Teddington-based Royal Canoe Club paddler, Dianora De Bilio, has been crowned European Champion after a week of racing at the 2026 European Canoe Marathon Championships in Pitești, Romania.

The junior athlete returned home with both a gold and silver medal, cementing her status as one of Great Britain's brightest young paddlers.

Representing Great Britain against the continent's best junior paddlers, De Bilio first claimed silver in the K1 Junior Women's Short Course before producing a career-defining performance to secure gold in the K1 Junior Women's marathon race.

Her success contributed significantly to Great Britain's fifth place finish on the overall medal table and record-equalling haul of seven official championship medals.

Teddington-based Royal Canoe Club paddler, Dianora De Bilio, has been crowned European Champion (Credit: Paddle UK)

Canoe marathon is one of the most demanding disciplines in paddle sports, combining endurance, speed, tactics and technical skill.

Athletes race over long distances, often exceeding 20 kilometres, while repeatedly carrying their boats around portages before re-entering the water.

The 2026 Championships provided an additional challenge, with temperatures regularly reaching 35°C throughout the week and forcing athletes to carefully manage the extreme conditions.

advertisement

De Bilio began her campaign in the K1 Junior Women's Short Course, a fast and intense 3.6km event featuring multiple portages.

After Denmark's Anderson broke away early, De Bilio produced a determined performance to secure second place and claim the silver medal, comfortably holding off the chasing pack in the closing stages.

After the race, she said: "It was definitely tough. I struggled with transitioning between the paddling and the running but I did my best and I look forward to tomorrow's long course race."

She added: "I was doing my best to run faster when Anderson broke away as it was on the portage.

I reckon I could have pushed more once I got back on the water, but once again that transition is so hard."

Just two days later, De Bilio returned for the 19km Junior Women's marathon race and delivered one of the standout British performances of the entire Championships.

After remaining in contention throughout a tactical race, she used her strong portaging ability before producing a dominant sprint finish to secure the European title.

Dianora De Bilio is a Royal Canoe Club paddler from Teddington (Credit: Paddle UK)

advertisement

A decisive moment came on the portages, where De Bilio repeatedly gained ground on her rivals.

She said: "As each portage went on, I realised that I can run pretty well and I was happy to linger back a bit."

The race ultimately came down to a sprint finish between five paddlers, but De Bilio showed remarkable confidence and composure to pull away from her rivals and claim gold.

Reflecting on the final metres, she said: "I felt pretty good, I felt I could give more if I needed to give more."

The gold medal added to an increasingly impressive international record for the young paddler, who had already enjoyed success at World Championship level last year where she claimed a bronze medal.

With a European title and silver medal secured in Romania, De Bilio leaves the Championships as one of Great Britain's most exciting young talents.

The 17-year-old Royal Canoe Club paddler still has another year remaining in the junior category, meaning her gold medal performance may be just the beginning of what promises to be a bright international career.

She now turns her attention to the Junior and Under-23 Sprint World Championships in Halifax, Canada taking place towards the end of this week.

advertisement