While much of the paddling world is cooling its heels, waiting to get back into post-Covid competition, in Russia they have already hosted two major canoeing events.
Our correspondent, Sergey Medvedev, sent us these details of the Russian Championships and the Russian Federation President’s Canoeing Cup.
The Russian Championship in canoe sprint among men and women was held at the Krylatskoye rowing course in Moscow from 10 to 14 August. At the competition, the starting composition of the national team was determined, which will participate in the upcoming World Cup and European Championship.
The Russian Championship program included races in distances of 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 meters. Athletes competed for 26 sets of medals.
The first day of the finals took place on 12 August. In the 200 m sprint in a single canoe, the bronze medalist of the 2012 Olympic Games Ivan Shtyl and the six-time world championship medalist Olesya Romasenko were the first to come to the finish line. Evgeny Lukantsov and Natalya Podolskaya won in the same distance in a single kayak.
Kirill Shamshurin became the champion of Russia in a distance of 1000 m in a single canoe, and Maxim Spesivtsev and Svetlana Chernigovskaya received the same title in a single kayak.
On August 13, athletes competed in the 200 m sprint in a double kayak. Olympic champions Yuri Postrigai and Alexander Dyachenko, as well as Christina Kovnir and Anastasia Dolgova, won the races. Vladislav Litovka and Olympic medalist Roman Anoshkin were the fastest in 1000 m in doubles among men, and Maria Medvedeva and Anastasia Karamnova were the first among women.
Ivan Shtyl, the winner of the 2012 Olympic Games, and Dmitry Sharov, as well as Irina Andreeva and Daria Kharchenko, won the 200 m races in the double canoe. Ilya Pervukhin, the winner of the Games, and Kirill Shamshurin took the lead in the 1000 m race. Vitaly Ershov and Kira Stepanova won the gold in the 500 m single kayak race, and Mikhail Pavlov and Ksenia Kurach won the single canoe race.
The Russian Federation President’s Canoeing Cup was held in Moscow at the Krylatskoye rowing course on August 15 and 16. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the regatta a long-awaited sport event.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, sports fans have been deprived of the opportunity to cheer for their favourite athletes throughout the year.
320 paddlers from six countries took part in the international competition. In addition to the classical disciplines, the program included races of mixed crews, as well as canoe polo, dragon boat races and SUP.
General Secretary of the All-Russian Kayak and Canoe Federation, Elena Iskhakova noted that the competition elicited a special response from the audience.
“Weekends, good weather, a lot of spectators. I think everyone missed the competition and our wonderful host Dmitry Guberniev attracted fans,” she said.
Watch video highlights and interviews from the events here
Special measures were taken in order to ensure the safety of participants and guests of the regatta because of the coronavirus pandemic. Spectators and athletes were located in different stands. In addition, paddlers and coaches were required to present a certificate of the absence of coronavirus infection.
Ivan Shtyl demonstrated outstanding results at the presidential regatta. The athlete won every race in which he took part. Shtyl’s personal collection of medals was enlarged with four gold awards for victories in single canoe, double canoe, four-man canoe in mixed crews in 200 meters and canoe-fours in 500 meters.
Kirill Shamshurin also showed wonderful results at the competitions: he won three medals of the highest order. The canoeist got two of them in the Olympic distance of 1000 meters in a single and a double. In addition, the athlete became the winner in a distance of 3 km.
I think everyone missed the competition
Ilya Pervukhin became Kirill's partner in the double and the main rival in the singles race. Previously, the athletes won an Olympic license for the Russian national team. This crew is more likely to go to the Tokyo Olympics, since it is the strongest one in Russia at the moment.
Olesya Romasenko won the 200-meter single canoe races, Natalia Podolskaya became the fastest kayaker in the same distance. Kira Stepanova was the first to finish in the 500 meters race among single kayaks.
Sergey Medvedev
