Frenchman Maxime Beaumont has successfully defended his ICF canoe sprint K1 Super Cup title in tough racing conditions in Linyi, China, on Wednesday.

Other winners were Canada’s Katie Vincent in the women’s C1, Sweden’s Linnea Stensils in the women’s K1, and Lithuania’s Vadim Korobov in the men’s C1.

Gusty wind made paddling difficult for even the world’s most accomplished canoeists over the unique 300 metre course.  

Beaumont showed his adaptability by leading all the way to defend the title he won at last year’s inaugural Super Cup in Barnaul, Russia. Last year’s race was held over 350 metres, and the reduction in distance in Linyi suited the Rio 2016 200 metre silver medalist.

He finished ahead of French teammate, Guillaume Burger, with 2018 K1 1000 world champion, Fernando Pimenta of Portugal, third.

Canada’s Vincent also competed at last year’s Super Cup, where the C1 title went to her former C2 partner, Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, who is currently under suspension following an adverse drug test.

Vincent, a 2018 C1 500 world championship bronze medalist, held out local hope, Mengya Sun, while USA’s 2019 C1 200 world champion, Nevin Harrison, finished third.

The closest finish of the day came in the men’s C1, with Lithuanian speed machine Vadim Korobov edging out Germany’s three-time Olympic champion, Sebastian Brendel, for the gold. Korobov raced to an early lead and held on to beat the fast finishing Brendel by half a boat length.

Spain’s Alfonso Benavides was third.

Sweden’s Linnea Stensils was a clear winner in the women’s K1, taking out an early lead and holding that advantage until the finish. Stensils was a bronze medalist in the women’s K1 200 at the 2018 world championships and competed at the Rio Olympics.

She finished ahead of Belgium’s Lize Broekx, with Australia’s Alyssa Bull taking the bronze medal.