Gábor Kucsera

Gábor Kucsera, born 27 August 1982 in Budapest, is a Hungarian flatwater canoer and current (2006) world and European champion.

Kucsera won titles consistently as he moved up through the age categories. In 2000 he was a gold medallist in the K2 kayak 1000m at the European Junior Championships in Boulogne, France. He then won a silver medal in the individual (K1) 1000m at the 2002 European under-23 championships in Zagreb, Croatia, despite the fact that many of his rivals were two years older. His first senior title came as a member of the Hungarian K4 crew which took the 2004 European Championship 500m gold at Poznań, Poland.

Despite this success he was ignored by the Hungarian Olympic selectors later that year. Instead he was again sent to the European under-23 championships. He won three gold medals, but, unhappy at his omission from the Olympic squad, Kucsera seriously considered giving up the sport.

However, 2005 proved to be a turning point. At the European championships he won silver with Roland Kökény in the K2 1000m and bronze with Zoltan Kammerer in the K2 500m. This was followed by victory in the 1000m (again with Kökény) at the World Championships in Zagreb. His performances through the season established him as the number 2 ranked kayak sprinter in Hungary.

2006 was to prove even better. Now partnering Zoltan Kammerer over both distances Kucsera won both European and world K2 titles. At the European championships in Račice, Czech Republic the pair won gold (1000m) and silver (500m) medals. At the World Championships, in Szeged, they won the 1000m final to give Kucsera his second consecutive world title. The following day they took the bronze medal in the 500m.

Kucsera is a member of the Honvéd-Domino in Budapest.