Stanilia Stamenova has got off to a flying start to the new season in Portugal

Stanilia Stamenova has got the new season off to a flying start. The 2015 World Champion from Milan has qualified for the final of the 200-metre canoe event at the World Cup in Portugal. The Bulgarian left her rivals trailing in her heat, finishing in a time of 52.848 seconds. Staniliya finished 0.372 thousandths of a second ahead of second-placed Katie Reid from Great Britain. The third to qualify directly for Sunday’s final was Karen Rocco from Chile. She finished one and a half seconds behind Stamenova.

Bulgaria’s top canoeist, Stanilia Stanimova, finished fifth in the opening event of the new World Cup season in Portugal.

Stanilia finished the final in a time of 49.057 seconds. This secured her fifth place in the final standings. Virág Bala from Hungary won the gold medal with a time of 46.862 seconds. Another Hungarian, Kinsó Takács, took silver with a time of 47.004 seconds. The bronze went to Lyudmila Luzan of Ukraine with a time of 48.143 seconds.

For Staniliya, the main priority this season is the European Canoe-Kayak Championships in Plovdiv for men and women (14–16 July). As well as the World Championships for men and women in the Czech Republic (23–27 August).