Hungary: three golds in first day of canoe finals

Host nation Hungary took three of the eight gold medals up for grabs in the first day of finals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships taking place at the National Olympic Center canoeing and rowing course in Szeged, SE Hungary.

Host nation Hungary dominated the first day of finals at the Canoe Sprint World Championships with three gold and two silvers medals on Friday.

In women's kayak, Katalin Kovács won her 30th world title as a member of the Hungarian K4 team that defended its title.

The women's 1,000 K1 race that featured four competitors born in Hungary, was won by Tamara Csipes, the daughter of 1988 Olympic champion and eight-time world champion Ferenc Csipes.

Krisztina Fazekas Zur, now representing the United States, finished second. Other ex-Hungarians in the final were Alexandra Keresztesi paddling for Argentina and Zomilla Hegyi, now of Spain.

In the men's 1,000 single canoe, the reigning Olympic champion Attila Vajda of Hungary took the gold medal ahead of David Cal of Spain, the 2004 Olympic champion, pushing the defender of the world title, Uzbek Vadim Menkov to third place.

In the men's canoe four, Hungary came in very close third behind Romania with Belarus defending its title at the 1,000-meter race.

The other Hungarian bronze medal was won by the duo of Erika Medveczky and Alíz Sarudi in the women's double-kayak 1,000-meter event.