Heading into the end of 2023 and Anezka Paloudova and Nicolae Craciun had every reason to believe their Paris Olympic dreams were over.
Both had fallen short at the Olympic qualifiers in Duisburg months earlier. Czechian Paloudova could only manage seventh in the women’s K1 500 B final, while Craciun, an established C2 paddler, looked likely to miss selection on a very competitive Italian team.
Paloudova took time to recover both physically and mentally from her disappointment, and headed into 2024 believing she could still get to Paris.
And on Thursday, she backed up her words with action, snatching the second women’s K1 500 Games quota.
“I can’t believe what has happened, it will take some time for me to believe that I am an Olympian,” Paloudova said.
“Duisburg was pretty tough for me, I didn’t do a good race there and I was really upset after my race.
“I really focused then on my mental preparation, and tried to do everything correctly. On one hand it was pretty hard, but on the other hand there wasn’t so much pressure on me, because in the Czech Republic there are much better paddlers in the boys, in kayak and canoe, and for the girls we are getting better, but we are still not on the same level as the boy athletes.”
When you enter through the doors of the last chance saloon, you know that it’s going to be hard. Paloudova said she had prepared well for this final chance, but it still hurt like hell!
I didn’t do a good race there and I was really upset after my race
“It was super tough, and super hard to finish the race,” she said.
“My muscle pain was so bad, I was just telling myself to keep doing it. The last 50 metres was a super important part of the race, but I was so tired, it was so tough.
“But I did it, I finished, I just don’t know what to say, there are so many emotions coming in.”
Importantly, Paloudova kept her cool when others around her applied the pressure early. As a paddler more comfortable over 1000 metres than 200 metres, she had told herself to bide her time.
“I just said to myself, just focus on your race, everyone else is going to start fast so I don’t need to panic or overthink. I knew I could finish well, and I think I was able to keep my plan.”
Craciun was staring down the likelihood of Olympic qualification heartbreak for a second consecutive Games campaign. Ahead of Tokyo he had teamed up with his brother Sergiu to try and qualify a C2, but it was not to be.
C2 was Nicolae’s boat. He had won ICF world titles in C2 500 and C2 1000. But all of that counted for little when your big dream is the Olympics.
With nothing left to lose, Nicolae Craciun made a bold career choice – jump out of a C2, and go it alone in a C1.
I want to go to the Olympics and show that I belong there
On Thursday in Szeged the decision paid off big time, with the Italian grabbing one of the two men’s C1 1000 Paris quotas available.
“I never expected this result for me, because I’ve never raced in C1 1000 metres in my career,” Craciun said.
“I did all my life in C2, but this year I had a new goal, I started the season with a preparation in C1, but I really didn’t believe in my form so I didn’t expect when I saw the starting list that I could get better than fourth or fifth.
“I don’t have the words to explain this emotion, because the Olympics was a dream of my family. We tried three years ago, with my brother, to get the qualification for Tokyo, but we missed it.
“So now I want to give this gift to my family, to my federation, to my club.”
Craciun and Paloudova have had a longer journey than most to get the chance to live the Olympic dream. But as Paloudova points out, the job is not over.
“I want to go to the Olympics and show that I belong there,” she said.
“That I’m not only the last one to qualify, but I’m an athlete who deserves to race at the Olympics and who is able to race with the top athletes in the world.”
Pics by Bence Vekassy
Full coverage of this week's events in Szeged can be viewed on the ICF’s Premium YouTube channel
Join Planet Canoe's YouTube channel for €9.99 per month to unlock members-only content and features
You can find all the event details, including schedules and start lists, on our official event webpages.
Related links
