Paralympic champion Edina Mueller and world champion Mykola Syniuk were among the gold medal winners when racing finally got underway at the ICF Paracanoe World Cup in Poznan on Saturday night.

The strong winds and rain that had buffeted the Poznan course for two days cleared away to allow athletes from six different countries to share 12 gold medals up for grabs, with Germany finishing with three, France, Canada, Ukraine and Australia picking up two golds, and Spain earning one each.

There were also first-time paracanoe minor medals for India and Israel.

It was yet another reversal in the result for the women’s KL1, with Mueller repeating her Paralympic victory over Ukraine’s Maryna Mazhula. The Ukrainian reversed the result at last year’s world championships in Copenhagen, but it was the German who got the upper hand on Saturday.

“It wasn’t the normal warm-up routine because of the weather, so to be honest I was a little scared,” Mueller said.

“But the race was good. It was hard to get back to everyday life after Tokyo, I would have liked to have taken a year off for mental and physical health, but that wasn’t possible. Being the reigning Paralympic champion makes it a little bit harder, everyone’s chasing me so that’s a little bit harder.”

Syniuk added the world cup gold to the Paralympic silver and world championship gold he won last year in the men’s KL2.

Former Canadian lumberjack Mathieu St-Pierre broke through for his first win after five years of paddling, winning the men’s VL2. Six years after a tree fell on his back, he took the opportunity to reach the top.

“I’m so happy, I’ve worked hard all the winter, and now this is the next step,” he said.

“I want a medal for the Paralympics. In my head I thought I could win a medal, because my times in winter were getting better and better, but I felt stressed before. It’s perfect for me now”.

Australia’s Susan Seipel finished the day with a gold and silver medal, triumphing in the women’s VL3 after finishing second behind Germany’s Anja Adler in the KL2.

“I’m glad to get there in the end, it was a bit close,” Seipel said.

“I haven’t paddled in this boat for a long time actually, because I had a different boat in Tokyo, so it’s good that it’s still got it. I want to do both events in Canada, I enjoy doing both and I like the challenge.”

Adler said a change in her training technique appears to have improved her race in the KL2.

“It was incredible, I knew this year I could be a little bit better than last year, training was really good,” she said.

“This year I’m focusing more on recovery, and I think that has been the key to this success.”

Canada’s Erica Scarff proved she made the right decision to add the women’s VL3 to her program by winning gold in the new Paralympic event.

Scarff finished fifth in the KL3, but less than one hour later she broke through for her biggest international result.

“This was a really good race for me, because I didn’t know what to expect because I’m new in the V’a, so it’s really exciting but I’m kind of shocked,” Scarff said.

“It was only announced it would be in the Paralympics last year, so that’s when I started putting more time into it. I’ll get a once in a career opportunity to race at home, so that’s going to be really exciting.”

In one of the few upsets on Saturday, France’s Remy Boulle outpaced Paralympic and world champion Peter Kiss of Hungary to win the men’s KL1.

Boulle, a bronze medalist in Tokyo, set up a showdown with the Hungarian for this year’s world championships in Canada.

“It’s only a world cup, and not everyone is here, but this is a good platform for me ahead of Halifax,” Boulle said.

There was also French gold for Nelia Barbosa in the women’s KL3, going one better than the silver medal she won at the Tokyo Paralympics.

“It was a bit stressful, because this morning was super windy and there were a lot of waves, so I was really freaked out about it,” Barbosa said.

“But this afternoon was much better. I’ve changed my training plan, I have a new person on my team helping me with my physical preparation, and we match really well.”

Ukraine’s second gold medal came in the men’s VL3, with Vladyslav Yepifanov crossing ahead of Spain’s Adrian Mosquera, while another Spaniard, Juan Antonio Valle, won the men’s KL3.

In non-Paralympic events, Germany’s Esther Bode won the women’s VL1, while Australia’s Ben Sainsbury won the men’s VL1.

RESULTS

KL1 WOMEN 200M

1. MUELLER Edina      (GER)  87
2. MAZHULA Maryna (UKR) 08
3. HENNESSY Brianna (CAN) 54.88

VL2 MEN 200M

1. ST-PIERRE Mathieu (CAN)  39
2. RIVERO Higinio (ESP)   70
3. JUHASZ Tamas (HUN) 55.00

KL2 WOMEN 200M

1. ADLER Anja (GER) 52.17
2. SEIPEL Susan (AUS) 53.27
3. LAHUTENKO Nataliia (UKR) 54.95

VL3 MEN 200M

1. YEPIFANOV Vladyslav (UKR) 79
2. MOSQUERA Adrian (ESP)   71
3. ABER Abel (FRA)  32

KL3 WOMEN 200M

1. BARBOSA Nelia (FRA) 48.52
2. LABERER Felicia (GER) 49.08
3. EMBRIACO Amanda (ITA)  29

KL1 MEN 200M

1. BOULLE Remy (FRA) 48.66
2. SUBA Robert      (HUN) 49.02
3. KISS Peter (HUN) 49.82

VL2 WOMEN 200M

1. SEIPEL Susan (AUS) 1:01.54
2. HENNESSY Brianna (CAN) 1:01.58
3. YADAV Prachi (IND) 1:04.71

KL2 MEN 200M

1. SYNIUK Mykola           (UKR) 42.59
2. VOLPI Christian          (ITA)   13
3. SWOBODA Markus Mendy (AUT) 44.25

VL3 WOMEN 200M

1. SCARFF Erica            (CAN)   82
2. LAHUTENKO Nataliia (UKR) 1:00.46
3. EILAT Talia (ISR)    1:09.58

KL3 MEN 200M

1. VALLE Juan Antonio (ESP) 41.12
2. LITTLEHALES Dylan (AUS) 41.60
3. SURWILO Mateusz (POL)  11

VL1 WOMEN 200M

1. BODE Esther            (GER)  1:20.65
2. KOEPER Lillemor (GER) 1:22.85
3. BRONOWICZ Karolina (POL) 1:46.92

VL1 MEN 200M

1. SAINSBURY Benjamin (AUS) 1:04.79
2. BEDIN Alessio (ITA)  1:07.57
3. MENDEZ Robinson (CHI)  1:09.19

Pics by Bence Vekassy