Czech paddlers once again enjoyed a strong day on the water at the ICF Junior and U23 Slalom World Championships in Krakow, posting the quickest times in two of the four heats held on Wednesday.
In the men’s U23 K1 Czech paddler Jakub Krejci finished as the fastest qualifier, but the quickest raw time was posted by Frenchman Anatole Delassus, who is also the defending champion.
“It was a good run, I did some good moves but I had a touch at gate nine, so I finished in second,” Delassus said.
“I don’t feel so much pressure, I’m just trying to enjoy every moment on the water. I don’t feel like I should be favourite because there are other paddlers who can be fast, so I’ll just try and enjoy and we will see.”
Czech Gabriela Satkova began her quest for her first ever women’s U23 C1 title in positive style, posting the quickest qualifying time by more than two seconds. Satkova has previously won two junior C1 world titles, and finished second in last year’s U23 final.
“I’m glad I only had to do one run, and not two like I had to in the European championships,” Satkova said.
“It would mean a lot to me to win, of course, but really I am trying not to think about it because I have semi-finals first. I don’t really think about winning the title now, my goal is to rest tomorrow and then think about the semi-finals.”
Slovakia’s Sona Stanovska was the quickest in the women’s K1 U23, even with a two second penalty for a gate touch. The quickest raw time came from Czech Antonie Galuskova, who was the only athlete to go under 90 seconds, but had a massive six seconds in penalties.
Stanovska said she didn’t expect to be in the top position after her run, but is determined to win a medal at her final appearance in U23 competition.
“It was quite an easy course for me, but I did have one touch which surprised me, it was a really physical course, so it was hard to be strong,” Stanovska said.
“At the finish line I didn’t really sprint, so I thought I would be around the fifth to tenth place, and there were still some very strong girls to come, so it was a bit of a surprise to me.
“This is my last chance to win, so I hope I will be good enough to take a medal.”
Italy’s Martino Barzon, a junior world champion from 2021, posted the quickest time in the men’s U23 C1. Barzon posted a clean run to finish more than one second ahead of Poland’s Szymon Nowobilski.
“It’s a very strong course because the water is very slow, which makes it very hard,” Barzon said.
“I didn’t expect this, but that’s okay. I felt very confident in the water and I have high hopes for Saturday.”
The top three ranked Frenchmen, Mewen Debliquy, Jules Bernardet and Yohann Senechault caused some anxious moments for the French team when all three needed second runs to qualify through to Saturday’s final.
Bernardet hit his best form on the second run, posting a team three seconds faster than Barzon’s first run time.
The 2023 Junior and U23 Canoe Slalom World Championships continue on Thursday, with junior K1 and C1 races. The first individual medals will be decided on Friday.
Full results from Wednesday’s racing can be found here.
More information about the event can be found on the official webpage.
The livestream for the junior and U23 world championships can be accessed here.
