2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
1
2
3
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

Downriver

First finals Solkan: double win Slovenia, Hannah Brown World Champion

canoe kayak downriver wildwater river soca slovenia solkan world championships 2013 icf sportscene luka bozic saso taljat

Nina Jelenc | Slovenian Canoe Federation - The first final results of the 2013 ICF Wildwater Canoeing Sprint World Championships in Solkan are known. The host nation celebrated a double win in the men’s Canadian double event and Hannah Brown (GBR) won a world champion title in the women’s kayak final.

The Wildwater Canoeing sprint world championships in Solkan couldn’t have started better for the Slovenian team. The host nation won two medals in the men’s Canadian double final with Luka Božič-Sašo Taljat becoming world champions and Blaž Cof-Simon Hočevar wining a silver medal. The Friday night’s finals under the floodlights and with crowds cheering by the Soča River were a wonderful spectacle. Even more so because the Slovenians ruled the men’s C2 event. Luka Božič and Sašo Taljat added another World Champion title to their names. They were double World Champions back in 2010 in Sort, and now they’ve won their second title in sprint. “We are very happy with this success in wildwater canoeing. We have paddled at the Wildwater Canoeing World Championships three times and won three gold medals. This is the most one can achieve in sport. The final run was almost perfect, the upper part was very good, but in the lower part we missed the ideal line by a little bit, but it turned out to be fast as well, so we won,” said Luka Božič. This is the second medal for this young canoeist in a week. Last weekend he won a bronze medal in the men’s C1 team race at the European Canoe Slalom Championships in Krakow.

canoe kayak downriver wildwater river soca slovenia solkan world championships 2013 icf sportscene luka bozic saso taljatHis partner in the boat, Sašo Taljat was very satisfied too: “We’ve won again, at a home course this time, which is even nicer than in Sort. This result is fantastic especially because we decided to enter these championships very late. We hadn’t paddled much downriver and had quite a lot of problems at the beginning. The course looks easy, but it’s not, it’s full of water traps that bounce the boat around. Many competitors had problems with that. We won’t be under much pressure in the next part of the season, because it’s easier to after results like that.”

Other Slovenians, Blaž Cof and Simon Hočevar won a silver medal and made the night to remember even better. This was their first ever race in C2 together and they’ve already reached the winner’s podium. After the European Championships in May in Bovec they decided to compete at the World Championships on the Soča River both in C1 and C2. The plan worked out perfectly, they were only behind their teammates Božič and Taljat. “Great! This was our first race. Phenomenal! A medal right away,” Simon Hočevar couldn’t hide his happiness.

canoe kayak downriver wildwater river soca slovenia solkan world championships 2013 icf sportscene hannah brownAfter the heats it looked even better for the Slovenian team. The third C2 team of Peter Žnidaršič-Luka Žganjar were in a leading position after the heats and started last in the final, but experienced some problems in the end and came in eighth. Ondrej Rolenc and Jan Stastny from the Czech Republic won the bronze medal. The French team had high hopes before the race in men’s C2, but at the end they came away empty-handed. They have won all three medals at the Europeans in Bovec, but now they’ll have to seek medals in other team races.

Hannah Brown of Great Britain won the women’s kayak final. “I was nervous at the start line. It’s a long way up and it’s very dark at the end. It’s hard on the mind, because it’s dark and you can’t see until you are there. But it’s really cool to perform well in such a world class competition. I have won the competition, so I’m really happy,” said the new world champion. Melanie Mathys (SUI) was second and Sictine Malaterre (FRA) finished third.

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Proofreader: Lou Lockhart