Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok finished first in the canoe double final at 500 meters at the 2026 European Championship in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal. The result of the Ukrainian tandem is 2:00.787 minutes. Hungarian athletes Agnes Kiss and Bianka Nagy fell short by 1.720 seconds, Spanish athletes Angels Moreno and Victoria Yarchevska — by 2.920 seconds.
Third shared gold — and once again in an Olympic discipline
Luzan and Rybachok became European champions in canoe doubles at 500 meters in 2021 and 2022. Montemor-o-Velho is their third victory in this event. The 500-meter distance in canoe doubles is an Olympic discipline, and it is here that the duet has the most experience: they are two-time Olympic silver medalists from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
The pair's return after a break proved sharp: Rybachok missed 2025 due to pregnancy and childbirth, while Luzan competed in doubles with Iryna Fedoriv. According to Suspilne Sport, in April 2026 the tandem reunited for the first time in over a year at the Ukraine Cup in Uman — and immediately won.
For Luzan, this is the fourth gold at a single tournament
Gold in canoe doubles at 500 meters became Liudmyla Luzan's fourth at this European Championship. Previously, she won in canoe singles at 200m, together with Rybachok — in canoe doubles at 200m, and then — in singles at 500m with a record result. According to football24.ua, the latter victory became Luzan's 15th medal at European Championships in her career and seventh gold of the continental championship.
«I feel strength in myself»
— Liudmyla Luzan before the start of EC-2026, Suspilne Sport
What does this victory give beyond the podium
According to Glavkom, thanks to gold in the Olympic discipline, Ukraine received maximum 1000 points toward the Olympic rating and secured its place in the top eight — the threshold that provides a direct ticket to the next Games.
- Canoe doubles, 500m — EC-2026 final: Luzan / Rybachok (Ukraine) — 2:00.787
- Kiss / Nagy (Hungary) — +1.720 s
- Moreno / Yarchevska (Spain) — +2.920 s
Spanish athletes Moreno and Yarchevska, who were European champions at 200 meters in 2025, this time finished third — and it is they, together with the Hungarian athletes, who will remain the main rivals of the Ukrainian duet on the path to the 2028 Olympics.
If Rybachok maintains her current form after a two-year break, and Luzan continues to compete without declining results, the question is not whether they will make it to Los Angeles — but whether they will finally be able to trade Olympic silver for gold.
