The battle for national selection for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris continues to escalate: the canoe sprint stars are coming together for a training camp in Portugal. Leading rowers from countries such as Hungary, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine take advantage of the excellent conditions on Montebelo Agueira. Boat manufacturer Nelo, the gold partner of the International Canoe Federation, hosts teams at its training center. Since the countries have not yet decided who will represent them at the 2024 Paris Games, the rowers are trying their best to attract the selection participants to their side. Among the athletes present this week was a six-time Olympic champion. Danuta Kozak from Hungary, who plans to take part in his sixth Games. Other Olympic medalists and world champions present include the Polish two—piece Karolina Naya and Anna Pulawska and Portugal's Fernando Pimenta. Pimenta, a two-time Olympic medalist, said it was great to see some of the world's biggest names cheer up in training -"This is a very important time for us. We have all the opportunities to train in a great place and with great athletes. I try to enjoy every day and work to the limit. Sometimes we get tired and sick, but we need to do our best every day. You can see that many countries train here together, and this is very good for us, because we are very competitive and want to be in the best shape." Tom Liebscher-Lutz, a member of the German team that won the K4 1000 gold in Rio 2016 and the K4 500 gold in Tokyo 2020, also increased the pace of training with his teammates - "The training camp is very important because it is the last before our national qualification in April. We come here to Portugal when the sun is shining and the wind is less, so this is one of the best places to row, and we really focus on everything: technique, strength and mental health. First, I need to qualify for the national team in April, and then the next step is to qualify for the Olympic Games. Andre Santos, CEO of Nelo, said he was pleased to offer a training base for athletes in preparation for Paris 2024. This is something we have been working on for almost 20 years. We want people to come to Portugal to raise the level of sports and show the country to all other countries. We have managed to create a professional structure that has become a benchmark for other places around the world. We offer professional services, providing teams from countries that do not have their own facility with access to first-class training equipment. From the point of view of boat development, it is also very important to have athletes here, because we can get instant feedback and get a barometer of what is good and what is not, and find out why."