Athlete of the week

The canoeist Cătălin Chirilă

Florin Orban, 24.06.2025, 13:45

For several years, the medals in major canoe 500m and 1000m single competitions have been split between three athletes: the Czech Martin Fuksa, Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi and the Romanian Cătălin Chirilă. At the Paris Olympics last year, in the 1000m event, the only one on the Olympic calendar, Fuksa prevailed. Isaquias Queiroz (Brazil) took home the silver, and Moldova’s Tarnovschi the bronze. Cătălin Chirilă failed to qualify for the final, as he only ranked 5th in the first semifinal after breaking the Olympic record in the heats.

After the Olympic Games, the World Championships for non-Olympic events took place at the end of August in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In the 500m race, Tarnovschi won, Fuksa got the silver, and Chirilă had to settle for the bronze.

But very recently Cătălin Chirilă made a strong comeback: at the European Championships in Račice, the Czech Republic, he won the final of the Olympic canoe single 1000m event, which is why Radio Romania International has nominated him for the Athlete of the Week.

Chirilă’s victory in Račice was no walk in the park. After a better start for Martin Fuksa, Chirilă recovered and took the lead. It seemed that he would win easily, but the Czech made a spectacular comeback and caught up with him in the last meters. Chirilă won by the skin of his teeth, timed at 3.46.781 minutes, with Martin Fuksa at 3.46.838. Moldova’s Serghei Tarnovschi was also on the podium, more than 2 seconds behind the two.

Fuksa got his payback when he won the 500m event, in which he was followed by Tarnovschi, while Chirilă only got the bronze. However, Chirilă remains the only Romanian medallist in Račice and our greatest hope for the World Championships scheduled in Italy, at the end of August.

Cătălin Chirilă was born in Tulcea, on May 11, 1998. He is affiliated to the Steaua Bucharest Army Sports Club. His first international performances were in double canoeing, alongside the veteran Victor Mihalachi. The two won gold medals at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus, in the 1000 meters, then bronze 2 years later at the European Championships in Poznan, Poland, in the same event. At the Tokyo Olympics, Chirilă / Mihalachi came in 5th place. Since 2022, Cătălin Chirilă has been competing in singles events. (AMP)