Andorran Mònica Doria Claims Bronze in Women's Kayak at World Cup Finals
Mònica Doria earned bronze for Andorra in the women's kayak slalom final despite a penalty, topping semis and finishing strongly 2.67 seconds off gold. Young Andorrans debuted at the La Seu d'Urgell event.
Key Points
- Doria took bronze in women's kayak cross final, behind UK's Kimberley Woods (gold) and Czech Tereza Kneblová (silver).
- She earned prior bronze in K1 kayak slalom (96.44s with penalty) and placed 4th in canoe.
- Advanced through heats, repechage, quarters, and semis in kayak cross at Parc Olímpic del Segre.
- Marks her 8th World Cup medal, boosting 2028 Olympics ranking points.
Andorran paddler Mònica Doria claimed her second bronze medal of the Canoe Slalom World Cup Finals at Parc Olímpic del Segre in La Seu d'Urgell, taking third place in the women's kayak cross on Sunday.
Doria, competing for the Andorran Canoe and Kayak Federation and Cadí CK, started the kayak cross with a third-place finish in her opening heat behind Germany's Andrea Herzog and Spain's Miren Lazkano. She advanced through repechage by winning ahead of Switzerland's Svenja Matti, Japan's Mine Onozawa and Argentina's Sofía Reinoso. From there, she secured victories in the second round over Czech Katerina Bekova, Poland's Dominika Brzeska and Australia's Noemie Fox; the quarterfinals against France's Marjorie Delassus, Germany's Annkatrin Plochmann and Bekova; and the semifinals ahead of France's Camille Prigent, Germany's Ricarda Funk and Delassus. In the final, Britain's Kimberley Woods won gold ahead of Czech Tereza Kneblová in silver, with Doria completing the podium in bronze and Prigent in fourth.
The result capped a strong showing for Doria, who had earned bronze in kayak slalom (K1) on Friday with a time of 96.44 seconds despite a two-second penalty at gate 16, after topping semifinals in 94.93 following 11th in heats. She briefly led that final ahead of gold medallist Australia's Jessica Fox (93.77) and Prigent (94.49), with Spain's Maialen Chourraut at 99.36. On Saturday, Doria placed fourth in canoe, posting the fastest eliminator time of 100.64 seconds to reach semifinals in 10th, then finishing 1.03 seconds behind Brazil's Ana Satila for gold and 0.24 seconds off bronze.
The two medals over three days across kayak slalom, canoe and kayak cross—disciplines she knows well on the familiar Segre course—highlighted her versatility and kept her among the top international competitors while adding ranking points toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This marked her eighth World Cup medal overall.
Debutants Ona Perelegre and Nil Checa also represented Andorra. Perelegre, in her first senior World Cup season, exited kayak cross repechage after Thursday heats and placed 46th in canoe eliminators. Checa finished 41st in men's kayak heats and left in repechage.
Related Articles
Other articles from Catalan-language sources about the same story:
- Diari d'Andorra•
Mònica Doria marxa de la Seu amb un segon bronze
- Bon Dia•
Profeta a casa seva
- Altaveu•
Doria torna a pujar al podi a casa amb un bronze en caiac cros
- Diari d'Andorra•
Dòria suma un altre bronze a la Seu
- Diari d'Andorra•
Mònica Doria acaba quarta en canoa i frega el doblet a la Seu
- Altaveu•
Doria frega el doblet a la Seu amb un quart lloc en canoa
- Diari d'Andorra•
Mònica Doria es penja el bronze a la Copa del Món de la Seu
- Altaveu•
Mònica Doria puja al podi a la Seu amb un bronze en caiac
- El Periòdic•
Mònica Doria es penja el bronze al caiac de la Seu d’Urgell i suma així la seva setena medalla en una Copa del Món