Spanish Marathon trials decided the team to compete at the Europeans in Portugal

David Rodriguez Dorado and Jorge Alonso will compete along with Emilio Merchán and Iván Alonso in the K2 Spanish Senior team for the European Marathon Championships to be held in Portugal in the first week of June. Meanwhile, Emilio Merchán will also join his K2 partner Iván Alonso in the K1.

After the selective trials held this weekend in Zamora, due to cancellation of Spanish Cup last April, which had toe served as a selection test, some of the best Spanish marathon paddlers competed for the remaining sopots in the team. Remember that the world champions of the past 2012 in Rome and the square had acquired the spot in property, so Iván Alonso, both in K1 and K2 with Merchán, Eva Barrios in the Women Senior K1 (due to her change of category this year), Antonio Campos in Senior C1 and the C2 couple Graña-Ferro left just one spot in play at these trials.

In the K1 race, 5 contestants which formed a compact group: Emilio Merchán, Xabier Ruiz de Aretxabaleta, David R. Dorado and Borja Estomba did the full marathon together, while Vicente Tortajada could not complete it. The victory went to Merchán in a close sprint against Aretxabaleta, who was again just one second away from the national team, as it happened two weeks ago in the 5,000 meters. A true pity for the brave paddler from San Sebastián, who surely will keep on trying. Just a few seconds behind, David R. Dorado got the third place over Borja Estomba.


The next day, on K2, also a single place available for 7 applicant couples who were finally five at the arrival, as different problems forced the withdrawal of Ruiz de Aretxabaleta-Estomba and Tortajada pairing with Alejandro Sánchez. After a whole marathon in group, finally in the last portage double world champions Walter Bouzán and Álvaro F. Fiuza pushed away together with the new pair of Dorado and J. Alonso, coming both to a sprint where Dorado and Alonso took the lead and earned a victory and the spot for the European Champs, leaving out the favorites. Twenty seconds behind the remaining trio arrived in a close sprint where Julio Moreno and Juan Antonio Valle claimed third position over del Teso brothers and Pedro Gutiérrez and Luis Amado Pérez.

It's a tough moment for Bouzán and Fiuza, that after three consecutive years of European and World champinships in a row taking gold or silver, they are now for the first time outside of an international competition. This year has been difficult for both and different changes in planning during the season have done that they couldn't manage to train much together. Álvaro Fiuza, in fact, announced yesterday through his website that they will give everything during the remaining season to try to get the most possible titles, but it will be his last year in high competition, while Bouzán aims to focus more on the surfski.

In the U23 K1, Guillermo Fidalgo took the win and will be in Portugal with Alejandro Sánchez, who eventually left out of the national team, in a tight sprint, Luis Amado Pérez.

In Women Senior K1 victory for María Soria, who will be accompanying Eva Barrios, while those qualified K2 are Raquel Carbajo and Nuria Villacé (girls who both also got the two U23 K1 spots) and Eukene Sáez and Olatz Zabala . In C1 U23, the spots went to current world bronze medalist Alan Ávila and Carlos Vega, who also got the remaining spot in the Senior C2 together as a crew. The spot available in the Senior C1 was for former U23 world champion Manuel Garrido.

All the results, including those of juniors, can be checked at this link.