The Slovaks know their sport well – Canoe Slalom. The team had a successful weekend on home soil by medalling in 4 of the 5 Canoe Slalom categories. Heavy rainfall and flooding in the preceding week had people worried that the event may have to be cancelled. The organisers managed to get the event up and running and the second Canoe Slalom World Cup 2009 resulted in some fantastic races.
In the women’s K1, the impressive Elena Kaliska (SVK) 2 times Olympic champion, swivelled around slalom gates at a tenacious speed to beat Katrina Lawrence (AUS) for the gold medal. Jana Dukatova (SVK) had a good weekend taking the bronze medal.
Jana Dukatova (SVK) who entered as favourite in C1 women swept to victory in this relatively new event. Leanne Guinea (AUS) continued her good season with silver and (SVK) Dana Benusova won the bronze. The women’s C1 event whilst in its infancy continues to improve from competition to competition.
All the athletes go on to the third and final Canoe Slalom World Cup which will take place in Augsburg, Germany 11 – 12 July 2009. This will be the last major world event before the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Spain and a good indicator of who are favourites and who needs to improve to make an impact. The stage is set for an exciting finale to this years events.
Final results from Bratislava can be viewed here. Please visit the ICF’s website www.canoeicf.com for updates.
