Lars Aaron Senoner confirms his connection to the world's elite.

Senoner confirms connection to the world's elite

At the U18 Canoe Slalom European Championships in Èpinal (France), Lars Aaron Senoner from SC Meran/Raika-Torggler underlined his strong form – even if it wasn't enough for a medal in the end.

August 09, 2026

From: pm

Seventh place in the canoe single was a form of redemption for him after finishing 20th in the kayak single the previous day, having missed the final after several mistakes and three gate touches. Senoner's results in the team events with the national team are as follows: fifth place in the canoe single and eighth place in the kayak single. In the individual competitions, Senoner finished 20th in the kayak single and seventh in the canoe single.

On the technically demanding course, Senoner delivered a near-flawless run in the canoe single semi-final, comfortably qualifying for the final in seventh place. There, he improved his semi-final time by another three seconds. However, two narrow gate touches, for which he incurred four penalty seconds, ultimately prevented him from reaching the podium and cost him the silver medal.

Despite missing out on a medal, Lars Aaron Senoner's conclusion is positive: “At this European Championship, I was able to confirm that I can compete with the world's best in the C1. Reaching the final was particularly important to me today and anything but easy. I paddled significantly faster in the final. Unfortunately, the two gate touches cost me the silver medal. Overall, however, I am very satisfied with how I fared in Épinal after my illness,” said Lars Aaron Senoner.

While Germany had achieved a one-two finish in the U18 kayak singles, the French U18 slalom canoeists struck back, also securing a one-two finish in the canoe singles. Leo Roye won ahead of Cyrian Menuat. Bronze went to the Czech Tomas Indruch. The three Italians finished in the top eight. Riccardo Pontarollo came in sixth, Lars Aaron Senoner seventh, and Dennis Fina eighth, all three incurring four penalty seconds for two gate touches in the final run.

Italy won three medals at the Canoe Slalom European Championships in Épinal. After Gabriele Grimandi won silver and Lucia Pistoni bronze in the U23 K1, Elena Micozzi paddled to a silver medal in the U23 C1 despite four penalty seconds, thanks to a strong performance.