The 2013 Italian Canoe Slalom Championship will enter the history books; not only because it returned to the whitewater stadium in Mezzana, Val di Sole after a 7-year gap but also because the most anticipated titles were won by German-speaking athletes: Victories for Mayr and Horn, Molmenti missed out on the podium.

K1 was won by Lukas Mayr from Merano; in the same category the women's title was awarded to a German who has held an Italian passport since January, Stefani Horn.

The other surprising news was about Olympic Champion Daniele Molmenti who missed out on the podium in K1. It was such a technical competition that was dominated by Mayr, he finished ahead of Giovanni De Gennaro and Andrea Romeo.

However, Molmenti, from Pordenone, won another Gold in the team event with Giovanni De Gennaro and Diego Paolini – the 24th in his extraordinary career.

The other Italian titles awarded on the River Noce went to Luca Colazingari in C1, Stefano Cipressi and Andrea Bonetti in C2, Chiara Sabatini from Genoa in C1 Senior and Genoa’s Gruppo Canoa Quinto in the women's team race.

Going back to the most anticipated competition of the Italian calender, the top five ranked athletes all had times within 3 seconds of each other, thus demonstrating the technical level of K1 is increasing.

A member of the Italian Navy until last year and Silver at the 2012 U23 World Championships in Wisconsin, Mayr performed to the best of his ability on the 18-gate and 300m-long course, showing that his talent extends to natural courses. He ended his run in 1:35:89, Giovanni de Gennaro was only 12 hundredths down and Andrea Romeo by +1.74. Molmenti was over 2 seconds slowers, he made a few too many mistakes highlighting that his form is not the same that it was at the London’s Olympics.

It was redemption day in the C1 category for Roberto Colazingari from Subiaco in Lazio; in the qualification rounds he went two seconds better than his 2nd-placed navy rival and friend Stefano Cipressi, Pietro Camporesi was in 3rd losing 3 seconds.

In the women’s K1 competition, it wasn’t a stroll in the park like it was in the two qualification rounds for the twenty-two year old Stefanie Horn. Clara Giai Pron gave her a hard time right up to the last gate; defending Canoa Club Brescia's colours, the German-Italian closed the round with a time of 1:50:22, only 55 hundredths faster.

In the junior races, Raffaello Ivaldi affirmed his position in the men’s C1, Anita Fontana in the women’s C1, whilst in the men's doubles, Giacomo Desole and Alberto Querci were undispisputed winners.

The Italian Championship in Val di Sole will be remembered in a positive light, thanks to the dynamism of the staff coordinated by Luca Scaramella, who has received much praise, but also thanks to the commitment of the Italian Federation to schedule the event yearly, perhaps with the aim to organise the FISU World University Championships in 2016.

FLASH QUOTES

Lukas Mayr: “This result came unexpectedly, especially where I don't train with the same intensity as last year because I made the decision to leave the Italian Navy to complete my university studies. I prepared for this event locally and I completed a really fast round. I am very happy.”

Stefanie Horn: “This is my first Italian title and I sincerely hope that it won’t be the last one. This victory gives me confidence for the forthcoming World Championships in Prague, scheduled from the 11-15th September. In comparison to the qualification rounds, I had some difficulties between gates 13 to 15 in the Final, where I lost concentration and rhythm, but fortunately I was able to recover.”

Roberto Colazingari: “This was a much-needed victory, making up for the difficult season where, for different reasons, I wasn’t able to achieve the objectives that I had set; an injection of confidence after a season of 'persecution'. It was the first time I raced on the River Noce, a demanding course yet particularly enchanting that has allowed me to beat my friend and rival Stefano Cipressi.”

Daniele Molmenti: “Those who proceeded me today were better. This is the way canoeing is. I am happy that the winner was Mayr. It is a shame that he decided to temporarily abandon his professional career in order to continue studying. Perhaps after this result he might rethink. What concerns me is that after the Olympics I have not trained with the same frequency, during the final round I made a few mistakes that determined the final positions. Perhaps I should have arrived in Val di Sole a few days earlier to train on a natural course which is different from the artificial courses we generally go to. I am happy because the level in K1 is getting better and this will allow us all to improve further.”

Luca Scaramella (Chair of the Organizing Committee): “I am pleased for different reasons. Firstly for the positive outcome of the event, then for the praise received from the Federation and the participants, and of course for the statements made by local administrators including the Councillor of Trento Province Tourism, who have reiterated their support for future events. The aspect that gratifies me the most is having been able to form, once again, an enthusiastic team that cares about valuing the resource on the River Noce.”

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