Cawthorn stuns rivals to claim European title

GREAT Britain's Rachel Cawthorn claimed the scalp of multiple world champion Katlin Kovacs as she stormed to victory in the women's K1 1000m at the European Canoeing Championships in Trasona, Spain.

BLONDE AMBITION: Rachel Cawthorn will go for her second gold at the European Canoeing Championships in the K1 500m final (Getty Images)

Cawthorn has been working hard on her starts in recent weeks and her training, under the watchful gaze of coach Miklos Simon, reaped dividends as she powered away and dictated the pace.

Germany's Franziska Weber and Poland Beata Mikolajczyk completed the podium - with Kovacs fourth - as Cawthorn crossed the line in 3.58.346.

"It feels really, really good, but I don't think it has quite sunk in yet," she said.  

"The plan was to go quite hard in the first half, see where everyone else was up to and then try to go flat out in the second half.

"With 300m to go I thought I was ahead, but kept thinking there was someone on the far side but it was just the TV camera boat going along side. 

"Then with 200m to go I thought to myself, 'I'm winning, I'm winning' but soon realised I needed to stay focused.  

"I couldn't believe that Kovacs wasn't there. I always felt I could do this and I had a lot of energy in me."

Cawthorn - who won double World Cup gold earlier this year to underline her form - is only the second British woman to win a European title, following Lucy Wainwright's 200m sprint gold two years ago. She will now go for a second medal in the K1 500m final.

Olympic champion Tim Brabants - who took time out after Beijing and only returned to training in February - was eighth in the men's K1 final as Germany's Max Hoff stormed to gold.