Joana Vasconcelos

An Olympic veteran and gold medalist in the European Championships, Joana Vasconcelos is a Portuguese sprint canoeist who has been a force in international canoeing competitions for over ten years.

Born in 1991, Vasconcelos first began canoeing in 2005. Her breakthrough came in 2009 when she won gold in the K1 1000 metre at the International Canoe Federation Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships. In 2012, she made her Olympic debut in London, participating in both the K2 500 metre and K4 500 metre, respectably finishing sixth in both competitions. She continued her success at the 2012 European Championships, winning bronze in the K2 200 metre, and returned to the U23 World Championships in 2013 to take silver in the K1 200 metre. Alongside her teammate Beatriz Gomes, Vasconcelos was named Portuguese Team of the Year in 2013 following her memorable season.

Vasconcelos has continued to appear in multiple ICF events annually. She had a particularly memorable year in 2017, winning two silver medals at World Cup 1 in her home country of Portugal. Less than a month later, she participated in World Cup 3 in Serbia and took gold in the K2 200M, and then won another gold in the K4 500M at the World Championships later that year. A member of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Vasconcelos is one of her country’s finest female athletes and shows no signs of slowing down.