Busy day on Friday in the Water Sports Centre Cunovo (Bratislava, Slovakia) that welcomes the fifth and final stage of the 2012 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup. More than 200 paddlers from 30 countries entered the competition this morning on one of the most demanding course ever paddled: it was indeed designed by nobody else but two-times C1 Olympic champion Michal MARTIKAN, who surprisingly decided to not participate to this World Cup final in front of his home crowd. Even more surprising, the Hochschorner brothers did not qualify for the semi-finals! Fortunately Slovakia is not short of elite paddlers and showed it once again today.

C1 Men were the first to go and Michal MARTIKAN, curious to see how his fellow C1 specialists would deal with the course he designed, surely did not miss a bit of it from the stands. He certainly liked what he saw as the best performers of the morning were his teammates Matej BENUS and Alexander SLAFKOVSKY. The latter looks in good shape and does not lack any motivation as a victory here would offer him the World Cup. All the favorites made it through the qualifications, although some of them (Ander ELOSEGI – 26th and David FLORENCE – 10th) will have to show a different face in the semi-finals and secure their place amongst the three best paddlers of 2012.

K1 Men does not offer the same suspense, as the French Etienne DAILLE cannot be beaten for the win in overall World Cup standings. 7th at the Olympic Games, he won his third gold medal in Prague last week after the ones grabbed in Pau and La Seu, and one silver in Cardiff. Behind him though, the fight is tight and no doubt that many K1 specialists will want to shine in what is the second biggest event of the year in Canoe Slalom after the London Olympic Games. Joan CRESPO (ESP) was the fastest of these qualifications but Hannes AIGNER, bronze Olympic medalist, and the Slovaks Jan SAJBIDOR & Kamil KANISCAK are right behind him and clearly showed their motivation.

The Women in C1 had a tough morning on such a difficult course. The greatest battle was against the river and not between the ladies, who will all be meeting again in semi-finals tomorrow. The group of leading ladies who vie for the top spots at each World Cup did well once again and will fight for the World Cup win in the next two days. Katarina MACOVA (SVK), Mira LOUEN (GER) and Rosalyn LAWRENCE (AUS) took the lead today.

C2 Men offered the biggest surprise this afternoon: after a disastrous first heat, where they took five 50 second penalties and finished last, the 5 times World Champions and 3 times Olympic Champions did not take the start to the second heat! According to sources on the venue, the favorites and most awaited athletes of the week-end had some problems with their boat and decided not to run. Their withdrawal thus opens a door to many pairs who will be eager to shine in their absence. The Czech KARLOVSKY/JANE won the qualifications before the French KLAUSS/PECHE, who finished fourth in London. No doubt they will want to reach for the Gold here and solace their Olympic disappointment.

The Women in K1, on top of the difficulty of the course, had to face a terrible weather: a strong wind and rain were on the program. It did not prevent the reigning World Champion Corinna KUHNLE (AUT) from keeping at distance the horde of Czechs, Slovaks and Slovenes opponents who shared 7 of the 8 first places in the qualifications! The semi-finals look very open and will surely be fascinating.

Event website: http://bratislava2012.worldcup.events.slalom.canoeicf.com