Slovenia’s teenage sensation Ziga Lin Hocevar and evergreen veteran Peter Kauzer were crowned champions at Run Slalom in Reunion.
Separated by a 24-year age gap, the two Slovenian stars produced impressive results at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Ranking race at the Sainte-Suzanne venue.
Hocevar, 17, burst onto the international scene last year with stunning performances on the big stage.
The reigning European champion continued where he left off as he took the men’s canoe title in Reunion.
He got the better of two Italian paddlers as Raffaello Ivaldi placed second and Paolo Ceccon finished third.
His 41-year-old team-mate Kauzer then topped the podium, beating a young field to triumph in the men’s kayak final.
The Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist and two-time world champion proved too strong as Italian youngsters Michele Pistoni secured silver and Xabier Ferrazzi bagged bronze.
Czechia’s Gabriela Satkova enjoyed a good day at the office as she delivered women’s C1 gold.
Italy’s Elena Micozzi ranked second, while compatriot Marta Bertoncelli placed third.
There was no golden double for Satkova as Slovakia’s Zuzana Pankova overcame the Czech paddler in the women’s K1 final.
Pankova was the victor with Satkova finishing second, while the bronze went to Italy’s Lucia Pistoni.
Czechia’s second gold came in the men’s kayak cross as Vit Prindis emerged victorious.
Hocevar came second, while Vojtech Heger joined fellow countryman Prindis on the podium when he finished third.
Spain’s Klara Olazabal was the winner of the women’s kayak cross title as Italy’s Agata Spagnol sealed silver and France’s Doriane Delassus claimed bronze.
China impress on New Zealand waters
The Aotearoa Open brought together competitors from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and hosts New Zealand to battle it out for ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking points.
It was China who shone brightest, winning four gold medals across the canoe and kayak events in New Zealand.
Xin Quan overcame Olympic kayak cross champion and home favourite Finn Butcher to win the men’s K1 crown as fellow Chinese paddler Zhaoshan Hu completed the podium in third.
There was a Chinese one-two in the men’s C1 final as Youzhaucier Wabu edged Zhicheng Zhang for top spot, while New Zealand’s Oliver Puchner finished third.
China won all six medals on offer in the women’s events, securing a clean sweep in both canoe and kayak.
Shiting Li secured women’s K1 gold as Jiahua Yan and Xueting Xie completed a Chinese one-two-three.
There was also a hat-trick of medals for China in the women’s C1 as Jie Yang triumphed ahead of Juan Huang and Yishan Wu.
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