Stage 2 WWGP - Nouria Newman places first again, Mike Dawson drops out
Curarrehue, Chile – Thirty of the world’s best kayakers competed in a "Boulder Dash" race on Thursday, December 6, in stage two of the 2012 Whitewater Grand Prix on the Rio Puesco in Central Chile. Eric Deguil (FRA) took first place among the men and Nouria Newman (FRA) placed first among the women.
Mike Dawson (NZL), who placed first in Stage One of the Whitewater Grand Prix, dropped out of the remainder of the competition due to a pre-existing injury that he sustained in the lead-up to the event. He is doing well, but has decided not to risk further injury.
So what did the athletes say?
Rush Sturges: "It's a very fine line between going all in, and still maintaining your strength and energy. Racing is not traditionally a discipline i've put a lot of time and energy into, so i'm slowly figuring it out. The event has been pretty full on every single day, and we've already seen many swims, plus 3 athletes out of the competition due to injuries. Beyond the competition, it's pretty crazy that we are a traveling crew of 30 racing down rapids that used to be terrifying just to run, but now we're racing them."
Mike Sarasola: "After a good result in stage 2 of the competition I became seventh overall. But today I had an accident an hurt my shoulder. Not too bad but I am out of the competition. Really disappointed."
Katrina van Wijk: "Way different than the Gol Gol. Here it's just one continues technical rapids."
In the whitewater sprint, paddlers raced against the clock on a nearly 2 KM stretch of class V whitewater on the Rio Puesco. The course included several short waterfalls and pour-overs and plenty of tight slots, forcing paddlers to navigate through massive boulders. This was the second event of the 5-stage, 14-day competition. The athletes now move to the Rio Trancura in the La Araucanía Region for the much-anticipated giant slalom race to be held on Saturday, December 8.
For all results you can download the PDF in the results bar at the top of this page.
Schedule of Competition
Stage 1 (12/3 – 12/4): Whitewater Enduro Race, Rio Gol Gol
Stage 2 (12/6): Whitewater Sprint Race, River TBD
Stage 3 (12/8): Giant Slalom, Rio Trancura
Stage 4 (12/12): Big Water Boatercross, Rio Futaleufu
Stage 5 (12/14): Big Water Enduro Race, Rio Futaleufu
Links
Website: www.whitewatergrandprix.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitewatergrandprix
Twitter: @whitewaterGP