2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
1
2
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K1M
CZ J. PRSKAVEC
PL M. POLACZYK
US M. SMOLEN
K1W
CZ K. KUDEJOVA
DE R. FUNK
DE M. PFEIFER
C1M
GB D. FLORENCE
SI B. SAVSEK
GB R. WESTLEY
C1W
AU J. FOX
CZ K. HOSKOVA
ES N. VILARRUBLA
C2
DE ANTON/BENZIEN
FR PICCO/BISO
FR KLAUSS/PECHE

Marathon

Hungary prove their power in youth marathon events‏

canoe kayak marathon 2014 icf world championships oklahoma usa results competition hungary sportscene

Richard Petit | ICF - Hungary, the paddling powerhouse dominated the opening day of action at the 2014 ICF Canoe Marathon Championships winning at least one medal in every race as the Junior and U23 events concluded in Oklahoma, USA.

The most convincing performance of the day was delivered in spectacular fashion by the up-and-coming superstar from Hungary, Balazs Havas, he distanced himself by over two minutes from the chasing pack in the K1 Men U23 race.

Havas managed to break free of the group following a superb second portage. The courageous youngster continued to the finish line with a healthy lead, even managing to celebrate his victory with an appreciative crowd on his final portage.

Casper Pretzmann (DEN) was the best of the rest, pulling clear on the final portage, with Laszlo Solti (HUN) doing enough to secure bronze.

Juniors set the scene

Earlier, the junior events kicked off the championships with the K1 Men's race over 22.5 kilometres with five portages setting the scene for a superb day of racing.

Another Dane, Mads Brandt Petersen grabbed the day's first gold, crossing the finish line in front of athletes from the two dominant canoe marathon nations, Hungary and South Africa.

The 18-year-old was jubilant at the finish after making a significant jump in standings from his eighth place finish on his home course in Copenhagen in 2013 at the World Championships.

canoe kayak marathon 2014 icf world championships oklahoma usa results competition hungary sportscene

Antal Vidakovich (Silver, HUN) and Louis Hattingh (Bronze, RSA) pushed the Dane right to the line with less than a boats length splitting the three rising stars.

Takacs cleared self-made hurdles

Tamara Takacs (HUN), an athlete who has been touted as the next Renã Csay, had an indifferent defence of her title.

First, the 18-year-old clearly hadn't read the race handbook and mistakingly portaged on the first lap providing her main rivals the upper hand, they seized the opportunity and powered on without hesitation.

Next, there was an uncharacteristic spill from the Hungarian who fell in on a scheduled portage when embarking, costing her more time.

Despite these mishaps, the talented youngster recovered to cross the finish line 14-seconds ahead of her main rival, Elisabetta Maffioli (ITA).

Takacs' teammate, Lili Katona took bronze.

Teammates added to silverware

Not to be outdone, the Hungarian C1 Junior Men added further to their nations medal haul as Levente Gellert Balla and Bence Balazs Dori managed a one-two. They were followed by the duo from Spain, Angel Esteban Ortega and Damiã N Gonzalez Quintans.

The first two U23 gold medals also went the way of the Hungarian's, as Vanda Kiszli won the K1 U23 Women's race and Kristof Szabo the C1 U23 Men's event.

Links

Day 1 2014 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championship Medal Winners

K1 Men U23

  1. Balazs Havas (HUN)
  2. Casper Pretzmann (DEN)
  3. Laszlo Solti (HUN)

K1 Women U23

  1. Vanda Kiszli (HUN)
  2. Samatha Rees-Clark (GBR)
  3. Jenna Ward (RSA)

C1 Men U23

  1. Kristof Szabo (HUN)
  2. Adam Docze (HUN)
  3. RUI Lacerda (POR)

K1 Men Juniors

  1. Mads Brandt Petersen (DEN)
  2. Antal Vidakovich (HUN)
  3. Louis Hattingh (RSA)

K1 Women Junior

  1. Tamara Takacs (HUN)
  2. Elisabetta maffioli (ITA)
  3. Lili Katona (HUN)

C1 Men Junior

  1. Levente Gellert Balla (HUN)
  2. Bence Balazs Dori (HUN)
  3. Angel Esteban Ortega (ESP)

Photographers: Carolyn Cooper, Balint Vekassy