Spain conquers the European long-distance events: gold for Paula Rodríguez and four medals on an unforgettable day

ODYTA Summary

At the 2026 European Speed Skating Championships in Cardano al Campo, Spain won four medals in the long-distance events. In the Youth women's 5,000-meter points race, Emilia Rangel Silva took silver with 30 points, one point behind French champion Noa Viaux. Greta Arriezu finished fifth and Uxue Cruz Paladella ninth. In the Youth men's 5,000-meter points race, Adrià Fernández Torres earned bronze with 27 points, two points behind Italian champion Daniele Pennavaria. Adrián Portilla was sixth and Yoel Álvarez ninth. Paula Rodríguez Udi became European champion in the Junior women's 10,000-meter points race, scoring 24 points to edge Czech skater Veronika Dykastova by one point. Carla Plana Olivares took bronze with 22 points, giving Spain a double podium. In the Junior men's 10,000-meter points race, Raúl Couto Aradas finished fourth, one point short of bronze; the gold went to Italy's Giorgio Ghiso Erba, followed by France's Johan Poildessous and Germany's Lorenz Müller. Marc Sales placed eleventh. In the senior 15,000-meter elimination races, Belgium's Bart Swings won the men's title ahead of France's Victor Aerts and Portugal's Miguel Bravo. Spain's Manuel Taibo González finished sixth, Adrián Alonso tenth, and Patxi Peula sixteenth. In the women's final, Czech skater Katerina Kainova won, with France's Alison Bernard and Italy's Melissa Gatti completing the podium; Ona Rodríguez and Aura Quintana represented Spain. The article concludes that Spain's long-distance program showed present strength, future promise, and competitive heart.