<![CDATA[ Portugueses avançam todos para meias-finais dos 200 e 500 metros nos Mundiais de canoagem ]]>

The four Portuguese crews that competed this Thursday in the 200 and 500 meter heats of the Canoeing World Championships in Milan advanced to the semi-finals, with the World Champions João Ribeiro and Messias Baptista standing out.

The Portuguese duo, who are defending the K2 500 meter title they won in 2023 in Duisburg, Germany, achieved the best time of the five heats, in 1:28.10 minutes.

Along with Gustavo Santos and Pedro Casinha, debutants in absolute world championships, João Ribeiro and Messias Baptista are part of the K4 500 meters team that won the European championship in June and will compete in the final on Friday.

In a saving mode for Friday, when his K1 1,000 meters semi-final brings together the four strongest in Europe in 2025, Pimenta had a relaxed elimination in the 500 meters.

Fernando Pimenta took 1:41.36 minutes to finish second in the 500 meters, a distance in which he won bronze two years ago, 89 hundredths of a second behind Russian Maxim Spesivtsev, competing under a neutral flag.

On her 21st birthday, Beatriz Fernandes won her C1 200 meter heat, finishing in 47.33 seconds, beating Hungarian Kincso Takacs, second, by 36 hundredths.

Also with nothing to conquer, other than progressing to the semi-finals, Teresa Portela was second in K1 200, in 41.40 seconds, 38 hundredths behind the Polish Júlia Olszewska.

This afternoon the National Team has four semi-finals, decisive in qualifying for the coveted medal races, reserved only for the first three in each event.

Iago Bebiano, in K1 200 meters, Beatriz Fernandes and Inês Penetra, in C2 500, and Alex Santos, in the adapted KL1 class, are, in theory, the best positioned to be successful.

Greater difficulties for Teresa Portela, Ana Brito, Ana Rodrigues and Inês Costa in the K4 500 meters, which was only formed in May and which debuted at the European Championships with 10th place.

The Milan World Championships bring together around 800 canoeists from 73 countries.