Hamish Lovemore paddles his way to a silver medal at Canoe Sprint World Cup
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa's Hamish Lovemore narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Cup in Szeged on Saturday.
Lovemore was pipped to the gold medal by Hungary's Bálint Kopasz, taking the silver medal in the men's K1 1,000m final.
The 25-year-old pushed Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Kopasz the entire way.
The top-class field featured six of the eight Olympic finalists, including Paris 2024 champion Josef Dostal of Czechia.
Kopasz won gold in 3:29.65, edging Lovemore, who took silver in 3:29.82, while a late surge from Dostal saw the Czech seal bronze in 3:32.10.
A marathon specialist, Lovemore competed in the K1 1,000m and K2 500m at the Paris Olympics.
The 25-year-old is a canoe marathon world champion from 2022 and has an U23 world bronze medal in the canoe sprint. He's also the 2024 KwaZulu-Natal Sport Awards Sportsman of the Year.
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