China women do sprint double as France triumph in women's short slalom

ICFmedia

12 October 2024

Chinese women ruled the roost in the canoe and kayak single 500m races while their French counterparts sealed short slalom titles at the 2024 International Canoe Federation Hangzhou Super Cup.

Xina Jiang cruised to victory in the C1 500m, crossing the line in 2:19 before fellow countrywoman Shuqi Li bagged silver.

Sophia Jensen of Canada did just enough to beat compatriot and C1 200m Olympic champion Katie Vincent, who finished fourth.

Nan Wang ensured the hosts got on top of the podium again, battling Emma Aastrand Jorgensen of Denmark to finish in 2:03.

“It's a warm feeling to be winning at home. I tried my best. It was difficult at the Olympic Games in Paris. I am happy to be winning again,” the two-time Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games champion said.

ICF Hangzhou Super Cup

Bronze went to Michelle Russell of Canada, with Aimee Fisher of New Zealand missing out again, finishing fifth in 2:05.

The men’s C1 500m gold went to Serghei Tarnovschi of Moldova in 1:58. The two-time C1 1000m Olympic bronze medallist added to his tally, having won silver in the C1 shirt-distance on day one in Hangzhou.

Nicolae Craciun of Italy and Conrad-Robin Scheibner of Germany won silver and bronze, respectively.

South America opened their account by triumphing in the men’s K1 500m, thanks to Argentina’s Agustin Vernice. Vernjce, who missed out in the K1 1000m at Paris 2024, was competing in his first event after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and delivered in style, clocking 1:47.

“I'm very happy. It's a good finish to the year with this result, so I am I very happy. I finished fourth at the Olympics and this is my first major tournament since. I spend time with my family and I am happy to be among the medals,” Vernice said.

Martin Nathell of Sweden finished second and Italian Samuele Burgo claimed the final podium spot.

ICF Hangzhou Super Cup

It was a new dawn for Canoe Slalom, with the French pair of Camille Prigent and Marjorie Delassus taking the first-ever short slalom titles in kayak and canoe, respectively.

For Prigent, it was her second gold medal in the Chinese city, outsmarting the highly technical course in 53.07.

“It was a fun event. I didn't know what to expect because it was my first time racing at this kind of event. The course was challenging,” Prigent said.

“I expected that we would go much faster on the short slalom, but today we couldn't because the moves were quite tricky.”

Silver in the kayak short slalom went to Martina Wegman of The Netherlands and Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska also added to her silver from day one by finishing third.

Andorran Monica Doria took canoe short slalom silver but could have finished first if not for the two-second penalty. Kimberley Woods of Great Britain kept her podium streak going by taking bronze.

Paris 2024 stars Evy Leibfarth of the United States and Australian Noemie Fox missed out again while day one medallists Gabriela Satkova and Mallory Franklin also went home empty-handed.

Slovenia and Czechia won men’s short slalom titles. Luka Bozic took canoe gold in 50.58 while Vit Prindis claimed the kayak title in 46.99.

“It's nice to have the new discipline. Today was very good. The course was tough and this is what we were looking for. This is a step forward for our sport and I think it is going to be a good format in the future,” Bozinc said after the win.

Frenchmen Nicolas Gestin and Titouan Castryck continued their run of medal wins, taking silver in canoe and kayak, respectively.

Adam Burgess was back among the medals when he finished third in the canoe short slalom while another Czech star Jakub Krejci won kayak bronze in 47.45.

Full coverage of this week's ICF Hangzhou Super Cup featuring Canoe Slalom, Canoe Sprint, Canoe Marathon and Canoe Polo can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.

ICF Hangzhou Super Cup