Tiraspol, June 4. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. The European Championship in rowing and canoeing started yesterday on the Malta rowing canal in Poznan (Poland). On the second day of the competition, a trainee of the Pridnestrovian sports Vladislav Chebotar won a gold medal, according to the website of the State Service for Sports of the PMR.
More than 700 athletes from 33 European countries came to the championship. They will compete for medals at distances of 200, 500, 1,000 meters in single boats, in pairs and fours, as well as a marathon five-kilometer distance in kayaks and single canoes.
Vladislav Chebotar in the crew with his long-term and familiar partner Viktor Melantyev has succeeded in the canoe-pairs competition at the 500-meter distance. After a rather mediocre performance in the first race, they still managed to clear the preliminary barrier and got the right to compete in the semifinals. Here the Russian boat finished first, which gave the athletes self-confidence.
The final race demanded to do their best from Vladislav and Viktor. The struggle was very stubborn and tense. Five boats claimed victory. Ultimately, all these five were divided by a distance of less than one second in the final protocol.
The Russian crew managed to outstrip their nemesis from Germany by seven hundredths of a second and the Ukrainian crew by three-tenths of a second. And as a result, the gold medal became a worthy award for Vladislav Chebotar and Viktor Melantyev.
The European Championship, which is, in fact, the last major international start before the XXXII Summer Olympic Games, will end on June 6. And then the world's best rowers will meet at the Olympic Rowing Canal in Tokyo.
