Ukrainian canoeist Liudmyla Luzan emerged as the star of the 2026 European Canoe Sprint Championships in Portugal, winning four gold medals and achieving the most successful European Championship performance of her career.
According to Suspilne Sport, Luzan capped off the tournament with two more victories on the final day of competition.
She first defended her European title in the women’s C1 500m event, finishing in 2:00.822 and beating Italy’s Olimpia Della Giustina by more than two seconds.
Later, Luzan teamed up with Anastasiia Rybachok to win gold in the women’s C2 500m race. The Ukrainian duo crossed the finish line in 2:00.787, finishing 1.72 seconds ahead of the Hungarian pair that took silver.
Earlier in the championships, Luzan had already claimed two gold medals in the 200m events, bringing her total to four golds at the tournament.
Overall, the Ukrainian athlete competed in five finals and won four European titles.
The performance marks the most successful European Championships of Luzan’s career. She now boasts eight European gold medals and 16 medals overall at the continental level.
Luzan is one of Ukraine’s most decorated canoeists and an Olympic silver medalist from the Tokyo Games, where she partnered with Anastasiia Rybachok in the women’s C2 event. Their partnership remains among the strongest in international canoe sprint competition.
