German and Czech athletes enjoyed a fruitful weekend in Markkleeberg at the latest International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Ranking event.
Noah Hegge and Ricarda Funk ensured the men's and women's kayak gold medals went to Germany while Lukas Rohan and Gabriela Satkova shared the honours for Czechia in the canoe final.
Hegge was the fastest in the men's K1, clocking 96.36 to edge Michal Pasiut of Poland in second, 0.27 behind. Another Pole Mateusz Polaczyk bagged bronze in 97.65.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Funk posted 105.77 to pip Satkova for the title despite a gate touch.
Satkova, a world and European champion, was 0.53 behind while Slovakian Sona Stanovska finished third in 106.62.
The 23-year-old however grabbed victory in the women's C1 with a clean run in 112.22. A four-second penalty cost Andrea Herzog of Germany the top spot on the podium.
She settled for silver 0.68 behind Satkova, with Lena Teunissen of the Netherlands placing third in 114.50.
Another Tokyo Olympic medallist Rohan, who struggled in the heats, put on a show when it mattered by winning the men's C1 0.55 ahead of Germany’s Hannes Trummer in 101.41.
Czechia's Vaclav Chaloupka, the 2021 World Champion, finished third in 101.71.
Stefan Hengst added to the German tally by winning the men's kayak cross final, beating silver medallist Mateusz Polaczyk of Poland and teammate Enrico Dietz, who won bronze.
Funk got her second gold of the weekend when she cruised to victory in the women's kayak cross, with Paris 2024 medallist Klaudia Zwolinska of Poland finishing third and Annkatrin Plochmann of Germany taking the final podium spot.
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Petrushev shines at home
It was a weekend to remember for home favourite Angel Petrushev, who won the men's K1 gold medal at another ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking event in Skopje.
An error-free run saw the 21-year-old get the better of Daniel Parry of Canada by 1.41 for the title as Marko Dordevic of Serbia clinched bronze in 93.40.
Slovenia enjoyed two titles in North Macedonia thanks to Ula Skok in the women's K1 and Matej Trojansek in the men's C1, respectively.
Skok had six penalties but still emerged on top by 11.16, ahead of silver medallist Blandine Xhemalji of Kosovo in 123.13. The bronze went to Hungarian Sara Timea Seprenyi in 131.79.
Trojansek edged Parry in the C1 final by 0.27 in a closely contested battle as Croatian Petar Habek took bronze in 103.38.
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