In the second of our big interviews with the 2024 International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series winners, we spoke to men’s overall canoe champion Matej Benus of Slovakia.
A result from 13 years ago still rankles with Slovakia’s Matej Benus when he reflects on his long and successful career to date.
Back in 2011, the then 23-year-old Benus was seeking to make it successive ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series triumphs after winning the overall C1 crown for the first time 12 months earlier.
But Benus was agonisingly denied back-to-back titles after finishing on the same number of points as Czechia’s Stanislav Jezek.
“I remember that year because I could have won but I wasn’t in the final in Prague and Stanislav beat me,” said Benus.
“We had the same number of points but he had a better result in the final World Cup so I was second with the same results.”
Benus also recalled last year’s ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Series where he finished just two points behind Luka Bozic of Slovenia.
But the results-driven Slovakian paddler is able to bounce back from these near misses to return to the top of the standings.
Benus put last year’s disappointment behind him to seal the overall canoe title for a fourth time after making the final of all but one of the five World Cups this season.
The 36-year-old ranked fifth in Augsburg and sixth in Prague before securing silver in Krakow.
A 19th place finish in Ivrea threatened to dash his hopes of the series title before placing fourth in La Seu to emerge victorious with 257 points.
His victory in 2024 follows his overall C1 crowns in 2010, 2015 and 2019.
Benus says he puts his success on the World Cup circuit down to his love of competing and thirst for success on the water.
“There are some athletes in the field that do four of five competitions per year,” said Benus.
“Takuya Haneda, for example, is training for three or four months without a race whereas I just like racing.
“For more, racing is the best training and that’s why I am doing all the World Cups and every important competition because you have these experiences.
“In my career, there has only been one year where I didn’t do all the World Cups and that was in 2016 because the Olympics were in Rio de Janeiro.”
While some athletes chose to skip the World Cup in Krakow in the build-up to the Olympics, Benus opted to race.
| Ranking | Name | Augsburg | Prague | Krakow | Ivrea | La Seu | Points |
| 1 | Matej Benus (SVK) | 44 | 42 | 55 | 24 | 92 | 257 |
| 2 | Ziga Lin Hocevar (SLO) | 60 | 26 | 42 | 34 | 80 | 242 |
| 3 | Ryan Westley (GBR) | 29 | 32 | 50 | 2 | 110 | 223 |
| 4 | Marko Mirgorodsky (SVK) | 55 | 44 | 31 | 29 | 58 | 217 |
| 5 | Luka Bozic (SLO) | 38 | 28 | 44 | 44 | 62 | 216 |
| 6 | Benjamin Savsek (SLO) | 32 | 55 | 60 | 60 | 207 |
Benus came away with a silver medal from the Polish city before going on to enjoy a memorable Games in Paris.
With his family watching from the stands, Benus clinched men’s C1 bronze for his second Olympic medal after winning silver at Rio 2016.
Benus said his medal in Paris was proof that his achievement in Rio “wasn’t an accident” as he continues to keep pace with the younger paddlers.
“Somebody told me that I am only the fourth C1 male athlete who has two Olympic medals in history,” said Benus.
“There is only Tony Estanguet, Michal Martikan, Sideris Tasiadis and me.
“Over the last 10 years our sport has changed a lot.
“There are a lot of good young paddlers.
“It’s not like a few years ago where you could go in the semi-final and in your mind think if you don’t make a mistake you will be in the final for sure.
“You now have to take some risks in the semi-final.
“Of course, the rules have changed and the courses are more difficult and shorter.
“It’s become more difficult in the past few years and that’s not because I’m getting old.”
Away from Canoe Slalom, Benus barely has a moment to rest with three young sons to ferry around the country to fulfil their passions for ice hockey.
Benus also plays ice hockey and enjoys trying different sports but his passion for Canoe Slalom remains as strong as ever as he targets a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“I am 36 but I don’t feel old yet,” said Benus, who turns 37 next month.
“I am sure I will try to go to the next Olympics in LA.
“I need to be healthy so we will see.
“We are still four years away.”
Fellow Slovakian Martikan, a gold medallist at Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008, secured his first World Cup medal since 2017 with bronze in La Seu at the age of 45.
Benus said he would like to keep paddling in his 40s but insisted success would be key to his decision to prolong his career.
“I don’t want to be like this where I go seven years without a medal, that’s not fun for me,” added Benus.
“I can imagine that I can paddle until I’m 45 but with results, not without results.”
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