Canoe Sprint paddlers are headed to Poznan, Poland this week to launch their World Cup campaign and what could be their final attempt to be selected for a place on their respective national Olympic teams. The event which follows directly after the 2012 ICF Paracanoe World Championships and the European Olympic Qualifiers will take place on the Malta Regatta Course and will begin on Friday, 18 May. All three events are expected to draw over 1000 athletes from 73 countries from all over the world.
Current and former World Champions such as Lisa Carrington (NZL), Yvonne Schurring and Viktoria Schwartz (AUT) have all confirmed their participation. The first World Cup of the season is usually used by athletes to gauge their fitness level alongside that of their competitors, while this remains the same, this year the stakes are even higher because it’s an Olympic year.
Viktoria Schwarz (AUT) one half of the already Games qualified duo Schwarz and Schurring said “Yvonne and I will use the Poznan World Cup to continue our training and that’s why we will start all three distances in the K2 category. Our focus remains on the Olympic Games and there is still a long way head for us in terms of training.”
