the tatami of the Bielsko-Biala Arena. In kumite +68 kg, the karate fighter from Malaga began by beating Farida Aliyeva from Azerbaijan (4-2) and then Lucija Lesjak from Croatia (0-2). She then fell to the Italian Clio Ferracuti (5-2) to close Group A, but agreed to the semifinals; she there she hung the bronze after losing to the German Johanna Kneer (2-7).

Later, the Spanish artistic swimming team shined again in the technical routine. Cristina Arámbula, Berta Ferreras, Marina García Polo, Meritxell Mas, Paula Ramírez, Sara Saldaña, Blanca Toledano, Alisa Ozhogina and Iris Tió prevailed in the final with 278.4066 points; Italy was silver (249.1145) and France, bronze (242.6716).

To close the lustrous day, taekwondo awarded three golds. Having left the Greek Konstantinos Dimitropoulos (10-8, 0-6 and 8-1), the Dutch Milan Molle (7-2 and 12-9) and the Italian Andrea Conti (8-8, 7-0 and 8-4), Hugo Arillo was proclaimed champion in -54 kg beating Azerbaijani Sayyad Dadashov in the final (3-0, 3-11 and 9-7).

Meanwhile, Adriana Cerezo in -49 kg first beat the Italian Virginia Maestro (14-2 and 18-6) and then the Israeli Abishag Semberg (7-4 and 15-1). And in the final, the one who was Olympic runner-up in Tokyo 2020 added this gold to her record after defeating the Turkish Merve Dincel (3-7, 8-5 and 10-9).

The icing on the cake was the work of Adrián Vicente in -58 kg, successively eliminating the Israeli Dmitriy Nagaev (20-10 and 13-1), the Azerbaijani Gashim Magomedov (14-11 and 10-6) and the French Cyrian Ravet (9-1 , 7-9 and 8-5), until winning the gold medal, beating Irishman Jack Woolley in the exciting final (11-13, 5-3 and 14-11).

At the moment, Spain leads the medal table of these European Games with 18 medals, at a rate of nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes. In the computation of this event, the gold won by the athlete Daniel Arce in the 3,000 meter hurdles race of the European Team Championship that takes place in Chórzow, Silesia region, is included.