Czech slalom legends Stepanka Hilgertova and Vavrinec Hradilek are the big names to miss out on selection for the 2017 national canoe slalom team after the final weekend of competition at the 4th Czech Cup on the Trnávka River.
While young paddlers surprised with good performances, it was well-known stars Hilgertová and Hradilek who missed selection in the end as they both placed fourth in overall rankings.
Despite this fact, the fourth place allows them to start at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cups. However, Hradilek and Hilgertová will not have the chance to fight for the medals at the European or World championships this year.
"I was very surprised especially by the performance of the young guys like Matyáš Lhota and Václav Chaloupka. In each category, there were young talents who showed off," the head coach of the Czech team, Jiří Pultera, said.
"The kayak categories are very equal and strong, so the result even for the experienced Olympians like Vavrinec Hradilek or Stepanka Hilgertová is just a reflection of this very high level of the competition. Next year, it can all be different again.”
The thrilling battle among kayakers for two paddlers to join already nominated Rio 2016 bronze medallist Jiří Prskavec, ended with Onřej Tunka and Vít Přindiš qualifying.
Fourth in selection ranking, Vavřinec Hradilek, should compete in the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Prague.
Among the women, kayaker Kateřina Kudějová confirmed her dominance in this category by posting another win on Sunday. This category was already sorted out after Saturday´s races, with the next team spots going to Karolína Galušková and Amálie Hilgertová, the 19-year-old niece of the more famous Štěpánka, who ended up in fourth place overall.
Last year´s Czech champion, Tereza Fišerová, won the selection in the women´s canoe category ahead of Monika Jančová, the winner of Sunday´s race, and Eva Říhová.
Vítězslav Gebas tops the rankings in the men´s C1 category but Sunday´s race went to Václav Chaloupka, bronze from the junior European championships last year, and put him in 4th place in selection. In the Czech team, Gebas will have the junior world medallist Matyas Lhota and Michal Jáně as partners.
The European and world championships in the C2 category will see Ondřej Karlovský, Jakub Jáně and Jonáš Kašpar, Marek Šindler together with Tomáš Koplík and Jakub Vrzáň. They ended with the same points but pushed Vojtěch and Tomáš Heger to fourth place.
Photo: Adam Svoboda
Links: Czech selection results: http://slalom-world.com/index.php?act=10&idz=53
Race results http://bit.ly/2017CPCEZ-Trnavka-2
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