The German and New Zealand K4 teams reasserted their authority and there were more golds for Russia, Canada, Poland and the Czech Republic on the final day of competition at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg, Germany.
The men’s K4 500 will be a new event at the Tokyo Olympics, and after dominating the event last year, the German combination of Max Rendschmidt, Ronald Rauhe, Tom Liebscher and Max Lemke on Sunday once again showed they are the team to beat.
“It was our first race for the season, so it hurts all the time,” Rauhe said.
“But actually we’ve had a lot of fun together in training, and now in competition. I think we have grown up to be a pretty good team. It’s just fun racing all the time.”
The New Zealand women’s K4 team also dominated most of last season, before finishing third behind Hungary and Germany at the World Championships.
On Sunday Lisa Carrington, Caitlin Ryan, Aimee Fisher were joined by 22-year-old Rebecca Cole and, despite some anxious moments, found themselves back on top of the podium.
“Poland had a fantastic charge through to the finish, and they definitely pushed us through to the end,” Carrington said.
“It’s so important for us to keep learning about our race in the K4. I think it is something we will be taking a lot from, so it’s so important to have a race like today where we are pushed all the way.”
Carrington also won gold with Aimee Fisher in the non-Olympic K2 200.
“It was awesome, I think one of the coolest things about it was I just enjoyed it so much,” Fisher said.
“On the start line my heartrate was going pretty wild, which I just haven’t felt for a long time now, so it’s cool to feel like I’m back.”
There was double gold for the Czech Republic, with Martin Fuksa winning the C1 500 and, in the process, securing his third gold medal in a week.
“I am very happy, it’s always amazing,” Fuksa said.
“As I have said a lot of times, I am always looking for more races. These guys are top athletes in the world, so I always love racing with these guys.”
Czech teammate Josef Dostal bounced back from a disappointing K1 1000 on Saturday with a win in the K1 500, despite almost falling out of the boat with 80 metres to the finish line.
“Yesterday I made a big tactical mistake,” Dostal said.
“Today I wanted to beat the guys. I had a bad grip on my paddle and nearly fell in the water with 80 metres to go, but I was so glad to beat them.”
Marta Walczykiewicz won a silver medal in the K1 200 at the Rio Olympics, but had not won a race for four years before Sunday’s triumph in Duisburg.
“I don’t remember when I last won,” Walczykiewicz said.
“I’m stronger than last year, so I’m back. Last year was very difficult for me because I had a problem with my arm, but now I’m good. It just hurts a little bit.”
The Canadian dominance of the women’s canoe events continued, with Laurence Vincent-Lapointe celebrating her 26th birthday with gold in the C1 200.
“It felt pretty strong,” Vincent-Lapointe said.
“There was a headwind out there today, so it’s not as fast as I know I can do, but it was still a good race.
“It never gets boring. It’s such a good feeling to know what you can do, and then to be able to recognise it.”
C2 partner Katie Vincent also got a chance to compete on her own, and responded by winning the C1 500.
“It feels great, one of the strong points for us is that we are able to push each other in the C1,” Vincent said.
“The race felt good for me. I knew I had a strong second half, so I wanted to use that to my advantage.”
The Russians enjoyed a strong day on the water, winning three gold medals, including two in less than one hour for Ivan Shtyl, who won the C1 200 and then partnered Alexander Kovalenko to win the C2 100.
Russia’s third gold medal was won by Evgenii Lukantsov in the K1 200, a repeat of his performance from one week earlier.
“It’s a very good result. In Szeged first, now in Duisburg, next maybe in Belgrade (European Championships),” Lukantsov said.
The men's C1 5000 was won by Cuba's Fernando Jorge Enriquez, the women's C1 by Germany's Annika Loske, the men's K1 by German workhorse Max Hoff, and the women's K1 5000 by Australia's Alyssa Bull.
RESULTS
WOMEN’S K1 200
- WALCZYKIEWICZ Marta (POL) 0.39.989
- STENSILS Linnea (SWE) 0.40.301
- GUYOT Sarah (FRA) 0.40.450
MEN’S C1 200
- SHTYL Ivan (RUS) 0.39.974
- KIRAJ Stefan (GER) 0.40.975
- VANDREY Jan (GER) 0.41.053
MEN’S K1 200
- LUKANTSOV Evgenii (RUS) 0.35.424
- DI LIBERTO Andrea Dominica (ITA) 0.35.555
- CSIZMADIA Kolos (HUN) 0.35.780
WOMEN’S K2 200
- CARRINGTON/FISHER (NZL) 0.37.251
- MARKIEWICZ/WISNIEWSKA (POL) 0.38.028
- WIKBERG/JOHANSSON (SWE) 0.38.930
MEN’S C2 200
- KOVALENKO/SHTYL (RUS) 0.36.672
- KHAIDAROV/MEDETOV (KAZ) 0.36.823
- YEMELYANOV/YEMELYANOV (KAZ) 0.37.371
WOMEN’S C1 200
- VINCENT-LAPOINTE Laurence (CAN) 0.45.885
- KURACH Kseniia (RUS) 0.47.929
- REID Katie (GBR) 0.48.616
MEN’S K1 500
- DOSTAL Josef (CZE) 1.38.717
- PETERS Artuur (BEL) 1.39.405
- POULSEN Rene Houlten (DEN) 1.39.928
WOMEN’S C1 500
- VINCENT Katie (CAN) 2.06.482
- KURACH Kseniia (RUS) 2.07.488
- SUN Mengya (CHN) 2.09.370
WOMEN’S K4 500
- NEW ZEALAND 1.31.652
- POLAND 1.31.992
- RUSSIA 1.32.619
MEN’S C1 500
- FUKSA Martin (CZE) 1.46.888
- QUEIROZ DOS SANTOS Isaquias (BRA) 1.47.449
- BRENDEL Sebastian (GER) 1.47.449
MEN’S K4 500
- GERMANY 1.19.752
- HUNGARY 1.20.566
- RUSSIA 1.21.176
