The Canoe Slalom course in Augsburg has definitely developed its own sense of character. Its relationship with the Canoeing world has been a long and exciting one, with the ICF Canoe Slalom Racing World Cup 2009 being the 17th such World Cup since 1988.
A Challenging Course
The stretch of water is swift and merciless, and with the courses designed by the organisers even the best of paddlers must push beyond their limits. The atmosphere at the venue this weekend was highly charged and loud as locals and international fans cheered on all the athletes.
While many courses provide athletes with an opportunity to ease in to the competition, Augsburg does not. Right at the onset, the first gate is an upstream gate off the first drop perfectly positioned along the right-hand wall and is ideal at fouling the unprepared and unlucky. In order to navigate this gate, the athlete must first achieve the right combination of speed and angle. Thomas Schmidt (GER) former Olympic Gold Medallist and local organiser commented ‘Too fast into the gate and you can overshoot. Too slow and the current takes you. The strength of the current coupled with the location of the eddies, particularly where they break, can catch a boat and either slam it into the wall, or into the gate itself’.
The margin for error is very small and the fact that the water moves inconsistently and irregularly makes for exciting races. We were not disappointed this weekend.
Women’s C1 find it tough going
The relatively new C1 Women competition was hotly contested and the girls put on a battling display urged on by the large and appreciative crowd. Rosalyn Lawrence (AUS) said ‘I found the course exciting. I am really pleased I improved during the final run’.
In the semi final Lawrence had problems with the first gate and subsequently the run put her in last place. However in the final she only obtained 2 points in penalties which was enough for her to win the competition. Marie Rihoskova (CZE) picked up the Silver and the Bronze was presented to Nanqin Cen (CHN).
Dukatova comes good in WK1
After a superb and incredibly fast run, Jana Dukatova (SVK) was presented with a World Cup Gold. Czech Republic’s Stepanka Hilgertova successfully achieved the Silver while Germany’s Jennifer Bongardt was awarded with the Bronze.
Dukatova in the Woman’s K1 took a similar approach to Baillie and Stott in the C2M, choosing to paddle aggressively and go for the fastest route she could. The course proved to be difficult and she gained knowledge by watching the K1 men on Saturday. Having only 3 training sessions on the course meant she was not as prepared as she would have liked to have been.
Dukatova stated after the race ‘The course in Augsburg is unique; there really is nothing else like it in the world. The Germans obviously have the home advantage, but this just makes the visiting nations all the more determined. The course is difficult to adapt to, the upstream manoeuvres are incredibly narrow and unforgiving’. Furthermore, Dukatova explains, ‘the gates are near the bank, requiring a swift crossing of the water and perfect turns, or else valuable time is lost’.
As the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series comes to a close many of the athletes turn their focus to the World Championships in La Seu (Spain).
Augsburg proved to be a fitting send off for the athletes and a suitable finale to the 2009 ICF World Cup events.
For complete results, please click here. Please check back on the ICF’s website: www.canoeicf.com for further updates.
