Pau Canoe Slalom World Cup-Day 3 Finals and Semi Finals
The Semi-Finals and Finals got under way this morning with seven gates being added to the qualification course, which created a more challenging design.
There were a few surprises in the semi-finals when Bratislava’s world championships gold and silver medalists Corinna Kuhnle (AUT) and Jana Dukatova (SVK), as well as Beijing Olympics gold medalist Elena Kaliska (SVK) all failed to advance to the grand finale. Dukatova commented “unfortunately this run was not very good for me. I was feeling really tired and not very healthy this weekend. But I still have time to prepare myself for the highlight of the season, the “Olympic Games”. So I will do my best for the next five weeks and I’m not going to the next world cup as our Olympic selection just finished last week in Cardiff. I need to concentrate and focus on the Olympic Games and prepare myself for the official training camp a week after La Seu d’Urgell”. The number of top-level athletes not making it through the Semi-Finals reflects how challenging the course was for the Final. With only one International Race here, this course is relatively new to the athletes.
Women’s K1 Final
Following her win in Cardiff, Maialen Chourraut (ESP) showed her confidence and continued her winning streak here in Pau. She looked very composed all the way down the course, passing the gates smoothly, which put her in first place. “I’m going to race next week in la Seu with all people supporting me” she said.
2012 European Champion, Carole Bouzidi (FRA), would add another title in the second World Cup. She moved so tightly in and out of the gates, with the support of the crowd running along side her down the course, she was able to take second place. “I wanted to make a good race here in my hometown and I succeed,” she said.
Great Britain’s 25-year-old Elizabeth Neave kept her boat moving in the up stream gates, and with a clean run finished third. She commented, “My run was a lot better than my Semi’s. It’s a really hard course and I think I just did everything how I wanted to do, I’m really happy to win a medal here”.
The Second ICF World Cup was closed with the French President announcing Pau-Pyrenees’s interest to bid for the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in 2017.
