Australia’s Jessica Fox and Italy’s Raffaelo Ivaldi produced top performances on a sunny Saturday in Augsburg, Germany at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup.
It was a tense ending to the women’s C1 finals, as Fox captured her third gold since her return to competition while Ivaldi came out on top against tough competition to take his first World Cup gold in three years.
There were six different nations on the podiums as only 0.01 seconds separated Spain’s Nuria Vilarrubla and Czechia’s Martina Satkova.
Great Britain’s Adam Burgess and Slovakia’s Matej Benus completed the men’s C1 podium.
Click here for live startlists and results from Augsburg
Women’s Canoe
Jessica Fox (AUS – gold)
"It's the best feeling. I was disappointed yesterday not to make the final in the kayak, so to come out on this course today and put together a winning run means a lot. This course constantly makes you question your decisions and your line choices, but I managed to piece everything together. The touch near the bottom was probably the only thing stopping it from being a perfect run, but overall I'm really pleased. To come back from a disappointing day in the kayak and then win today was amazing. It's bittersweet because I know my sister did really well. Noemie [Fox] paddled so well to make the final. It was such a shame about that one mistake near the bottom of the course, but at the same time I'm so proud of her and happy to see her doing well. Right now, I'm just relieved, happy and looking forward to tomorrow.
Nuria Vilarrubla (ESP - silver)
"It feels like a great achievement. I'm really happy because I've been following my own process since becoming a mum in 2022. I've been improving step by step, and it's rewarding to feel in good shape again and confident in myself. I was happy with my paddling in Prague last week. I made a few mistakes, but I was close to making the final, and I was pleased to be back racing at that level. That gave me confidence coming into this weekend. Right now, I'm just happy, to be honest. It's great to see the work paying off and to be back competing with confidence."
Martina Satkova (CZE -bronze)
"I'm very happy. It was a really close race, which made it exciting, and I enjoyed every moment of it. This is my first individual medal here in Augsburg, so it's very special for me. I'm delighted with the result. The course was quite tricky and physically demanding. I was actually surprised by how well everyone performed, especially in the final. I think it was a very good course overall. And, to be honest, when you win a medal, it's easy to like the course. Right now, I'm just happy and enjoying the moment."
Men’s Canoe
Raffaelo Ivaldi (ITA – gold)
"It means so much. Last year I wasn't even here, so to be back now is incredibly special. I fought my way back onto the team and worked closely with everyone around me, my coach, the team, and the federation. It's been a huge collective effort, and I think all that hard work is finally paying off. After my disappointment at the Olympics, I decided to try some new things in my training and approach. I wanted to become a better paddler, and I knew those changes would take time. It wasn't easy, and there were moments when the results weren't there, but I stayed focused, kept working hard and continued to believe in the process. In the end, it paid off. I feel like I've finally found myself again and am becoming the best version of myself."
Adam Burgess (GBR - silver)
"I feel really good. I really enjoyed that run. You can't complain about being just seven hundredths of a second away from the win. I had a great time out there and knew there were a few areas I wanted to improve on from my heat. I managed to find that time in the final, so I'm really happy with the performance. It's my first World Cup medal, which makes it even more special. Of course, now the goal is to keep building and aim even higher. To be honest, I hadn't really felt like myself over the past few weeks while travelling and racing. That only started to change a couple of days ago. I think spending some time on the back channel here really helped. It's a fantastic place to paddle. The course is challenging, but I love having the back channel available in Augsburg. I found some really good feelings on the water there, and that gave me a lot of confidence coming into this race. I felt good heading into the final, and it's great to see that translate into a medal."
Matej Benus (SVK - bronze)
"I'm happy. This is actually my sixth World Cup medal in Augsburg, which is special for me. Today, the course here was challenging. The first few World Cups weren't easy either, but this one was more about adapting to the water and managing the conditions. With so many athletes out there, you just have to stay focused and do your best. About tomorrow in Bratislava [at the ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Cup], I only decided on Monday to compete there. I didn't realise there were two World Cups over the weekend; I thought it was just one event. But since it's my home course, I really wanted to start there, so I'm going to race. It's been a long time since I last competed in wildwater - maybe three or four years. I don't really know what to expect. The conditions there can be quite difficult, especially the water, so it's going to be interesting."
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