The final International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup before the Paris Olympics kicks off in Krakow on Thursday, with several Games-bound athletes taking a final opportunity for top-level competition before they paddle for gold at the end of next month.
Among the Olympic champions taking to the water in Poland will be Spain’s Maialen Chourraut, Ausralia’s Jessica Fox, Great Britain’s Joseph Clarke, Slovakia’s Michal Martikan and France’s Denis Gargaud Chanut.
Several Olympic minor medalists will also be looking to test themselves one final time or to pick up a World Cup medal, including New Zealand’s Luuka Jones, Slovakia’s Jakub Grigar and Germany’s Andrea Herzog.
Germany’s Hannes Aigner is still fighting for selection for the Olympics in the kayak cross. While the final Paris quotas were decided for the new Games event in Prague last weekend, several countries are still to determine who will compete at the debut event.
Among the former and current kayak cross world champions taking to the water this weekend will be Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods and Clarke, Australia’s Jessica Fox, Germany’s Stefan Hengst and Czechia’s Veronika Vojtova.
Jessica Fox in the women’s C1 and France’s Mathurin Madore in the men’s kayak cross are the only current 2024 overall World Cup leaders in action this weekend. France’s Nicolas Gestin in the men’s C1, Italy’s Giovanni De Gennaro in the men’s K1, Germany’s Ricarda Funk in the women’s C1 and Slovenia’s Eva Tercelj in the women’s kayak cross are all taking this weekend off.
This will be the first World Cup held in Krakow since 2022, when the German team had to withdraw from the competition because of a positive Covid test. Among the winners two years ago in action this weekend are Fox in the K1, Czech Vit Prindis in the men’s K1, and Martina Wegman from The Netherlands in the women’s kayak cross.
The third ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup begins in Krakow on Thursday afternoon with heats in the men’s and women’s kayak, and will finish on Sunday with the kayak cross.
Full coverage of this week's event can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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Related links
- Noemie Fox turns a dream into reality and a ticket to Paris
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- Czech double sends crowd wild in Prague
