2014 PLANETCANOE

Planet 1 Dansprint Ergometer State of Art

Kim Wraae Knudsen Olympic Silver K2 1000m 2008

Specifications

Ergometer Length: 3.10 m Width: 0.41 m Height: 0.70 m Weight. 40 kg

Paddleshaft Length: 1.70 m

The Dansprint Ergometer is a high tech /canoe simulator with an unparalleled authentic water feeling.

Dansprint ApS Tel. +45 4469 8800 [email protected] Strandmarksvej 27C Mobil +45 2011 8800 www.dansprint.com DK-2650 Hvidovre Fax +45 4469 8880 indoor-outdoor 2 Planet Canoe Dansprint Ergometer

State of Art President’s Foreword

he momentum provided by the 2012 Tcontinued throughout the 2013 season with the very best in our sport delivering time and time again on the international stage. With World Championships held in nine countries spanning six dis- ciplines, including the inaugural ICF Ocean Racing World Champion- ships, 2013 provided a truly memorable year of competition. The season also provided the opportunity for our non-Olympic disciplines to shine within the multi-sport arena, with and both in action at the in Cali, Columbia and the World Masters Games in Turin, . As an invitational sport, Canoe Marathon was contested for the first time, whilst the established and exceptionally popular discipline of Canoe Polo made its third appearance at the World Games. Their participation in the World Games is exciting for our sport; Kim Wraae Knudsen offering a significant boost to global visibility and the opportunity for Olympic Silver Medalist us to demonstrate how each of these disciplines can enhance and oper- K2 1000m Beijing 2008 ate within multi-sport competitions. Canoe Polo, alongside Ocean Racing and Va’a, are also being consid- ered for inclusion into the Sport Accord 2015 World Beach Games. It is clear that a proven ability to operate within the various Specifications multi-sport Games environments is likely to be a consideration when, later this year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Ergometer review their sport selection criteria for the 2020 Olympic Pro- Length: 3.10 m gramme and beyond. Despite all of the exceptional on-the-water activity, perhaps the Width: 0.41 m biggest achievement in 2013 for the ICF has been to ensure the future Height: 0.70 m construction of the course for the 2016 Rio Olympic Weight. 40 kg Games, which was brought into question due to financial concerns. Canoe slalom has been a permanent fixture in the Olympic Paddleshaft Games since 1992 and over this period the ICF has developed considerable expertise in ensuring successful delivery Length: 1.70 m of an Olympic venue that not only delivers a spectacular event but can also provide a true legacy; the Lee Valley White Water Centre is a clear example. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that The Dansprint Ergometer is contributed to this successful outcome. I look forward to a superb venue being built that will provide the very best in our sport with a high tech kayak/canoe simulator the Olympic experience they deserve and inspire a new wave of with an unparalleled authentic talent from across South America to pick up a . I take a moment to reflect on the passing of UIrich Feldhoff water feeling. (GER) who was our Honorary President and former President of the ICF who sadly passed away in 2013. Mr Feldhoff contributed greatly to our sport and was a true ambassador for on the world scene. We will remember him fondly. I also look forward to the events in 2014 with a full canoeing cal- endar again covered worldwide on TV and online at canoeicf.com.

Dansprint ApS Tel. +45 4469 8800 [email protected] José Perurena, ICF President & IOC Member Strandmarksvej 27C Mobil +45 2011 8800 www.dansprint.com DK-2650 Hvidovre Fax +45 4469 8880 indoor-outdoor Planet Canoe 1 PLANET CANOE 2014 Contents

P01 President’s Foreword

P04 News from Around the World of Canoeing

P10 Canoe Slalom Review

P14 World Cup Review

P17 World Games Provides Scintillating Action

P19 World Cup

P25 Canoe Sprint Olympic Hopes

World Championships P18 Wildwater Canoeing Junior World Championships

P20 Wildwater Canoing Spint World Championships

P22 Ocean Racing World Championships Florence | P90 P24 Sprint Junior and U23 World Championships

P26 and Canoe Sprint World Championships

P33 Slalom World Championships

P38 Slalom Junior and U23 World Championships

P40 Marathon World Championships

P42 Freestyle World Championships

Editorial P43 Becoming Mainstream

P46 Progress is Never Easy

P62 The Challenge The Wallaces | P72

P72 The Wallaces

P77 The Challenge

P81 Slalom Snapshot

P86 Gender Equity

P90 Dream Double

P92 Canoe Polo

P94 Behind the Cover

Contributors Guy Dresser, Richard Eaton, Greg Smale, Midgie Thompson, Ollie Williams, Ross Solly, Mark Proctor, Brad Morgan, Brett Clancy, Rob Eyton Jones and Ramon Ganyet

Photography Carrington and Fox | P77 Unless otherwise stated, photos are taken by the ICF Official Photographer Balint Vekassy - canoephotography.com HELLO

Ushered in by the closing ceremony of the These events add an extra dimension Olympic Games, the 2013 international to the world of canoeing, providing fresh canoe calendar had a crisp look, ready to ways to innovate and experiment with Editor’s unleash a new era of superstars. broadcasting and presentation. It didn’t disappoint with many defining To get this right is exceptionally words moments across all disciplines. important, not just because of the emphasis Seeing the Czech duo of Vavrinec˘ placed on audience reach by the IOC, but it Hradílek and Jirí˘ Prskavec cross the finish also affects how our sport is perceived by the line first and second at the ICF Canoe outside world. Slalom World Championships in However, perhaps the most poignant was certainly one of these moments. The moment of the season came after pair, competing on their home course, dealt Fernando Fernandes’ (BRA) victory in the with the weight of expectation and media K1 Men A Paracanoe World Championships, scrutiny admirably, delivering gold and when he said, “I met this beautiful sport silver in front of a capacity crowd at the and a new part of my life began.” This is famous Troja course, just months after the something every paddler has experienced, devastating floods that hit the region (p6). I’m sure you’ll agree. 2013 also boasted an entirely new event, the ICF Ocean Racing World Championships; as well as seeing the return of the spectacular Richard Pettit, Editor & Designer World Championships. [email protected]

Planet Canoe is the official magazine of the ederationF Planet Canoe Avenue De Rhodanie 54, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland Phone: +41 (0) 21 612 0290 featured articles from this edition President: José Perurena / Secretary General: Simon Toulson

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ESTANGUET– CHANGING THE RULES PADDLING INTO THE FUTURE CANOE SLALOM OLYMPIC HISTORY Canoeing legend talks about the changes needed A look at the challenges ahead for canoe slalom Ramon Ganyet takes a look at the key moments in to improve the sport’s future and the ICF’s view on the discipline’s future the history of the sport

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WINNING STRATEGIES FEELING FREEDOM THE DUSI What is the difference between gold Interviews with the stars of Paracanoe and their Brad Morgan explores the history of Africa’s epic winners and the rest? ambitions for the sport’s Rio 2016 debut four-day canoe marathon NEWS

n March José Perurena, ICF Presi- being recommended for riple Olympic canoeing cham- OLYMPICSdent and IOC Member spoke exclu- exclusion has been the subject of much pion (FRA) was I T sively to Sportcal and described his criticism among supporters of that confirmed as a member of the disappointment at the International sport, as well as, it is thought, among Athletes’ Commission for the Inter- Canoe Federation’s shock appear- some IOC members (wrestling was national Olympic Committee (IOC), ance among the sports in the firing reinstated in September). following the decision by the Court of line when the International Olympic Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold Committee was considering which the disqualification of two other sport to recommend for exclusion candidates. from the 2020 Olympic Games. The delayed announcement, due last “The ICF was disappointed to be year after the London 2012 Olympic named in the voting of the 2020 Olym- Games, was released on the 22 May by pic programme,” commented Perurena. CAS and concluded that their investiga- “Certainly all the statistics and anec- tions agreed with the IOCs findings, dotal feedback do not point to canoeing confirming that ’s Koji Murofushi being in such a lowly position in the and Chinese Taipei’s Mu-Yen Chu were Olympic Games. both guilty of a breach of conduct in “Therefore our view is that the the election process. system of evaluation needs to be re- “The role of athletes in the Interna- examined. For example, a few months tional Olympic Committee is essential earlier we were receiving TV production to the development of sport in the awards for the Games in London, then future. During my tenure, I will try to we are mentioned as a potential candi- fulfill my mission to voice the athletes date to be removed from the Olympic concerns,” said Estanguet. programme. He joined the Slovak shooter Danka “The Olympic Games needs sports Bartekova, Australian rower James like canoeing and canoeing needs the Tomkins and Zimbabwean swimmer Olympic Games.” Kirsty Coventry, who were also elected The process that eventually led to to the commission.

4 Planet Canoe Inspiring Future Champions In 2012, national anthems echoed around the Lee Valley White Water Centre, champions were created and dreams realised. One year on since its impressive introduction to the world, the centre now plays host to the next generation of aspiring Olympians through GB Canoeing’s London Legacy Project. The three-tiered project aims to capture the enthusiasm generated by the Games and increase involvement at every level of canoeing activity from participation to podium. Targeting those who have previously been involved in paddle sport, but not specifically canoe slalom, the project starts with twice-a- week under 18 ‘come and try it’ sessions. For many, the sessions provide a once in The International Olympic a lifetime opportunity to gain world-class coaching expertise from GB Canoeing’s top Committee confirmed that level instructors. UAE Course The newly constructed canoe slalom course canoeing is one of the core in the United Arab Emirates became the destination of choice for many of the Euro- pean teams, winter training. The course is 25 sports for the Olympic part of Wadi Adventure Park in Al Ain, the fourth largest city in UAE, located approxi- mately 130 kilometres south of Dubai. Programme 2020. Double World Champion, (SLO), was one of the many athletes to take advantage of the exceptional facilities, he said, “I watched ritain’s premier canoeing venue, some videos before arriving here, because David the Lee Valley White Water Centre, B [Florence], Michal [Martikán] and the Hoch- further enhanced its Olympic Legacy schorners [Pavol and Peter] were here before. credentials by announcing plans that “While you’re paddling it seems the curves it will increase its impressive facili- just won’t end. I think this might become a ties and become the headquarters for very popular destination for Europeans.” Team GB’s Canoe Slalom Performance Centre. Pan-Am Games Extra Events A spokesman for Lee Valley Regional Following its Extraordinary Assembly, the Park Authority said, “Since opening to Pan-American Sports Organisation (PASO) the public in April 2011, the centre’s announced the addition of canoe slalom to popularity has been phenomenal, with the programme of the 2015 Pan-American double the number of visitors that we Games. Previously, only canoe sprint events had expected. were included. In addition, women’s canoe “The GB Canoe Slalom team has been events will be part of the sprint and slalom with us since the centre opened and the programmes. new development will provide the ath- “This is fantastic news for canoeing”, said José letes, coaches and their support services Perurena, ICF President and IOC Member. “The with even better facilities.” decision of PASO acknowledges the continuous In addition to the headquarters there efforts of the International Canoe Federation will be a new cafe and an additional 250 and the Pan-American Canoe Federation to car parking spaces. increase the exposure of canoeing universally The development plans will see the and fits naturally in the ICF strategic plan of centre better placed to cope with large development.” visitor numbers and will enable extra community programmes to take place, giving thousands more people the chance to take part in activities.

Planet Canoe 5 NEWS

Slalom Superstar Picks Up a Shovel to Help World Championships

ouble European Canoe Slalom to help clear the surrounding areas of DChampion, Jiri Prskavec (CZE), devastation, as water levels began to rushed back from his triumphs subside. in to help ensure that the “Right after the teams’ medal Prague slalom course would ready ceremony I underwent doping control for the 2013 ICF Canoe Slalom World and then I jumped into the car with Championship. Vavřinec [HradÍlek] and Vit [Prindis] Following the devastating floods, towards Prague,” described the double which swept through the world-class European champion. “We arrived back venue the local organising committee, from Poland at around 3 am. We were with a band of willing volunteers, very tired from the long journey and also tried everything in their power to get the celebrations in the car.” the venue ready to host the World The kayaker, who shocked the canoe Championships from 11–15 September. world two years ago by winning bronze Only a day after his success in Poland, at the senior European Championship, the 21-year-old champion joined the last year added the U23 World Title to his volunteers and got stuck in with a shovel achievements.

Sudden Death Shocks Canoeing Fraternity A 37-year-old Greek canoe with a sudden illness. The The international com- Kiligaridis was a suc- champion, after being in a decision was taken to switch petitor, who had complained cessful paddler with World coma for over week, passed off the life support machine about a mild temperature, and European honours to away following a sudden on the 12 June after the med- was found unconscious in his name; he also qualified illness. ical board convened. Accord- his hotel room by team- for the , and Andreas Kiligaridis, a ing to reports, the athlete mate Michalis Papasavvas. Beijing Olympic Games. The Greek C1 paddler who suf- had fallen into a coma in his Medical tests indicate that news of his sudden death has fered a stroke in Poland was hotel room in Poland, when Kiligaridis had been suffering sent shockwaves through announced ‘clinically dead’ preparing to compete in the from an aggressive form of the whole of the canoeing following a week-long battle Bydgoszcz Cup. leukaemia. fraternity.

6 Planet Canoe High drop-out rate in Britain’s toughest canoe race April showers caused almost 30 percent of the 450 entries in the 200km-long Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race to fail to complete the course. Severe cold, strong head winds and extremely high levels of flow on the combined to give the competitors an even more difficult experience than usual in the race dubbed by many as ‘the canoeist’s Everest’. The race, believed to be the longest non-stop canoe race in the world, begins in Devizes, a small market town in the English county of Wiltshire, and heads along the narrow Kennet & Avon Canal to Read- ing where the course joins the Thames and heads to central London.

olypics.co.uk

New Timing Agreement South Africa Starts The ICF signed a new agreement with Season timing and scoring service providers The South African Open Canoe SIWIDATA; the season long agree- Slalom Championships took the ment includes the senior ICF Canoe honour of launching the 2013 Slalom World Championships, World season. The event also made history Cups (5) and the Junior/U23 World by becoming the first International Championships. Canoe Slalom Open to be staged in The agreement started at the Africa. seasons inaugural ICF Canoe Slalom (FRA) was the star World Cup, . of the event, recording blistering Paddle for the Planet Estanguet Autobiography times in the K1 Women’s event that would have placed her fifth in the The ICF endorsed Paddle for the K1 Men’s overall standings. Planet (P4P) as its primary environ- Treble Olympic champion, Tony The local municipality now plans mental initiative for 2013. Held on 1 Estanguet (FRA) launched his to make the championships an June the one day global relay event autobiography titled ‘Une Histoire annual event, and to encourage gathered canoeists from all over the D’Équilibre’ (A story of balance). athletes from all over the world to world to help raise awareness of ways It is an account of his life in ca- take advantage of the favourable to improve marine and environmental noeing, how he got to the top and early season climate for training and conditions. how he survived there. competition.

elen Brownlee, ICF Board Member, intended that my work in Olympic educa- HOceania Canoe Association President tion was for the benefit of school students and Australian Olympic Committee and the difference they could make in the (AOC) Vice President, was awarded the world by adopting the Olympic values as a prestigious Special Commemorative footprint for life. Medal. “My greatest joy has been to see past Presented by the International recipients of the AOC Pierre de Coubertin Pierre de Coubertin Committee on the Award go on to represent , with occasion of the Pierre de Coubertin’s distinction, in their chosen sport at the 150th Anniversary. The award recog- Olympic or Paralympic Games,” she added. nises contributions made by indi- Brownlee is looking forward to the viduals to sport and culture. Brownlee challenges and opportunities the role will founded and has been organising the present. She will continue to promote secondary school Pierre de Coubertin Olympic education and create a positive award program in Australia for the past 20 environment for women in sport. She also years. wants to advocate the importance of values “I am very humbled to receive the and culture at the AOC from the Board to award,” Brownlee said. “It was always the Team.

Planet Canoe 7 NEWS

BRABANTS RETIRES im Brabants MBE, Great Britain’s most successful Olympic canoeist and one of the world’s most accomplished Men’s K1 sprint kayakers, announced his retire- ment from the sport. The 36-year-old is a four times Olympic Games competitor. TDuring the 2008 Beijing Games he made history by winning Britain’s first Olympic Gold medal in canoeing, with a convincing win in the K1 Men 1000m where he led from start to finish. This has been an incredibly difficult At the Beijing Games he also won bronze in the K1 Men 500m event, adding to the bronze medal decision to make, but reluctantly I he had won previously at the 2000 Sydney Games realise I have reached the point where in the K1 Men 1000m. He is a multiple World and European Champion and, in 2009, was awarded an I need to retire from the sport MBE for his achievements in canoeing. “This has been an incredibly difficult decision to make, but reluctantly I realise I have reached the point where I need to retire from the sport,” said Brabants. ULRICH FELDHOFF “It has become more obvious to me over the last few months that as much as I love the sport and 1938–2013 would love to be Olympic and World Champion again, I’ve reached the point where I’m unlikely Ulrich Feldhoff, the former at the 2013 ICF Canoe Sprint to improve or achieve the same results that I once long-time President of the World Championship in Duis- achieved. German and the International burg, where he was a passionate “As a competitive athlete with a competitive Canoe Federation, passed supporter of the hugely success- brain I cannot make this decision easily and I away on Saturday 19 October ful German team. know lots of athletes have had to go through this,” after a long and serious illness Feldhoff was also Chair- he continued. at the age of 75. man of the Federal Sports “It wouldn’t be right to just keep competing Feldhoff was considered a Performance Committee of for the sake of competing and, when you’re not “master of sports diplomacy” the former German Sports getting your best results, it wouldn’t be fair on my and was an honorary member Federation (DSB), and at the family or on the other athletes in the sport that of the German Olympic Games in 1992 in Bar- are trying to come through.” Confederation (DOSB). celona and 1996 in he Brabants now plans to resume his medical From 1981 to 2005 Feldhoff was Chef de Mission for the career with the likelihood of specialising in was President of the German German Olympic team. emergency medicine, he is also keen to stay Canoe Federation and was then He received several awards, involved with the sport. unanimously elected Honorary including the Order of Merit Paying tribute to Brabants and his many President. 1st Class and the Olympic achievements, John Anderson MBE, GB Canoeing In 1988 Feldhoff became an Order from the International Performance Director said: “ has ICF Board Member; 10 years on Olympic Committee. He was been a true champion and a huge inspiration for he was elected as ICF President, also named “Citizen of the athletes in canoeing in the UK. a position he held from 1998 to Ruhr” in 2002. “When he won the first ever Olympic medal for 2008. Feldhoff will be remembered GB in Sprint Canoeing at Sydney in 2000 he led His most recent appearance as one of the most influential the way for other athletes in our sport. on the international scene was leaders of modern day canoeing.

8 Planet Canoe Baillie / Stott. Cardiff. Image Pete Astles Baillie / Stott. Cardiff.

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10 Planet Canoe CANOE SLALOM WORLD CUPS

alent and tenacity was in Cardiff and closed in . their heels were the London 2012 evident throughout 2013, , La Seu d’Urgell and Tacen Olympic silver medal duo of Richard as the post-Olympic year were the other three destinations. Hounslow and (GBR), delivered another spectacu- Cardiff they laid down the second quickest lar season of competition time to secure silver. The tricky Olympic-standard course with the world’s best slalom It was also a positive start for in Cardiff, Wales, presented the first athletes going head-to-head over a Fabien Lefèvre (USA) who won T challenge and to the delight of the series of five ICF World Cups. bronze in the K1 Men, his first medal home crowd Great Britain’s paddlers Following her London 2012 Olym- for his adopted nation since making won four , including both pic Silver medal, Australia’s Jes- the switch from . golds in the women’s events. sica Fox continued to impress. The The talented 17-year-old, Kimber- Augsburg 19-year-old competed in both the C1 ley Woods (GBR) announced herself Just one week later Augsburg pre- and K1 disciplines across all five of on the international scene with her sented a different challenge for the the season headliners, asking serious first senior victory as she stepped competitors as the famous German questions of her opponents which ahead of a world-class field to take venue, known as the ice channel, often went unanswered. gold in the C1 Women. This was fol- showed no mercy to the 265 compet- Once again, the ever strong con- lowed by a superb run by Elizabeth ing athletes. tingent of German paddlers excelled, Neave (GBR) to reach the top step on Surprisingly only one of the five with Sideris Tasiadis (C1 Men) and the podium in the K1 Women. competitions was won by the host Sebastian Schubert (K1 Men) leading The ’s Stanislav nation, with Paul Boeckelmann the line. Ježek won the C1 Men, with Fabien (GER) winning the K1 Men. French duo, Matthieu Péché Dörfler (GER) victorious in the K1 Olympic gold medalist, Émilie and put the disap- Men. Treble-Olympic Champions, Fer (FRA) put in a clean run to add pointment of finishing fourth at the Pavol & , won another gold to her increasing collec- London 2012 Olympic Games behind the C2 Men. “The race was really tion in the K1 Women’s discipline. them, and in doing so prevented hard because the weather was really The C1 Men’s event was exception- Peter and (SVK) cold, it’s hard to paddle when your ally tight with all top five paddlers adding an unprecedented eleventh muscles are cold,” said Pavol. putting in a clear run, but it was series title to their overwhelming He continued, “We tried to not Alexander Slafkovský (SVK) who was collection of world honours. make any mistakes. It was important quickest. This was the 26th edition of the to go good, fast and clean.” Likewise, the top three in the C1 ICF World Cup, and for the second It certainly was, because close on Women’s event were also close, but it year in a row the season opened

Planet Canoe 11 » was the Australian, , who outmanoeu- vred two Brits to secure gold. France collected their second gold of the weekend, as the C2 Men’s duo of Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Péché edged out the London 2012 Olympic Champions, Timothy Baillie (GBR) and (GBR). It was the 20th time the ICF has run an event in Augsburg, the venue famous for hosting the 1972 Olympic Games. La Seu d’Urgell The iconic Parc Olímpic del Segre venue in La Seu d’Urgell, , hosted the third ICF . The tough course proved to be a true test of skill and strength and saw many of the favourites, including K1 Women’s Olympic Champion, Émilie Fer (FRA), eliminated early as the 1992 Barcelona Olympic run showed no mercy. The course also showed no mercy to London 2012 Olympic C2 gold medallist Etienne Stott (GBR) who dislocated his shoulder on his first run with companion (GBR). “Our first run was a little bit sketchy already”, explained Baillie. “It was not as good as we would have hoped. Underneath the bridge we caught Event Venue Date a bit too much edge. We managed to return to upright but in the process Etienne’s shoulder World Cup Race 1 Cardiff June 21–23 popped.” World Cup Race 2 Augsburg June 28–30 Stott was sidelined for the remainder of the 2013 season. World Cup Race 3 Spain La Seu d'Urgell July 5–7 The French duo of Gauthier Klauss and Mat- World Cup Race 4 Tacen August 16–18 thieu Peche eventually won the C2 competition putting down a clean run to take top prize. “ We World Cup Final Bratislava August 23–25 did not expect to do so well early in the sea- WORLD CUP SEASON STANDINGS son”, commented Klauss after their victory. Equally impressive was Eva Terčelj (SLO, C1 Men Pts. K1 Women), Jessica Fox (AUS, C1 Women), 1 Sideris Tasiadis (GER) 215 Anže Berčič (SLO, C1 Men) and Vavřinec 2 Matej Benuš (SVK) 213 Hradílek (CZE, K1 Men ) who each left Spain 3 Anže Bercic (SLO) 208 with a gold medal. C1 Women For Terčelj and Berčič it was their first 1 Jessica Fox (AUS) 295 World Cup victory. 2 Katerina Hošková (CZE) 234 Hradílek commented after his victory, “I 3 (AUS) 177 think the course was really long and very C2 Men demanding. Physically it was absolutely 1 Gauthier Klauss / Matthieu Péché (FRA) 260 crazy. My arms were hurting but I man- 2 Luka Božic / Sašo Taljat (SLO) 222 aged to keep the pace till the end. Fortu- 3 Pavol / Peter Hochschorner (SVK) 189 nately I succeeded in avoiding penalties, K1 Men unlike many of the other paddlers, I’ve 1 Sebastian Schubert (GER) 240 been lucky this time.” 2 (GER) 221 Tacen 3 Fabian Dörfler (GER) 219 The Canoe Slalom World Cup Series K1 Women moved to Tacen, Slovenia, for the fourth 1 Jana Dukátová (SVK) (Photo above) 211 round of competition. 2 Jessica Fox (AUS) 205 Star of the show was undoubtably 3 (GER) 201 12 Planet Canoe Jessica Fox (AUS). The effervescent 19-year-old Fellow Slovakian Michal Martikán, the London created history by becoming the first woman to 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, stole the show in win both the C1 and K1 events in a single World the C1 Men; whilst Germany’s Sideris Tasiadis Cup. amassed enough points to secure the season title, An elated Fox said, “The course was quite despite finishing eighth. challenging today, I’m really happy with how I fin- The stand-out performances of the weekend ished, its my first medal in K1 at the World Cups. were undoubtably those of Fox and Schubert. I’m so excited.” Commenting after her C1 victory, Fox said, However, her K1 victory was not without “I’m so happy, it’s been a great World Cup season controversy, following a technical fault with the for me in C1 and I really enjoy paddling here in hydro power that controls the flow-rate and water Bratislava. It’s great and I’m happy levels of the course officials deemed it necessary to have done better than my result in the 2011 for a rerun, which Fox was able to win. Worlds.” A rerun was also required for the C2 Men’s Fox came eighth in 2011, since then she has not final. Eventual winners Gauthier Klauss (FRA) looked back and has won virtually every women’s and Matthieu Péché (FRA) were clearly relieved at C1 title available. holding off fatigue to take gold. There is no such dominant force in the Men’s “It was very hard on the arms as we did the run K1, but Schubert is certainly the man of the twice and we had to find energy and strength to moment. The 25-year-old German capitalised carry us to the finish line, I think we managed on others’ mistakes with an explosive and fluid well,” said Peche. performance. Also on the top step of the podium, to the After the race he commented, “I was really delight of the home fans, was Anže Berčič (SLO, happy to win today. It was my second World Cup C1M) and Peter Kauzer (SLO, K1M). win and also the overall victory makes me very Berčič said, “I’m really happy, I was not expect- proud.” ing to win this weekend specially for the second Throughout the competition the course contin- time this season, it’s really good to win at home, it ued to ask questions of the world’s best. Schubert was a hard race, everybody here is so prepared but continued, “Gates 5,6,7 and 8 are a really difficult with a little bit of luck I could finish first.” combination. It’s big water. Big waves. It’s really After the final Kauzer commented, “We train hard through there.” on this course quite a lot. I know every step of The C1 winner, Martikán, also alluded to dif- the way down it as it’s my home course. I made ficulties, “I have mixed feelings because of quite some mistakes, I was too tight to the corner and big mistakes in the middle of the course, but I’m so close to some gates, you could go one or two happy to win such a big race.” n seconds faster but it was enough for today.” Bratislava Jessica Fox (AUS, C1) and Sebastian Schubert (GER, K1) both completed the double, as their respective victories in Bratislava also sealed them top honours in the 2013 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup series. In the Men’s C2, the Hochschorner brothers, once again proved unstoppable, winning com- fortably on their local course. Despite this the triple-Olympic gold medal-winning twins finished second in the overall season standings to French duo, Gauthier Klauss and Matthieu Péché . On the day the Women’s K1 victory went to Émilie Fer (FRA), but Bratislava-born Jana Duká- tová (SVK) managed to secure enough points to take the 2013 series, with her second position in Bratislava earning the required points. This is the fourth occasion Dukátová has topped the K1 Women’s season standings.

Planet Canoe 13 Isaquias Dos Santos

14 Planet Canoe CANOE SPRINT WORLD CUPS

anoe Sprint fever started performance of the weekend, the winner at the first World Cup in in May with all three 2013 dominating the K1 Men 1000m Szeged. ICF Canoe Sprint World from start to finish. “Well, for the Dragosavljević’s joy at taking his Cups being contested first race of the season, that was a first major senior title was evident within a four week period. good race.” Hoff commented after as he jumped in the air in celebra- The cameras captured all his victory. tion, screaming up and down the Cthe fast and furious action, with He continued, “I felt very good in pontoon. the sport continuing to increase my semi-final yesterday and I knew Other notable performances its global appeal both on TV and to I could achieve something nice came from (NZL) online streaming audiences. today. I am satisfied to have won by who managed her first win over the Stars of the show were such a margin because the last 200 longer K1 Women 500m distance, (GER, K1 Men 1000m), Sebastian metres were painful. It means I am and René Holten Poulsen (DEN) Brendel (GER, C1 Men 1000m), Lisa in good shape, despite the fact that who put in an exceptionally power- Carrington (NZL, K1 Women 200m) I have not trained too hard yet. I ful display in K1 Men 1000m to take and Laurence Vincent-Lapointe guess I benefit from the discipline I gold. (CAN, C1 Women 200m), who each kept after the Olympic Games last “To be honest I’m surprised I won,” dominated their favoured events. year.” said Poulsen. This result threw the K1 Men 1000m third and final World Cup Szeged Račice race in Poznań wide open and left many The season kicked off in Szeged, Račice in the Czech Republic was supporters asking; what happened to , with over 5,000 specta- the second port of call for the Max Hoff? tors lining the banks eager to see world’s fastest. The 18-year-old The German, who has been in their heroes compete at the highest Serbian Marko Dragosavljević stole irresistible form at the first meet, level. The Hungarian President the show with an explosive perfor- was pushed into fourth place, as Aleh János Áder was also present, and mance, and celebration, in the K1 Yurenia (BLR) and (AUS) had the joy of hearing his national Men 200m. claimed silver and bronze respectively. anthem six times over the weekend, In a world-class field, which following Hungary’s superb included Olympic gold and bronze Poznań haul of 19 medals (6 medallists Ed McKeever (GBR) and The final gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze). Mark De Jonge (CAN), the young of 2013 headed to Poznań, Poland However, it was Max European showed his strength where the nation of marked Hoff (GER) who put and stopped the clock fractionally their rapid rise to prominence with in the most impressive ahead of César De Cesare (ECU), two gold medals.

Planet Canoe 15 » First, the young Isaquias Dos Santos won the C1 Men 500m, this was followed by the duo of Erlon Souza and Ronilson De Oliveira, who won the C2 Men 200m; the pair also medalled in the C2 Men 500m where they picked up silver. This could well prove to be a turning point for the South Americans, who have appointed the highly regarded Fariñas Morlán Jesus (ESP) as their national coach with a view to success at their home Olympics in Rio 2016. Lisa Carrington (NZL) continued to excel, win- ning both the K1 Women 200m and 500m giv- ing her five gold medals from six races over the three weekends. “It has been a lot of learning in the last few weeks, trying both the 200 and 500 metres. A lot of pressure too”, admitted Carrington. After a slight hitch in the Czech Republic, Max Hoff set the record straight with gold in the K1 Men 1000m. Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (CAN) also proved unstoppable after a clean sweep in Račice, the made off with two more gold medals in Poznań winning the C1 Women 200m and, with her teammate Sarah-Jane Caumartin, the C2 Women 500m. n

Event Venue Date Race 1 Szeged, Hungary May 10–12 Race 2 Raćice, Czech Republic May 17–19 Race 3 Poznań, Poland May 31–2 June

WORLD CUP SEASON STANDINGS Men’s Kayak Pts. 1 Max Hoff (GER) 26 2 René Holten Poulsen (DEN) 25 3 Aleh Yurenia (BLR) 23 Women’s Kayak 1 Lisa Carrington (NZL) 50 2 Katrin Wagner-Augustin (GER) 23 3 (GER) 19 Men’s Canoe 1 (GER) 30 2 Jevgenij Shuklin (LTU) 26 Laurence Vincent-Lapointe 3 (RUS) 20

16 Planet Canoe Canoe Marathon C1 Men

Gold GER Silver Tamas Kiss HUN THE Bronze Bartosz Dubiak POL Canoe Marathon K1 Women WORLD Gold Renáta Csay HUN

Silver Vanda Kiszili HUN Bronze Anna Alberti ITA GAMES Canoe Marathon K1 Men Cali, Colombia Gold Mate Petrovics HUN

Silver Alfredo Faria POR anoe Polo and Canoe Marathon were contested at The World Games in Cali, Colombia; with the quadrennial international Bronze Joep Bakel NED C multi-sport competition for non-Olympic sports taking place from July Canoe Marathon C2 Men 25–4 August. Gold Márton Kövér / Attila Györe HUN These Games marked the first opportunity for Marathon competitors to compete with the sport making its debut at the Los Andes Club, north of Silver E. Shemetylo / Olekii Shpak UKR Cali in the picturesque setting of a club lake. Bronze Samuel Amorim / Rui Lacerda POR The lake circuit was approximately 2km, with the Canoe Marathon event Canoe Marathon K2 Women contested over 10km for single boats and 11.6km for double boats. Unlike other Marathon events the finals were limited to ten athletes. Gold Alexandra Bara / Renáta Csay HUN Renáta Csay (HUN, K1 Women), Mate Petrovics (HUN, K1 Men), Yul Silver Stefania Cicali / Anna Alberti ITA Oeltze (GER, C1 Men), Bálint Noé and Miklos Noé (HUN, K2 Men), Attila Györe and Márton Kövér (HUN, C2 Men) all won gold in their Bronze G. Morel / Amelie Le Sclotour FRA respective events. Canoe Marathon K2 Men Renáta Csay picked up her second gold medal in the K2 Women with Gold Miklos Milan Noé / Bálint Noé HUN compatriot Alexandra Bara, as the Hungarian pair pulled away from the rest to a comfortable victory. Silver Jiri Mladek / Tomas Jezek CZE In the Canoe Polo competition Germany proved to be the strongest nation Bronze Mael Rengel / Benno Berberich GER winning both finals. In the Women’s final they defeated a competitive Great British team 2–1, and in the free-flowing Men’s final they won 5–4 over France. The women’s bronze medal went to France after they defeated New Zea- land 4-3, and in the men’s play-off Italy won 6–2 against the . Athletes and spectators clearly enjoyed the high-level of competition and carnival atmosphere at the poolside, and following the competition Canoe Polo received the honour of being ranked in the top three sports at the World Games. Commenting after the tournament the Canadian men’s team said, “The experience itself was an incredible one. Thank you to the ICF for giving us this amazing opportunity to be a part of the World Games. The renewed excitement in our sport from the athletes and our supporters is just Women Canoe Polo incredible. It was an unforgettable experience.” Gold Germany Whilst the USA women’s team captain outlined how influential com- peting at the World Games had been for the development of the sport Silver Great Britain back home: “The invitation to the World Games was a significant stepping Bronze France stone in the development of the sport in the United States. The number of athletes vying for spots on the national team has nearly doubled. We Men Canoe Polo are taking every ounce of that excitement and using it to build enthusi- Gold Germany asm for Canoe Polo. Our team is truly grateful for the experience and the opportunity.” Silver France Both disciplines will now be looking forward to the next Games in Bronze Italy Poland in 2017.

Planet Canoe 17 WILDWATER CANOEING JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

he next generation of elite Switzerland’s Selina Zimmermann wildwater competitors lined up swiftly followed, taking the K1 Women’s in July to compete in the 2013 title. ICF Wildwater Canoeing Junior Despite damaging her boat, Martina World Championships. Staged Satkova (CZE) won the C1 Women’s in , but organised by the category with ease. Likewise, Giorgio TGerman Canoe Federation, the champi- Dell’Agostino (ITA) was equally domi- onships brought a unique cross-border nant in the C1 Men’s, cruising to gold ICF Wildwater Canoeing Junior World collaboration. after a superfast start. The Italian also Championships held Jens Perlwitz, ICF Chair of Wildwater, reached the podium in the C2 Men’s in Lofer, Austria from said, “Lofer has this wonderful course, event, but he and his teammate were the 9 –13 July 2013 an ideal infrastructure and enthusiastic pipped to the top step by the Czech duo, Photos: Martina Satkova supporters. Together with the organisa- Filip Jelinek and Vojtěch Zapletal. (above) and Marcel tion of the German Federation I expect Paufler (Right) a fantastic World Championships.” This Team Events Photographer was certainly the case. In the Team Classic, gold medals were Manuela Gawehn shared between five nations, with the Individual Classic Czech Republic and Germany each win- Marcel Paufler (GER) was first to reach ning two, and Italy, Switzerland and the top step on the podium, winning France one apiece. The same five nations gold in the K1 Men’s Individual Classic, picked up gold in the Team Sprints, with

18 Planet Canoe World Champions - Individual Classic

K1 Men Marcel Paufler GER

K1 Women Selina Zimmermann SUI

C1 Women Martina Satkova CZE

C1 Men Girgio Dell’ Agostino ITA

C2 Men Filip Jelinek and Vojtech Zapletal CZE Individual Sprint

C1 Men Ronan Cordier FRA

K1 Women Martina Satkova CZE

K1 Men Finn Hartstein GER

C1 Women Martina Satkova CZE

C2 Men = Filip Jelinek / Vojtech Zapletal CZE

= Axel Aillet / Axel Del Negro FRA Team Classic

C1 Men Cordier / Janeriat / Troubady FRA

K1 Women Leriche / Guillaume / Cossic FRA Changes to the Wildwater

K1 Men Piaskowski / Paufler / Hartstein GER Rules? Jens Perlwitz (GER), Chair ICF C2 Men Zouggari - Leduc / Aillet - Del FRA Wildwater Canoeing, was interviewed Negro / Barouh - Chamb by canoeworlds.com, and hinted at Team Sprint changes in the rules to increase par- ticipation in the discipline: C1 Men Cordier / Janeriat / Troubady FRA “Yes of course, we would like to K1 Women Satkova / Brozova / Carpakova CZE simplify the rules. This might be an easier part to develop Wildwater K1 Men Piaskowski / Paufler / Hartstein GER Canoeing, but there are a lot of ideas, WILDWATER CANOEING C2 Men Zouggari - Leduc / Aillet - Del FRA like head-to-head-races, we have Negro /Janeriat - Chamb to discuss. I see these kind of races differentiated. On the one hand it is Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total a chance to have an attractive sport JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Czech Repbulic 5 3 5 13 with spectacular duels. But on the other, you need a jury to judge con- France 4 2 3 9 tact. We would create a contact sport, Germany 4 1 0 5 in which fouls are possible.”

Italy 1 2 2 5 Switzerland 1 1 2 4 Wildwater Canoeing World Cup Two weekends in June provided four Germany on three, France and Czech Hartstein (GER) who won the K1 ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Cup Republic on two and Switzerland and Men’s title, to add to his double from competitions. The first double-header Italy each winning a single event. the team events. took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Remarkably, the final event of with the second taking place at the Sprint Events the championships was a dead heat, venue for the 2014 ICF Wildwater On the final day of the champion- as the Czech and German C2 Men’s Canoeing World Championships, ships Martina Satkova, a 14-year-old crews both stopped the clock at 1h Valtellina in Italy. from the Czech Republic, stole the 19.90. Paul Gratin (FRA, K1 Men), Manu- show, winning both the K1 and C1 The Czech Republic were certainly ela Stöberl (GER, K1 Women), Nor- Women’s events. the dominant nation of the cham- men Webber (GER, C1 Men), Marlene Ronan Cordier (FRA) became a pionships, winning a total of thirty Riccardi (ITA, C1 Women) and the duo triple gold-medallist, adding the C1 medals (eleven gold, nine silver, and of Peter Žnidaršič and Luka Žganjar Men’s Sprint title to his tally of two ten bronze). n (SLO, C2 Men) took the overall series golds from the team events. This titles in their respective events. honour was also afforded to Finn

Planet Canoe 19 WILDWATER CANOEING SPRINT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

rance dominated the Wildwater their double victory in Sort back in 2010. The Canoeing Sprint World Championships young, yet experienced, duo just managed in Solkan, Slovenia, with an impressive to edge out compatriots Blaž Cof and Simon haul of eight medals, half of which were Hočevar (SLO). Ondřej Rolenc and Jan Stastny gold. The host nation were second in the from Czech Republic won bronze. medal count and stepped on the podium “The final run was almost perfect, the upper Fsix times, whilst the Czech Republic managed it section was very good. In the lower section we on four occasions. just missed the ideal line, but it turned out to In the spectacular surroundings of the Soča be fast too, so we’re happy,” said Božič. River the action got underway, and to add to Partner, Taljat continued, “This result is the drama many of the finals were contested fantastic especially because we didn’t decide under floodlights spread along the tree-lined to compete until very late. We haven’t paddled riverbanks. much downriver and had quite a few problems at the beginning. The course looks easy, but it’s Brown dominated K1 Women not, it’s full of water traps that bounce the boat Hannah Brown (GBR) started podium proceed- around.” ings winning gold in the K1 Women. Fastest in the heats with a time of 67.4 seconds, Brown Weber gains gold for Germany held off the challenge of Switzerland’s Melanie Normen Weber (GER) became the C1 Men’s Mathys and France’s Sixtine Malaterre to cross champion and in doing so, demonstrated his the line first, in 68.95 seconds. exceptional aptitude to pick the fastest line. “I was nervous at the start line,” said the “Unbelievable. I am extremely happy. I was 23-year-old. “It’s a long way up and it’s very thinking about the medal, but this gold medal dark at the end. is very special to me, because it is my first indi- It’s hard on the mind, because it’s dark and vidual world champion title,” stated Weber. you can’t see until you are there. But it’s really French canoeist, Guillaume Alzingre, who cool to perform so well in such a world-class dominated this year’s European Championships competition. I’m really happy,” said the new in Bovec with seven medals, took silver and world champion. Slovenian Blaž Cof took bronze. Hosts capture gold Title defences Locals, Luka Božič and Sašo Taljat (SLO, C2 The superb 21-year-old, Marjolaine Hecquet Men), captured a third world title following (FRA) defended her world title, with an

20 Planet Canoe WILDWATER CANOEING SPRINT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

World Champions

impressive 3:45 second margin over compatriot Julie C1 Men Normen Weber (GER) Paoletti (FRA). Switzerland’s Sabine Eichenberger finished C1 Women Marjolene Hecquet (FRA) third. Meanwhile, Slovenia’s Nejc Žnidarčič fell just short of C2 Men Luka Božic and Sašo Taljat (SLO) his quest to win a third consecutive K1 Men’s world title; K1 Men Maxime Richard (BEL) he was edged into second spot by the slimmest of margins – much to the disappointment of the partisan home crowd K1 Women Hannah Brown (GBR) – by the Belgium paddler, Maxime Richard. C1 Men Team Alzingre/ Marquer/Santamaria (FRA) “It is a bitter feeling, because I aimed for gold, but the second place is the most I could do today,” said Žnidarčič. K1 Women Team Bren / Malaterre / Hostens (FRA) “The run was quite good, but I’m not sure if it was perfect. K1 Men Team Slovak / Hala / Slepica (CZE) Maxime was better today. There was not a chance I could have made up the 0.60 seconds.” The new world champion was very happy after the race. “I feel over the moon. It has been three years since my Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total title in Sort. I have been waiting for this for so long. I have been working hard and I am glad to see the results. I am France 4 3 1 8 extremely happy.” Czech paddler, Richard Hala collected Slovenia 1 3 2 6 bronze. France dominated the team events, winning three of Czech Republic 1 1 3 5 the four available (C1 Men, K1 Women and C2 Men). The Germany 1 1 1 3 Czech Republic picked up the remaining world title, the K1 Men’s Team. n Switzerland 0 1 1 2

Planet Canoe 21 Ocean Racing World Championships South Africa’s Michele Eray and Sean Rice became the first ICF Ocean Racing World Champions by winning their respective categories in the inaugural race hosted in (12–14 July) O22 Planet Canoe That was my best race I ever raced. I cannot explain. It’s a fantastic feeling. Non-World Championship Events In the U23 race Grant Walt (RSA) won in a time of 1h 31.49. Fellow countryman, Bran- Left: Sean Rice (RSA) celebrating don Walt (1h 33.53) took second with Austra- gold as he arrives lia’s Michael Booth (1h 34.14) finishing third. on the shore. ’s was the dominant force in the U23 Women’s event. The » The historic championship took place on the beach youngster was clear winner and secured top spot Above: Spectacular of Ofir, Esposend, on the north coast of Portugal, in a time of 1h 44.06. ‘le Mans’ style start and attracted more than 380 athletes spanning France’s Mouden Angie came second as competitors race to get in their boats. five continents. (1h 48.20) and was one of the few Europeans With a strong tradition in the sport of Ocean to step on the podium. Third went to Bianca Racing, the South African athletes demonstrated Beavitt (RSA). Right top: Michele their talent and swept up four of the six medals South Africa also took the top three positions Eray (RSA) reading Ocean Racing on offer. in the Junior Men’s category, with Kenny Rice the situation Sean Rice (RSA), the South African Ocean Race – younger brother of Sean – finishing first and perfectly to secure gold. World Championships Champion, was the first to return to the shoreline, Nicholas Notten and Gene Prato second and setting a blistering pace and winning the world third respectively. title in a time of 1h30.06. Kirsten Flanagan (RSA) won the Junior The Australian duo of Tim Jacobs (1h 30.36) Women’s race; Portugal’s Catarina Santos took and Cory Hill (1h 30.46) took silver and bronze second followed by Jamie Brinkworth (AUS). n respectively. Commenting after the race, Rice said, “That was World Champions my best race I ever raced. I cannot explain. It’s a Men – Sean Rice (RSA) fantastic feeling. I will go back home now and will Women – Michele Eray (RSA) start training again, after a big party of course!” In the women’s race South Africa occupied Winners in Non-World Championship every spot on the podium, with Michele Eray Races (1h 43.27) edging-out her compatriot Michelle U23 Men – Grant Walt (RSA) Burn (1h 43.28) by just over a second to take gold U23 Women – Teneale Hatton (NZL) by the slimmest of margins. Junior – Kenny Rice (RSA) Bronze went to Nikki Mocke (RSA) in a time Junior – Kirsten Flanagan (RSA) of 1h 43.36.

Planet Canoe 23 Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 5 9 4 18 Hungary 8 4 5 17 World Championships 2 1 3 6 Germany 2 2 1 5 Spain 0 3 2 5

ussia and Hungary domi- C2 Men 1000m haul with compatriot is just over 100m wide and, as the city’s nated proceedings at the Kristóf Khaut. source of drinking water, boasts some inaugural ICF Junior and of the cleanest conditions of any water- U23 World Championships A New Era sports venue in the world. in Welland, Canada from 1-4 As the first championships of its kind, “I like this venue very much, it has August. The event provided István Vaskuti (HUN), ICF 1st Vice- been very cleverly thought out and the first opportunity for the under 23 President, talked about why it was R an important introduction to the ICF designed,” commented Vaskuti, “All the age category to contest their own canoe facilities are simple but very effective sprint world titles, adding a competi- calendar, “By creating this age category, and functional, like the finish tower, tive stepping-stone for young athletes, we bring the paddlers closer to their the wave blocking system and the as they make the difficult transition elders. It is a good step forward. They traffic channel. It is a great example of from junior to senior competitors. also carry on their direct competition human creativity put at the service of It was, however, the dominant canoe with the athletes they used to compete efficiency.” sprint nations who claimed the most against as juniors and measure their Vaskuti also spoke openly about world titles. Hungary stepped onto the progress. They get a clearer vision of the need for canoeing to look beyond top step of the podium an impressive what they could become as seniors. I Europe. “We need to organise big eight times, and Russia five; the hosts, think that 18 is a critical age. From 18 events outside Europe at least once Canada, were third in the medal tally, to 21, they can assess their chances to out of three years, between Olympic collecting two gold medals. make a career in canoeing and decide Games. We have strong federations in Individually, the most impres- what they want to do. This is why this America and Asia, I am convinced that sive performance came from Emma championships is crucial for tomor- the world is full of great venues, which Jørgensen (DEN) who won the Junior row’s champions.” could provide many opportunities for K1 Women 200m and 500m. Bulgaria’s The event also served as a qualifier our athletes to compete. We can orga- Daryna Kastsiuchenka and Hungary’s for the 2014 in nise great canoe sprint events outside Jonatán Hajdú also stepped on the top Nanjing, . of Europe. The TV coverage is the best step of the podium twice in the junior I have seen, and this is a Junior World category. Kastsiuchenka won the C1 Superb New Venue Championship. It is a good thing for Women 200m and then teamed up with With an uninterrupted, almost 8km, the universality of canoeing.” Kamila Bobr to cross the line first in stretch of water, the Welland Inter- The 2014 Junior & U23 Champi- the C2 Women 500m; Hajdú won the national Flatwater Centre provided a onship will be contested in Szeged, C1 200m and then conquered the long superb setting for the event. The course Hungary. n

24 Planet Canoe U23 World Champions K1W 200 Michelle RUSSELL (CAN) Olympic Hopes K1M 200 Aleksandr NIKOLAEV (RUS) C1W 200 Laurence VINCENT-LAPOINT (CAN) he 2013 Olympic Hopes sprint regatta in C1M 200 Andrey KRAITOR (RUS) Racice, some 60km west of Prague, saw K2M 200 Aleksandr NIKOLAEV / Mikhail T TAMONOV (RUS) some incredible world-class performances K1W 500 Sarah GUYOT (FRA) from youngsters who have at least one more C2W 500 Zsanett LAKATOS / Kincsö TAKÁCS year to go at junior level. (HUN) Hungary completely domi- In the U17 women’s event, K2W 500 Vera SOBETOVA / Natalia PODOLS- nated proceedings winning Emma Aastrand of KAYA (RUS) events across the board in took the win in 4.03, ahead of canoe and kayak and at the Hungarian Tamara Takacs and K4W 500 ZEHE / HERING / NICHE / KNORR end of the second day of com- Anna Pulawska of Poland. (GER) petition actually had ten times And in C1 it was Jonatan K1M 1000 Josef DOSTAL (CZE) as many gold medals (21) Hajdu who won the U17 as the next placed country, 1000m race, followed by Alek- C1M 1000 Maksim PIATROU (BLR) Poland. sander Kitewski of Poland and K2M 1000 Tibor HUFNÁGEL / Benjámin CEINER Such was the depth of talent another Hungarian, Levente (HUN) and numbers in the Hungarian Balla, in third place. team that in some events both Margins were tight at the C2M 1000 Mateusz KAMINSKI / Vincent SLOMIN- its boats won medals. top with youngsters fighting all SKI (POL) The Olympic Hopes regatta the way to the line. Nowhere K4M 1000 KRAJCOVIC / JAKUBIK / MICHALEK / was an idea conceived during was this more so than in the DEMIN (SVK) the Cold War between the 200m events. In one of the sports ministries of Poland, most spectacular events of Hungary and the former the regatta, the men’s U17 as a way of K2 200m, Rokas Puzonas and PHOTO: Emma JØRGENSEN (DEN) Photographer: Madison Smith promoting sport between Gytis Macevicius of Lithuania paddlers who were too young took gold in 35.557 seconds, for their Junior World Cham- ahead of two Hungarian crews, pionships but who craved Balint Hajos and Zsolt Czuffer Junior World Champions competition. in second and Katyas Koleszar From the original three the and Viktor Nemeth in third. K1W 200 Emma JØRGENSEN (DEN) event grew to seven countries The top five boats in the race K1M 200 Balázs BIRKÁS (HUN) by 2002 and has since grown all finished within 0.55 seconds to more than 25. This year’s of each other, making even the C1W 200 Daryna KASTSIUCHENKA (BLR) event saw South Africa, Austra- photo finish a very close call. C1M 200 Jonatán HAJDÚ (HUN) lia, the US and a host of Euro- Australia, which boasted pean countries taking part. For a 30-strong team, vied with K2M 200 / Vladislav anyone looking for pointers to Denmark and Hungary for BLINTCOV (RUS) stars of the future, there were the loudest supporters, the K1W 500 Emma JØRGENSEN (DEN) plenty of youngsters to keep team having clearly brought a an eye on. large number of friends and K2W 500 Florida CIUTA / Elena MERONIAC There were three principal relatives a vast distance for (ROU) age categories, those born in the event, which formed the C2W 500 Daryna KASTSIUCHENKA / Kamila 1996 (U17), 1997 (U16) and climax of a long European BOBR (BLR) 1998 (U15). And there were training camp for its talented impressive performances in all juniors. K4W 500 PILLER / KATRINECZ / MALCSINER / of them. Ian Wynne, a bronze medal- SZABÓ (HUN) Belgium’s Artuur Peters ist in K1 500m at Athens and K1M 1000 Marius RADOW (GER) won the U17 K1 Men 1000m now a coach with the British event in an impressive 3.40, team, said all the competitors C1M 1000 Sergey YEMELYANOV (KAZ) almost two seconds clear who took part would leave K2M 1000 Zsombor NOÉ / Péter VASS (HUN) of second placed Christoph with valuable lessons: “It’s a Kornfeind of Austria with the great event, the paddlers have C2M 1000 Kristóf KHAUT / Jonatán HAJDÚ (HUN) Czech Tomas Vesely a mere 0.2 learned a lot and it’s great K4M 1000 JANZA / VASS / NOÉ / FEKETE (HUN) seconds behind him. experience for them.”

Planet Canoe 25 Max Hoff

SPRINT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 75 Nations competed at the 2013 ICF Paracanoe and Canoe Sprint World Championships in , Germany from August 27–1 September.

26 Planet Canoe the dominant force of Paracanoeing. Chip- It was the fifth time the world pington already has twelve Paralympic med- famous canoe sprint venue als spanning five Games from ; and has hosted the prestigious if she manages to maintain this form she will event, a record unrivalled by certainly be a strong contender to add to that any other venue. The action tally when canoe sprint debuts at the Rio took place on a 2km stretch 2016 Paralympic Games. of water in the centre of Speaking after her first race the mother of Duisburg Sports Park. The two said, “On the start line it’s very lonely, Sports Park dates back thoughts start going through your mind, why to 1919, and is inter- am I doing this? But when you get that gold nationally recognised medal you realise what it’s all for.” after hosting a string It was another Brit who was triumphant of world-class events, in the K1 Women TA. Emma Wiggs, the cur- including the World rent European Champion, narrowly defeated Games in 2005. Megan Blunk from the USA to take the title With a total of 839 by just over five-hundredths of a second. athletes, the event was the Spain’s Javier Reja also managed a slim largest on the Senior 2013 victory, edging ahead of the rest and securing ICF calendar, and boasted his first World Championship gold in the V1 a truly world-class line-up, Men TA. including nineteen gold medal- winning athletes from the 2012 London Fernandes Makes It Four Olympic Games. Fenando Fernandes (BRA) claimed a fourth Germany and Hungary were the dominant world title in a row in the K1 Men Paracanoe nations with sixteen and seventeen medals A, but this time his margin of victory was respectively. It was the hosts who topped the significantly reduced. Pushed all the way, chart, though, as they managed an astonish- the Brazilian superstar managed to closeout ing eight golds to Hungary’s seven. the race with a time of 51.330. Silver went to Integrated into the championships for the Great Britain’s Ian Marsden who he stopped second time was the ICF Paracanoe World the clock a fraction later at 51.920. Championships, with twelve events. Great SPRINT WORLD “Here it’s more difficult,” said Fernandes, Britain was the strongest nation, winning “Guys are more strong and prepared. I need five gold, three silver and one bronze. to be very focused. In Brazil when I started Here is how the championships unfolded: we had only five athletes. Now we have over First Championship Gold seventy. Paracanoe is different because you CHAMPIONSHIPS are free, you are strong, you are beautiful. With the Paracanoe finals run first, Olek- The guys with disability look at this and want sandr Hrenchko from the took the to do it.” honour of winning the first gold as he out- sprinted Poland’s Jakub Tokarz to win the Kierey Makes the Most of a V1 Men A, but it was former Paralympic gold Home Crowd medal-winning swimmer, Jeanette Chipping- ton (GBR) who was to steal the show. Tom Kierey (GER) overpowered a hugely The 43-year-old from Maidenhead won experienced lineup in the K1 Men LTA. The all three of the events she entered (V1 A, V1 18-year-old was too strong for the rest of the TA and K1 A), equalling her impressive haul field, including the three-time World Cham- from last year’s Championships. With six pion, Iulian Şerban from Romania. World Championship gold's since making the Speaking after the race, Kierey said, “The switch in sports, back in 2011, she is certainly challenge was to beat the Romanian. I beat

Planet Canoe 27 THE CHALLENGE WAS TO BEAT THE ROMANIAN. I BEAT THE CHALLENGE SO I’M HAPPY Tom Kierey

Paracanoe World Champions All events are contested over 200m

K1 Men A Fernando Fernandes (BRA)

K1 Men TA Mendy Swoboda (AUT) the challenge so I’m happy.” smaller – or as Swoboda puts it, K1 Men LTA Tom Kierey (GER) “more exciting.” V1 Men A Oleksandr Hrechko (UKR) Swoboda Defends World Title Ready for Rio 2016? V1 Men TA Javier Reja (ESP) In the K1 Men LTA, Brazilian, Austrian Mendy Swoboda success- V1 Men LTA Caio Ribeiro de Carvalho (BRA) Caio Ribeiro De Carvalho showed fully defended his world title in a strength and focus to win, out- K1 Women A Jeanette Chippington (GBR) competitive K1 Men Paracanoe TA sprinting former champion, and final. The 23-year-old got off to a K1 Women TA Emma Wiggs (GBR) Tahiti’s sole representative in quick start but was pushed hard Duisburg, Patrick Viriamu. K1 Women LTA Christine Gauthier (CAN) by newcomers, Victor Potanin “I tried to stay focused the (RUS) and Pier Alberto Buccoliero V1 Women A Jeanette Chippington (GBR) whole time and not to get lost (ITA) who finished second and because of the pressure,” said De V1 Women TA Jeanette Chippington (GBR) third respectively. Carvalho. Underlining the con- Talking after the race, Swoboda tinual increase in the calibre of said, “I feel exhausted from the Paracanoe athletes, he continued, race, but I feel happy for Paraca- “Some countries arrived here with noe sport because the field comes Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total more than I expected.” closer and closer together.” Canada’s Christine Gauthier Great Britain 5 3 1 9 It has been a difficult season for became a multiple World Cham- the discipline’s front-runner, who Brazil 2 0 1 3 pion, despite a bad start in the K1 suffered illness over the winter Women LTA. The veteran per- Ukraine 1 1 2 4 and was unable to return to a full former eased out Anne Dickens training regime until late spring. Canada 1 1 0 2 (GBR) and Cindy Moreau (FRA) Despite this, he remains the one who finished second and third, Germany 1 0 1 1 to beat; but the gap is getting respectively. “I feel excellent. It

28 Planet Canoe Caio Ribeiro De Carvalho Danuta Kozák

Laurence Vincent-Lapointe

Mendy Swoboda was a really, really hard race. This one who was the quick- means the world to me, better than the est. In an emotional interview she other ones before.” described how she contemplated quit- Andrea Green (GBR) showed real ting the sport, “Last year I think I am Erika Medveczky determination to outsprint a highly finished. I can’t paddle any more. My experienced lineup and win gold in the best friend, my coach, said you are very LAST YEAR I THINK I V1 Women LTA. Talking after her gold good and you don’t have to finish it. I medal winning performance, Green know that you can be the best, and now AM FINISHED. I CAN’T said, “I had a little bit of a slow start she is true.” then got into my stride. I just thought Verena Hantl from Germany, and PADDLE ANY MORE. power stroke, power stroke and Poland’s took MY BEST FRIEND, MY gradually people disappeared from my silver and bronze, in that order. periphery.” The noise levels were raised as COACH, SAID YOU ARE Germany’s Max Hoff got the capacity Medveczky’s Resurgence crowd going with a blistering attack in VERY GOOD AND YOU Wins Gold the final third of the K1 Men 1000m to DON’T HAVE TO FINISH secure gold. This finished off a superb In the absence of any of the 2011 World season for the 30-year-old German. He Championship finalists, this year’s K1 IT. I KNOW THAT YOU said, “I’m feeling great. It was a really Women 1000m provided the opportu- tough and hard race and I feel fantastic CAN BE THE BEST, AND nity for a new champion to be crowned. here in front of my home crowd.” It was the 25-year-old Hungarian, NOW SHE IS TRUE.

Planet Canoe 29 » Kenny Wallace, the charismatic Australian, Canada’s Mark Oldershaw (CAN) came finished second, and Hungarian Bence Dombvári through in third. completed the podium. After the race Brendel said, “I feel great, National hero and 2012 Olympic Champion, this is my first World Championship title Sebastian Brendel (GER) followed Hoff’s crowd- and I’m happy that I managed it here in warming victory, but it was (HUN) Duisburg. The crowd was amazing and they who managed to take the spoils in the C1 Men pushed me all the way.” 1000m final. The Hungarian showed strength-in- At one point the top two contenders’ boats depth as he sliced through a tough headwind to touched as they each looked to get the best line take the title. out of the top bend. “It did [touch] but it was “I tired. I’m so tired, it was a really hard race,” no problem. I know that it was not the idea of said the new World Champion. “It was a huge Attila. I think I have a different turn and so headwind and this race is the hardest in canoe- that’s ok, it’s 5000.” ing. I raced against lots of really good athletes and I’m so happy that I did what I did.” Explosive Surprise from Brendel held on to silver, and the up-and-com- Sweden’s Petter Östrom impressed, winning ing young Brazilian, Isaquias Queroz Dos Santos, the prestigious K1 Men 200m World Champion- won bronze. ship title. He left a world-class field in his wake, which included all three Olympic from Powerful Displays from Kozák London (gold, silver, bronze) and the 2011 World and Vincent-Lapointe Champion. Equally impressive was (GER), Hungary’s 26-year-old, Danuta Kozák, took who stormed to victory in the K1 Men 500m; as the victory in the K1 Women 500m. The double did the 19-year-old from Brazil, Isaquias Queroz Olympic Champion showed her class against Dos Santos in the C1 Men 500m. The Brazilian high-calibre opposition. She said, “I am very youngster made high-calibre opposition look happy, I didn’t have this medal in K1 and now I slow, as he coasted across the line to collect gold have.” to add to his bronze in the C1 Men 1000m. Silver went to the seasoned professional, Australia’s Kenny Wallace managed to Katrin Wagner-Augustin (GER), and bronze to control the proceedings in the K1 Men 5000m, Lisa Carrington (NZL). and won the C1 Men Once again, the power of Laurence Vincent- 200m for . Lapointe was evident as the 6ft (1.83m) Canadian controlled the race from the off. At just 21-years- New Zealand’s Top Two old, she has already won two World Champion- New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington and ship gold medals and has not lost a race this Teneale Hatton each won gold, as they season on the ICF circuit. impressed in two diametrically opposed Silver went to Staniliya Stamenova (BUL) and events. Carrington sped to victory in the K1 bronze to Zsanett Lakatos (HUN). Women 200m, whilst Hatton stole the show in Brendel Delivers Gold the K1 Women 5000m. Quick off the start, Hatton (NZL) settled Sebastian Brendel (GER) was dominant into the lead in the K1 Women 5000m, but throughout the lung-busting C1 Men 5000m never took her significant advantage for race, as the German reversed the C1 1000m granted. “I was real surprised at my start. result by pulling away from his adversary Attila I had a really good start. I just thought Vajda (HUN) to claim gold.

30 Planet Canoe Attila Vajda

World Champions - Canoe Men C1 200 Valentin Demyanenko (AZE)

C1 500 (BRA)

C1 1000 Attila Vajda (HUN)

C1 5000 Sebastian Brendel (GER)

C2 200 / (GER)

C2 500 Viktor Melantyev / Ivan Shtyl (RUS)

C2 1000 Henrik Vasbányai / Róbert Mike (HUN)

C4 1000 Kuschela / Leue / Rebstock / Kretschmer (GER)

C1 200 R Kraitor / Melantev / Ganin / Shtyl (RUS)

Kayak Men K1 200 Petter Öström (SWE)

K1 500 Tom Liebscher (GER)

K1 1000 Max Hoff (GER)

K1 5000 Ken Wallace (AUS)

K2 200 Yury Postrigay / (RUS)

K2 500 / João Ribeiro (POR)

K2 1000 / (GER)

K4 1000 Yurchenko / Pogreban / Vasilev / Zhestkov

K1 200 R. Siemionowski / Amroziak / Szypula / Putto (POL)

Canoe Women C1 200 Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (CAN)

C2 500 L.Vincent-Lapointe / Sara-Jane Caumartin (CAN)

Kayak Women K1 200 Lisa Carrington (NZL)

K1 500 Danuta Kozák (HUN)

K1 1000 Erika Medveczky (HUN)

K1 5000 Teneale Hatton (NZL)

K2 200 / Tina Dietze (GER)

K2 500 Franziska Weber/Tina Dietze (GER)

K2 1000 Gabriella Szabó / Krisztina Fazekas Zur (HUN)

K4 500 Szabó / Kozák / Fazekas Zur / Vad (HUN)

K1 200 R. Dusev-Janics / Vad / Fazekas Zur / Kozák (HUN)

R. = RELAY

Planet Canoe 31 » there is a target on my back now and everyone Carrington said, “I’m not sure, I just tried to is going to be chasing me the whole way.” extract the most I could out of myself and today Hatton continued, “I only kind of relaxed a bit, that was enough.” The 23-year-old has been maybe, in the last two turns when I had a quick dominant over the K1 Women 200m distance peek to see how much leeway I had because I for sometime, reaching superstar status at was getting a bit tired by that stage.” However, home following her victory in the London 2012 with nearly a 23 second margin at the finish line Olympic Games over the same distance. she didn’t need to worry too much. Renata Csay (HUN) took silver and Anne Duos, Quartets and Relays Rikala (FIN) secured bronze. In the battle of the duos, Germany won the Compatriot, Lisa Carrington, bettered her K2 Women and C2 Men 200m races. Meanwhile, bronze in the K1 Women 500m with gold in Russia managed to outmuscle Great Britain in the K1 Women 200m. Following a slow start the K2 Men 200m. In the 500m pairs, the strong Canadian Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total double won the C2 Women; Portugal took top honours in the K2 Men, with the C2 Men going Germany 8 6 2 16 to Russia. Hungary 7 5 5 17 The 1000m saw Hungary and Germany win- ning more gold, with the German crew winning Russia 4 4 1 9 the K2 and the Hungarian pair the C2. Hungary were also dominant in the K4 Women 500m, as Canada 2 1 2 5 their quartet pulled away in the latter stages. New Zealand 2 0 1 3 Russia secured the K4 Men 1000m with an explosive performance. In the relays, Poland won their first gold of the controlled and powerful New Zealander the championships in the K1 Men 200m relay; quickly took to the front and edged out Marta whilst Hungary added a seventh in the final Walczykiewicz (POL), who took silver, and Špela race of the championships, the K1 Women Ponomarenko Janić (SLO) who finished with a 200m relay. n bronze. When asked what made the difference,

32 Planet Canoe David Florence /

Canoe Slalom WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The main event on the 2013 Canoe Slalom calendar has attracted a world-class field, with more than 360 athletes set to commence battle on the famous course situated to the north of Prague on the Vltava River.

Planet Canoe 33 ollowing the devastating floods that hit Jessica Fox (AUS) doubled up when she Prague earlier in the year, leaving the claimed top Honours in the individual championships in jeopardy, the Organ- and team C1 Women’s events. Here’s ising Committee, after several months how it all unfolded: of back-breaking work, were certainly pleased to see the action commence. Superstar Status Earned in FThis was the second time the World Prague Championships have been hosted at Vavrinec Hradílek and Jiří Prskavec the Czech Republic’s premier Canoe (CZE) were undoubtedly the stars of Slalom course, and the theme of two the show as they clinched gold and was to continue throughout. silver in the K1 Men’s final, in front First, local heroes Vavrinec Hradí- of a packed grandstand in Prague. lek and Jiří Prskavec (CZE) clinched United, the Czech’s top two K1 paddlers celebrated their victory in style as Prs- I’M REALLY HAPPY kavec leapt from the back side – where THAT IT ENDED UP LIKE he had been with TV crews following his run – to join his compatriot and THIS WITH ME AND JIRI, lifelong friend in the water. The duo were greeted with a huge roar from FIRST AND SECOND the capacity crowd as they celebrated PLACE IS GREAT together. “I’m really happy that it ended up gold and silver in the K1 Men’s; then, like this with me and Jiří [Prskavec],” a French one–two, as Émilie Fer and said Hradílek, “First and second place took the top two steps is great.” on the podium for the K1 Women’s. “This is more than the gold from Next, Britain’s David Florence joined Krakow Europeans,” said Prskavec. forces with his reliable teammate, Rich- “This, what happened here, is really an ard Hounslow, to win gold in a thrilling incredible experience. I owe to all spec- C2 Men’s final; adding to his earlier tators that came. They made an atmo- victory in the C1 Men’s event. Finally, sphere bigger than I ever experienced.

34 Planet Canoe I heard something unbelievable from the start line by comparing it to a the third gate. I didn’t believe that it’s waterfall run. “I said to myself, ok, the really happening. I don’t know what last waterfall runs I did went pretty happened but they pushed me further. well so it should, somehow, be ok – or They pushed me to the finish.” at least I won’t get injured.” Poland’s Mateusz Polaczyk claimed bronze. I CROSSED THE LINE France Doubles Up AND KNEW I HAD Olympic K1 Gold winner, Émilie Fer (FRA), demonstrated phenomenal com- TO PUT IN A REALLY posure and superb agility to negotiate GOOD TIME. I WAS JUST the testing and tricky course in Troja to secure the K1 Women’s World title. REALLY PLEASED TO The 30-year-old French paddler seems to have gone from strength to strength PUT IN A GOOD RUN since her victory in London, and in It was more than ok, and earned her her mind it appears winning is certain. the right to take the second step on Stating her mantra after the race, she the podium and accept her first Canoe said, “No pressure, good feeling.” Slalom World Championship medal. Teammate, Nouria Newman (FRA) Jasmin Schornberg (GER) claimed picked up the silver. The 22-year-old bronze. was first off, and had an agonising wait as one after another her competitors FlorenceProofed Number One fell away. “I paddled as hard as I could, David Florence put in a near perfect run picked up three penalties, and when I to ensure gold in the C1 Men’s. Wearing arrived here I thought it was not going the number one jersey the Brit looked to be good enough.” assured from the start, and carried Well known for her extreme pad- Vavrinec Hradílek / Jiří Prskavec unmatchable speed throughout. “I went dling, Newman composed herself on fairly early off in the final, before me Jessica Fox / there had only been a couple of other guys down. I crossed the line and knew I had to put in a really good time. I was just really pleased to put in a good run, that’s all I was trying to focus on.” Flor- ence continued, “In some ways it was a nervous wait but in others I had done my bit and for the guys at the top it was probably a more of a nervous wait at the top, trying to beat that time. It certainly drags on, it’s a long wait, but I had done my best and I was pleased with my run. I had hung on to a good run all the way down, I’ve finished my run off very

Planet Canoe 35 Vavrinec Hradílek

» strongly which is what has perhaps cost me a couple of races in the last year.” It has been a sparse season by the Brit’s high standards; despite being competitive he has rarely medalled. “It’s an incredible end to the year. To have put in a lot of fast runs down this season and not quite got the results for them, then the World Cup final to be in second place, just missing out on gold, then to go one better here at the end of the season, it’s absolutely spot on.” Silver went to an emotional Alex- time on her rivals with each paddle was fast. Then I made some mistakes at ander Slavkovský (SVK), “My eyes are stroke and crossing the line just shy of the bottom. I had no idea that I could watering. It’s indescribable. I waited 13 seconds, in front of silver medallist, win with such a big difference,” said fourteen years for my first senior Mallory Franklin (GBR). Fox. medal; it’s something fantastic. I heard “I felt the upper section of the course Franklin commented, “I’m very the fans from start line to the end of happy with my second place. I thought Émilie Fer the course. They didn’t cheer just for I could win, but Jessica did a really Czechs, but for everyone. They were good run. The atmosphere here is very fantastic. I wish that everyone could good, lots of people cheering really feel this.” made a difference.” Completing the podium, Benjamin Bronze went to Caroline Loir (FRA). Savsek (SLO) said, “It is an incredible feeling. I really like to race here, last Florence Doubles Up year I even won a World Cup here. In the C2 Men’s, David Florence, who had waited 15 years to win a World IT’S NOT THE GOLD Championship medal, collected his second in 24 hours, as he crossed the MEDAL, IT’S THE line with teammate Richard Hounslow WORLD TITLE THAT in top spot. Hounslow said, “It’s not the gold MATTERS medal, it’s the World Title that matters, no one can take that way from us.” Fox in a Class of Her Own The duo executed a perfect and fault- Jessica Fox (AUS) added a C1 World less run to win. Hounslow continued, Championship gold to her ever-swell- “There may have been some slightly ing collection. The 19-year-old from faster options, but much riskier.” Australia showed exactly why she is the The British duo only just bettered leading light in the world of women’s the local boat, with C1 paddling. From the off she was in and Ondrej Stepanek (CZE), who control of the competition, gaining had the partisan crowd on their feet

36 Planet Canoe World Champions

K1W Émilie Fer (FRA)

K1M Vavřinec Hradilek (CZE)

C1W Jessica Fox (AUS)

C1M David Florence (GBR)

C2M David Florence / Richard Hounslow (GBR) Team

K1W Štěpánka Hilgertová / Kateřina Kudějová / Eva Ornstová (CZE)

K1M / / Giovanni De Gennaro (ITA)

C1W Jessica Fox / Rosalyn Lawrence / Alison Borrows (AUS)

C1W Michal Martikán / Alexander Slafkovský / Matej Beňuš (SVK)

C2M Ondřej Karlovský & Jakub Jáně / Jonáš Kašpar & Marek Šindler / Jaroslav Volf & Ondřej Štěpánek (CZE)

throughout their run. in the C1 individual event. and together they won the K1 Men “I thought the Czech boys had beaten Also making the most of a second Team title. us actually,” said Florence. “It was so chance was the Olympic Champion, Brothers, Grzegorz and Mateusz close, point-zero-four of a second is Daniele Molmenti (ITA). Andrea Romeo Polaczyk were joined by Dariusz Popiela nothing. Obviously we were on the and Giovanni De Gennaro joined him, to claim silver, and in doing so allowed wrong side of a small margin last year Mateusz a second occasion to enjoy Caroline Loir in London [Olympics] and it’s just nice to be on the right side this time.” I FELT THE UPPER Bronze went to the Slovakian cous- ins Ladislav and Peter Škantár. SECTION OF THE Locals Earn Their Stripes COURSE WAS FAST. The Czech Republic, as hosts, finished THEN I MADE SOME their World Championships off with a flourish, collecting gold in the K1 MISTAKES AT THE Women’s and C2 Men’s Team finals. BOTTOM. I HAD NO First, their K1 Women’s team got the crowd going with a super fast 130.54. IDEA THAT I COULD They were trailed by Germany and Slo- venia, who finished second and third WIN WITH SUCH A BIG respectively. DIFFERENCE In the C2 Men Team finals, Slovakia claimed silver and Great Britain the stepping onto the podium. bronze. Jessica Fox, Rosalyn Lawrence and Then came the C1 Men’s Team final, Alison Borrows (AUS) just edged out where Michal Martikán (SVK) helped the local Czech team in a close C1 his compatriots, Alexander Slafkovský Women’s Team final, while Germany and Matej Benus to gold. For Martikán claimed bronze. n it provided some consolation following an earlier than expected semifinal exit

Planet Canoe 37 Grigar was the quickest of the pair. Matus Gewissler and Juraj Skákala CANOE SLALOM picked up the host nation’s third gold Junior & U23 World Championships in the C2 Junior event. They posted the only clean run in the final on the technical and challenging course. In the C1 Junior Women, Ger- many’s Karolin Wagner topped Anna Koblenclova (CZE) to claim gold. The Brazilian Ana Satila won bronze, demonstrating again the emergence of young talent from the South American nation. Cédric Joly (FRA), tipped by some as the new Tony Estanguet, enhanced his résumé further with a clean run in the C1 Junior Men’s final which earned him gold. Great Britain’s 17-year-old Kim- berley Woods – the hot favourite in the K1 Junior Women’s event, after her impressive senior gold at the lovakia’s Ondrej Cibak Whitewater Stadium hosted five recent ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup days of scintillating canoe slalom action, as tomorrow’s S in Cardiff – had to settle for silver superstars emerged on to the world stage at the 2013 ICF Canoe following a brilliant run from Amalie Slalom Junior and U23 World Championships (17–21 July). Hilgertova (CZE), with Camille Pri- Young Frenchman, stole the show with a gent (FRA) taking third. powerful run in the K1 U23 Men’s event to take gold, ahead of Czech Republic duos dominated the current senior European Champion and last year’s winner, the top two positions of the C2 U23 Jiří Prskavec (CZE). Men’s event, with a boat from Poland The ever-improving Kateřina Kudějová (CZE) managed to finishing third. Unfortunately, due edge out Italy’s Stefanie Horn by just two hundredths of a to some last minute withdrawals, the second to claim her first individual career gold at international event did not meet the minimum cri- level, winning the K1 U23 Women’s event. teria of three continental entries in Surprisingly, favourite Jessica Fox (AUS) didn’t make the K1 order to qualify as a World Champi- U23 Women’s final, due to an uncharacteristic mistake in her onship event, despite the twenty-one semi-final run. However, the determined Australian put the dis- boats on the starting list. n appointment behind her with a ferocious C1 display to win gold. “It was a challenging course from the top to the bottom. I had U23 WORLD CHAMPIONS a couple of gate touches. It was a battle for me. Then I missed gate 13, but I just had to go back for it. I never stopped fighting. C1M Patrik Gajarsky (SVK) I had to keep going,” said Fox, “I think in that run I realised it K1W Kateřina Kudějová (CZE) was not over and that I could come back, and I did not want to finish like I did in K1. I really wanted to do a strong finish. I was C2M Lukas Rohan / Adam Svoboda (CZE) relieved with my time at the end.” C1W Karolin Wagner(GER) Viktoria Wolffhardt picked up Austria’s only medal of the Championships, with a clean run that earned the 19-year-old K1M Mathieu Biazizzo (FRA) silver. JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONS Patrik Gajarsky and Jergus Badura gave the impressive local crowd something to get excited about. The young Slovakians C1M Cédric Joly (FRA) took gold and bronze respectively, each showing extreme con- K1W Amálie Hilgertová (SVK) trol of their boats in the U23 C1 Men’s event. Martin Riha (GER) separated the pair on the podium, collecting silver. C1W Jessica Fox (AUS) Slovakia also dominated the K1 Junior Men’s event, winning C2M Matus Gewissler / Juraj Skákala (SVK) the top two medals; Jakub Grigar and Andrej Malek took full advantage of their local knowledge and partisan home support. K1M Jakub Grigar (SVK)

38 Planet Canoe Kateřina Kudějová

Planet Canoe 39 Topping Hungary’s long list of medallists was the 36-year-old mother of two, Renáta Csay.

40 Planet Canoe MARATHON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

he Crown Prince Frederik of didn’t touch anyone. I didn’t bump anyone. TDenmark was one of the thousands I was pretty happy with my race.” of spectators to witness the Hungar- In the Men’s C1 race, first time World ian domination at the 2013 ICF Canoe Champion, Márton Kövér (HUN) impressed Marathon World Championships, as as he distanced the 2012 Champion, Manuel the central European canoeing power- Antonio Campos (ESP), towards the end of house outmuscled many of their rivals the gruelling course. on the famous Lake Bagsvaerd Regatta New Zealand’s Teneale Hatton won the Course, just 15 km north of Copenha- K1 Women U23 title finishing just two sec- gen, Denmark. onds ahead of her nearest rival at the end of Proving their prowess over the long dis- the 21.5 km event. This was the 23-year-old’s tance, the paddlers from Hungary picked second World Title this year, following her up an impressive haul of 15 medals, seven gold in the Women’s K1 5000m at the 2013 of which were gold. In addition to their tally ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in of gold’s, they picked up three silver and Germany at the start of the month. five bronze medals; meaning the podium featured the red, white and green tracksuits Spain and Denmark impress of Hungarian athletes 11 out of a possible 15 The second strongest nation was Spain with times. two gold, four silver and a bronze. Topping Hungary’s long list of medallists The host nation, Denmark, managed a was the 36-year-old mother of two, Renáta further crowd-pleasing victory in the K2 Csay. She crossed the line first to become Junior Men to add to their K2 Women’s a World Champion for an incredible 13th title. They also picked up bronze in the K2 time, with five K1 and eight K2 titles to her Junior Women. name. Astonishingly, she also managed to Despite a promising start, Danish sprint sum up the strength to take silver in the K2 superstar, René Holten Poulsen, was unable Women’s event with partner Alexandra Bara to medal in the K1 Men’s event, eventually (HUN). finishing sixth. Locals Henriette Engel Hansen and Jea- The 2013 K1 500m World Championship nette Løvborg (DEN) snatched gold. silver medalist commented after the lung- busting event, “It was extremely hard, but No problems for McGregor I just didn’t have more to give at the end. I Hank McGregor (RSA) captured the presti- gave all I had and tried to break free from gious K1 Men’s title to become a three-time the others on the last two rounds.” World Champion. The South African, who Also stepping up from the sprint events was disqualified in the 2012 Championships was C1 Men 1000m London 2012 Olympic in for a collision with fellow competi- bronze medalist, Mark Oldershaw (CAN), tors on the , said, “I came here with he came seventh in the C1 Men. n a lot of motivation, I trained hard all year. I

Men Women K1 Senior Hank McGregor (RSA) C1 U23 Samuel Amorim (POR) K1 Senior Renáta Csay (HUN) C1 Senior Márton Kövér (HUN) K1 Junior Ádám Petró (HUN) K2 Senior Hansen/Løvborg (DEN) K2 Senior Alonso/Merchan (ESP) C1 Junior Kristof Khaut (HUN) K1 U23 Teneale Hatton (NZL) C2 Senior Dios/Grana (ESP) K2 Junior Pretzmann/Graversen (DEN) K1 Junior Tamara Takács (HUN) K1 U23 Andrew Birkett (RSA) C2 Junior Schmidt/Dúró (HUN) K2 Junior Takács/Czéllai-Vörös (HUN)

Planet Canoe 41 K1 Women Pts.

Gold Claire O’Hara (GBR) 708

Silver Hitomi Takatu (JPN) 650

Bronze Adriene Levknecht (USA) 326

Squirt Boat Women

Gold Claire O’Hara (GBR) 1,153

CANOE FREESTYLE Silver Motoko Ishida (JPN) 603 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Bronze Yoshiko Suematsu (JPN) 286 OC1 Men

laire O’Hara (GBR) and Jordan ride and it worked out for the best”, Gold Jordan Poffenberger (USA) 283 Poffenberger (USA) each became said Poffenberger after his winning C Silver Dane Jackson (USA) 103 double World Champions as the finals tally of 1068 in the Men’s C1. of the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Leading light in the sport, Dane Bronze Jez Jezz (AUS) 100 Championships in Nantahala Gorge, Jackson (USA), secured a full comple- C1 Men USA, reached an exciting conclusion. ment of medals with a gold in the K1 The host nation’s athletes were Men, silver in the Squirt boat and Gold Jordan Poffenberger (USA) 1,068 exceptionally successful, winning six bronze in the C1 Men’s event. Silver Tad Dennis (USA) 843 from a possible eight gold medals on (USA) won the Men’s the specially constructed wave in the Squirt boat, edging out Jackson by just Bronze Dane Jackson (USA) 840 Nantahala Gorge near Bryson City, 160 points. K1 Men North Carolina, USA. “It feels great. It feels awesome,” said The Brit, O’Hara, was the only pad- Wright. Gold Dane Jackson (USA) 1,240 dler capable of breaking their domi- “I’m really happy with that score. Silver Peter Csonka (SVK) 1,233 nance. The multiple World Champion I tried to not focus too much on how confirmed her status at the top of the I compare to other people. I wanted Bronze Tomasz Czaplicki (POL) 1,208 sport with wins in the K1 and Squirt that 1300 bad, I knew I could do it. I Squirt Boat Men boat events. knew Dane [Jackson] could do it too, Commenting after her one of her but I wanted it for me and I got it and I Gold Clay Wright (USA) 1,340 two victories, the 31-year-old said, “I’m guess I was the only one today.” Silver Dane Jackson (USA) 1,160 really relieved to put down a good run The two Junior (U18) events were and get some new moves that I’ve been exceptionally tight, with four differ- Bronze Max Karlsson (SWE) 860 working on for ages, just really happy. ent nations making the podium: USA, K1 Junior Women That was a great final with really good France, Spain and Great Britain. performances from everybody.” Top honours, again, went to the Gold Rowan Stuart (USA) 423 Poffenberger’s two World Champi- host nation with Rowan Stuart (USA) Silver Nuria Fontane (ESP) 380 onship gold medals came in the OC1 winning the K1 Junior Women’s gold, and C1 Men’s events. The 19-year-old and Hunter Katich (USA) the K1 Junior Bronze Kimberlee Aldred (GBR) 200 managed to outscore his compatriots Men’s title. K1 Junior Men on each occasion. Japan showed signs of a growing “I just kind of knew what I needed potential in the sport, winning three Gold Hunter Katich (USA) 1,200 to do for the last ride. I knew what I of the six senior women’s medals Silver Richard Thomas (FRA) 1,006 needed to do to beat a certain score. available. n I just kind of went all out for the last Bronze Alec Voorhees (USA) 953

42 Planet Canoe MAINSTREAM How does canoeing develop into a more mainstream sport with better media coverage?

By Guy Dresser

Planet Canoe 43 t’s a familiar gripe for canoe-kayak can work well. InFront produced a package of aficionados. There’s a flurry of media cover- 14 magazine format programmes for the World age around the sprint and slalom events of Corporation, the company behind the the Olympic Games but in the four years Ironman brand. The packages were snapped up by between them the sport doesn’t enjoy any- broadcasters in 130 countries and this substan- thing like this level of exposure. tially increased broadcast coverage of Ironman in If canoeing feels hard done by, it is not alone. 2013. Getting exposure for minority sports is an age- “Ironman is an incredible sport but it’s not a Iold challenge. Olympic status is no guarantee televisual event,” says Mason. “The elite com- of coverage outside Games time. Media experts petitors take eight hours to complete one but believe sports can secure coverage but it can take the average is 16 hours and you can’t make a some reinventing, rethinking – and a willingness programme that long. We didn’t just focus on to experiment with and exploit new technology. the competition, we looked at the equipment, There is no single, simple solution. the lifestyle, the training and of course the event Digital technology means more consumer highlights. It was very popular.” choice and this has transformed the media With high production values, the WTC series landscape, fragmenting the worlds of sport and would have cost around 500,000 euros but it can entertainment. More niche sports are gaining be done for less. exposure on a variety of platforms and channels “The coverage was huge, Ironman made great as this broadcasting technology becomes ever strides as a result,” says Mason. “It pays for sports more widely available. to look at all options - from a professionally put- Broadcast consultant Deborah Poulton, former together series or their own channels, such as Project Leader London 2012’s Paralympic Games their website, Youtube channel or social media.” coverage at host broadcaster Channel 4 (UK), was Some minority sports have banded together credited with transforming the televisual appeal into larger groups. Typically these are semi- of the event. She believes sports like canoeing connected sports with relevant synergies, letting have to think beyond just competition. broadcasters tap into more content, attracting “It’s about creating something that can last multiple niche audiences. longer than the racing itself,” Poulton says. “Look Canoeing has enough formats - slalom, sprint, at the sports at the Olympic Winter Games in freestyle, ocean racing and downriver racing - Sochi, you can see how presentation and innova- to be able to consider this approach, suggests tion have increased visual appeal. media consultant Jeremy Edwards, founder of Despite the success of the Paralympic Games sports sponsorship and marketing consultancy as a televisual event in 2012, Poulton admits Activative. most Paralympians will still spend the four years Alternatively it could tie one aspect of its sport between Games well out of the limelight. with music or even fashion, as and snow- “It’s difficult,” she says. “There’s no magic -for boarding have done. mula. Creating a perception takes clever thinking. “We are seeing entertainment and cultural Much depends on packaging aspects of the sport strands blending more,” Edwards says. “We are to interest broadcasters away from Games time.” also witnessing fresh alliances between sports, Adam Mason, Director of Summer Sports at music, arts, culture and fashion to offer more Swiss-based Infront Sports & Media, one of the compelling content and experiences. world’s leading international sports marketing “Merging, mixing and aligning minority sports companies, agrees. in this direction can offer a more attractive pack- “There’s no question it’s hard to keep momen- age to broadcasters. I see no reason why this tum going outside Games time. Sports need to couldn’t work for canoeing.” think visually because that’s the only way you sell Technology, of course, is not just in the hands a sport to broadcasters. That means at the very of the broadcasters. Sports can themselves exploit least ensuring your federation has good video social media, either going down an independent content on its site all year round.” route by live streaming their events, or setting up Magazine format programmes, which highlight working partnerships with video sharing plat- aspects of a sport besides just the competition forms - particularly YouTube - which is gradually

44 Planet Canoe Sports need to think visually because that’s the only way you sell a sport to broadcasters.

becoming a genuine competitor to traditional “If you consider the live streaming YouTube sports broadcasting heavyweights, or new strategy for the last America’s Cup, it’s a good companies like Aertv in Ireland. example of how a sport can remake itself for The potential is huge, as a glance at the a digital audience,” he says. viewing statistics for Red Bull Stratos’ 2012 The America’s Cup used GPS tracking, boat space project with Austrian skydiver and wind speed meters, on-board cameras Felix Baumgartner confirms. This one-off and microphones, live streaming and live adrenaline-themed event achieved more than weather prediction to bring alive sport that 8 million livestreams on the Red Bull Youtube has traditionally been seen as ‘too offshore’ channel - a record for the platform and valu- and disconnected from spectators. able exposure for the Red Bull brand. “Canoeing is a minority sport,” agrees “It is not surprising that we are seeing Infront’s Adam Mason. But like all minority more and more smaller sports looking to You- sports it has access to digital channels and Tube,” says Edwards. “Some of these are even could make more of them, even on a limited taking a fairly aggressive, income-generating budget. route.” “The sport should use them and work An example of this is Ultimate Fighting out which of its sports formats really lend Championship (UFC), one of several sports to themselves to broadcast and package the have launched a pay-subscription and pay- content accordingly. The die-hard fans will per-fight channel on YouTube. always find this content wherever the sport Another sport to successfully reinvent puts it. The trick is to come up with a prod- itself is , according to Edwards. uct that appeals to a broader audience.” n

Planet Canoe 45 Progress is never easy

Britain’s Mark Proctor tells Planet Canoe about his 2013 season, its highs and lows, and his hopes for the future

t was an abrupt ending to my season, ending a Perhaps trying too hard, I made a mistake, Irun earlier than I hoped, as I was eliminated at cutting an upstream too tight and hitting the the semi-final stage at the World Championships next three-gate stagger, this resulted in penalties in Prague. Crossing the line I remember a feeling that relegated me from a promising fifth to a of emptiness, not frustration or denial, just com- disappointing sixteenth. plete emptiness. It took me a good week to pick myself back up, This feeling wasn’t sudden; it had been pro- I’d failed to deliver what I was capable of, and it gressively building over the space of a season, hurt. But the good thing about canoe slalom is something that is understandable looking back. everyone is in it together, and two weeks after Missing the once in a lifetime experience of the Europeans I could switch my focus to the ICF competing at my home Olympic Games was a World Cup race in Cardiff. crushing blow that dominated my 2012 season. I decided 2013 was going to be different – better. I ICF World Cups had the buzz again. 2013 was going to be my year. I raced at Cardiff like I’ve never done before, I Over the winter I got my head down ensuring was on it all weekend, I felt I could find the time every detail was right; it worked, I was in the best needed to get a top result, never doubting my pre-season shape I’d ever managed. I felt good ability. This event proved the perfect cure to my and was ready for GB selection races, the opener European heartache. to my season. In the end I finished seventh, again making an annoying mistake towards the bottom of the GB Selection course that cost me a top finish. Selection for the GB team was different to most After Cardiff the team moved onto La Seu years, contested over four races, instead of the d’Urgell, Spain, to compete in the third ICF World normal three, and on two sites – Holme Pier- Cup of the season. I put down what can only be repont, and Lee Valley, London. I considered as disappointing runs. The confidence, won the second race of the four race series and perhaps overconfidence, I had felt in Cardiff had couldn’t be happier as this was at Nottingham, a gone to my head. The course in Spain brought site very similar to Prague. me back to earth with a bump and taught me a All year I had the World Championships in the lesson about the fine line between success and back of my mind. failure within our sport. This was to be my final race until the World European Championships Championships, as I’d opted for training on the With the boost of an early season win and World Championship course rather than racing encouraging data from the GB Performance Team elsewhere in my bid for World Championship testing both on and off the water, I couldn’t have success. been in a better place going into the European Championships. ICF World Championships Then the rain started, continuous rain, and Despite the earlier season race setbacks I still felt along with the downpour came the inevitable in good shape; boarding the plane to Prague I downsizing of the competition to two days rather remember thinking to myself, “I’ve never felt so than four. It was now to go straight to the semi- prepared and ready for a major championship.” final stage. Competition day arrived and I was at the start

46 Planet Canoe gate ready. In the heats I attacked the technical Mark’s 2013 Season course like there was no tomorrow, ending in 13 April Holme Pierrepont GB Canoeing Selection 1 3rd a familiar seventh spot after my first run. I 14 April Holme Pierrepont GB Canoeing Selection 2 1st later bettered this to a second place as I rushed through to the semi-finals with my first-ever top 27 April Lee Valley GB Canoeing Selection 3 2nd three ranking at a senior international. 28 April Lee Valley GB Canoeing Selection 4 6th Unfortunately I couldn’t match these runs in my semi-final. I don’t put this down to anything 27 May –9 June Senior European Championships, Krakow 16th mental or physical. It was just one of those runs, I 14-23 June ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup 1, Cardiff 7th was fighting with the water the whole way down. And that was that, as soon as I’d started I was 1–7 July ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup 3, La Seu d’Urgell 22nd finished. Looking back 2013, was a season of 21–26 July Training Camp, Prague progress, but I just feel I’d left something behind, when it really mattered I was just off the pace. 12–23 August Training Camp, Prague However, next season is just around the corner 4–15 September ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships 24th and I now know I have the pace to challenge for the podium and leave that feeling of emptiness 22 October Performance review with GB Canoeing. well behind. n 4 November Official start to winter training

Planet Canoe 47 PADDLING INTO THE FUTURE

48 Planet Canoe Solving the Rio crisis has without doubt been one good step forward for canoeing. But it has probably been more than that. It has provided a growing impetus to make bigger strides. Not only did the sport avoid being shunted 700 miles to the margins of the 2016 Olympics, it is better placed to create high profile locations at future Games too. BY RICHARD EATON

Planet Canoe 49 » It has underlined there is a developing template “The ICF considers that too much investment for successful slalom courses, offering a clearer money is not directly related directly to legacy vision of how to spread canoeing to new areas success,” he says. “The recommended venue of the planet. should be austere and functionally efficient.” Fears that costs would scupper the hoped-for For that there are four criteria, Perurena Rio venue have changed into a growing belief asserts. The sport’s and the competition’s legacy that event facilities can now regularly become should be negotiated at start, the best legacy superb attractions for any city in the world. will have permanent activities which facilitate It is all about legacies. Not every sport can the development of canoeing, the venue should supply those. No-one is dissing those which be suitable for broadcasting, and the total cost can’t. But canoeing spectacularly can, and it should not exceed $20 million. is rapidly learning how better to achieve this This quartet of concepts highlight some of crucially important goal. the complexities involved in solving the Rio “We are one of those very few disciplines problem, and also hint at the importance of the in the Olympics which really offer a legacy current dialogue about the site at for the operation for the community and benefit of the 2020 Olympics. More of this in a moment. sport,” says Jean-Michel Prono, chairman of the Meanwhile rescuing the Rio venue and keep- ICF’s canoe slalom committee. ing it within the requisite budget was, according to Prono, “a very tough, hard target, but one CANOEING THUS CHIMES WITH which fulfilled the Olympic requirement,” he said. “And we really want to stick to it.” OLYMPIC AGENDAS, ENVIRONMENTAL So the canoe slalom venue will indeed be situ- ated, as originally outlined, in the Deodoro zone AGENDAS, AND THE SOCIAL AND of the city, surrounded by pleasant greenery ECONOMIC AGENDAS OF BIG CITIES and nicely connected by trains to the Olympic zone, the city centre, and the rest of Rio. “Athletics stadia, swimming pools, and velo- “It’s a long story why Rio was willing to get dromes are huge Olympic facilities - but also in rid of these buildings,” Prono explained. “At one their cost,” he added. “The benefits they give to time the authority was not sure what it could a community may be less accessible than those do with this venue, so we had a lot to do to of canoeing, rafting, or recreational activities. explain that. Now we are (moving) in the right “These give citizens the opportunity to enjoy direction. a piece of land and its landscape and any activ- “The suggestion to move 700 miles south was ity related to this.” to use the facility for the world championships Canoeing thus chimes with Olympic agen- - which we could have had free. But if we want das, environmental agendas, and the social and an operational venue as a legacy we need to bal- economic agendas of big cities. It has a capacity ance the cost of construction with the number to make itself attractive to the IOC for a long of users in the legacy. time - although there can be difficulties to over- “That’s what was done for London, and this is come. Triple Olympic medallist Tony Estanguet what we are doing now in Rio.” explains why. “It’s a complex situation because legacy is Tokyo 2020 crucial but on the other hand we have people Meanwhile the Tokyo difficulty, like the Rio who think it’s too expensive to build such problem, may also be overcome without major structures from only five days of competition,” disruption but this time without the direct he says. involvement of the ICF. Prono agrees. “It’s very delicate because every A petition containing signatures of about situation is different, and in the past we have 15,000 people, opposing the proposed location had Olympic venues which were extremely for a course at Kasai Rinkai Park, was given to expensive, especially where no-one was involved the Tokyo metropolitan government. in looking at operational cost.” Afterwards a spokesman for Tokyo 2020 said: Now though the numbers are carefully “Our commitment to creating a venue plan in defined by the ICF technical committee. So sync with the environment remains as strong are the principles involved in choosing a as ever. We will continuously implement envi- venue. ICF President Jose Perurena out- ronmental impact assessment, and hold regular lined them for Planet Canoe. discussions with the local Edogawa ward and

50 Planet Canoe the Wild Bird Society of Japan. created with a business model which caters for “We are not involved with it yet,” confirmed day-trippers and holidaymakers. Simon Toulson, the Federation’s Secretary- Atlanta’s was the last natural water Olympic General. “A site has been identified, but we have venue. A sight of a more modern era for slalom not investigated it or done work on it. We are venues had already been offered four years involved in friendly support. We are watching previously at the Barcelona Olympics. the IOC and Japan.” Its white water course, though two and a half It underlines the point that the ICF’s evolv- hours away at Le Seu d’Urgell in the Pyrenees, ing template for slalom venues has to take into included two important innovations which account that every venue is different, and that made changes to the water possible in only half the lessons from each can be different. The an hour. ICF, having added so much to its knowledge in The venue had a closing circulation concept, recent times, is also different. with boat lifts incorporated into the circle, and with a reversible pumping turbine hydroelectric Changed Thinking station. These were then included in plans for Failed legacies over the past ten years have the Olympic venues at Sydney, Athens, Beijing changed the Federation’s thinking, even though and London. there was little more it could have done to Happily Sydney moved Olympic canoeing prevent them. They occurred at the Athens and forward again in 2000, delivering a very suc- Beijing Olympics in 2004 and 2008. cessful venue at Penrith, to which the London “We told these organisation committees about some of the risks,” emphasises Toulson. London 2012 Olympic Course “At Beijing we said please don’t build the venue where they did because it is not going to attract people to use it. “In that society they have no spare time, and leisure time is not as frequent. Secondly, training teams won’t go there because it is too expensive. It’s now a wasted venue - and we told them. “We were really, really unlucky with Athens, which has suffered from a crisis. People may be willing to use that venue but there is no govern- ment money to adapt it. For the time being it’s closed and we don’t know when it will open. But we are still hopeful.” The high profile wastage of the Chinese venue has however already spawned a signifi- cant positive, making people much more aware of the value of a legacy. team took the trouble to travel. They appreciated the vibrancy of the Australian London Legacy course, but at the same time grasped the impor- There could hardly be a greater contrast be- tance of extending their own venue to include tween that and the London legacy - which is as wide a range of activities as possible. impressive. It is unusual in that, despite the Crucially this meant creating a second rural environs 30 miles from Greater London, course - a warm-up course which was also a the catchment area has fully seven and a half ‘legacy course’ because it could easily be used million people, which means it still has much to by visitors. And so from the outset the London pass on to prospective urban venues. venue had the essential facility for developing a The breakthrough in thinking about templates sophisticated business plan. came after the Atlanta Olympics of 1996, which The 300-metre competition course with used a natural river for its course. Though this a drop of 5.5 metres was supplemented by a reduced costs it made it impossible to get the 160-metre warm-up course with a drop of 1.6 right water control. There was no legacy. metres. Both are supplied by pumps from a By contrast London has a considerable legacy, 10,000-square-metre lake, and it is all sited improved by post-Olympic embellishments, and inside a landscaped parkland with path and

Planet Canoe 51 4 Canada 1 Austria 1 Poland 2 Germany

» bridge networks. 1 Netherlands 5 Czech Republic What also made the venue special was its careful placing at Lee Valley. The land was 7 U.K 2 Slovakia given free by the local authority, no exten- 14 France sions were needed for the legacy (although improvements have been made), and it 6 U.S.A 3 Spain was evident that plenty of visitors were likely. This has made it possible to charge 2 Slovenia 7 China a good price for entry. 2 Italy 3 “For us the business plan shaped the design,” Shaun Dawson, the chief executive of the Lee Valley regional park authority said."The venue catered for five days of competition, rather than the other way round,” he added, meaning the design was not circumscribed by the require- 1 U.A.E ments of a five-day Olympic event. Lee Valley caters not only for canoe slalom, but , and rafting, help- 2 Brazil ing to create a continuity of activities and events. The need for the facility to become 1 Australia a customer attraction influenced the qual- ity of the venue - in particular its shorter run, its changing rooms, the cafe, the terraces, and the IT, as well as clean water and emergency services. International Calibre Canoe Slalom Venues London learnt not only from Sydney, but from the Dutch course, White Water THE VENUE CATERED FOR FIVE DAYS top of trends. We must not lose sight of the legacy, which should also develop the OF COMPETITION, RATHER THAN THE sport and have a community focus. “Our mantra is community focus, com- OTHER WAY ROUND mercially driven. There is pressure on the purse, but the venue has to be cost neutral Dreams. It remains to be seen to what - no cost to the public.” extent the social and economic trends These ideas may be of value even though identified by the Lee Valley management designs of courses is tending to become have relevance for venues elsewhere, but smaller, so that they can be placed in conur- they are worth identifying. bations. Toulson points to the facilities in The X-Factor Vienna and Glasgow. “We are starting now in big cities,” he Leisure time is increasingly precious and says. “You only need a four percent drop in squeezed, and many people are looking for ground height and around 350 metres of something different, something exciting. So water, which can move in a created pattern.” seeking an X factor is significant, as an anti- The city venue at Rio will be used to dote when life is hum-drum. encourage locals to the canoe slalom facility, Some customers come for a day out, such as there is a high population of young peo- as a family visit, or an anniversary, or a ple living in that area. The aim is to make it birthday. Others might come for a hen or stag a viable by working with the community so party. The venue provides groups who have that the local population can benefit. This the money with something exciting to do. It is reinforces the need both for a template and also an attraction for corporate customers, flexible use of it, and the significance can who comprise 30 percent of the total. hardly be over-estimated. “We feel confident - as long as we White-water slalom is the most dra- respond to customers and to change,” matic form of canoeing, for competitors, says Dawson. “We will keep ahead and on

52 Planet Canoe 4 Canada 1 Austria 1 Poland 2 Germany

1 Netherlands 5 Czech Republic

7 U.K 2 Slovakia 14 France 6 U.S.A 3 Spain

2 Slovenia 7 China 2 Italy 3 Greece

1 U.A.E

2 Brazil

1 Australia

Fun at Lee Valley

spectators, and viewers. Get the vision right courses, and the ICF is also looking at South and its planning accurate and venues such America and Mexico. Brazil will have two. as these offer the best chance for canoeing Important is keeping the cost down, and to spread beyond its European strongholds allowing children the possibility to get on to the tiger markets of Asia and even to water and to experience nature and the areas of the globe which are still developing. well-being of canoeing. The sport needs to Which ones precisely? Middle East coun- develop a larger base of paddlers as well as tries, in particular Qatar, are looking for new competitive elites. venues. A course has already been built in the As Tony Estanguet says: “If we can build United Arab Emirates. the kind of venue which can be used by Throughout Asia there are many poten- everyone - starting with children in school tial natural water venues, and despite the and then students, for rafting or for canoe- Atlanta experience the sport may need to ing, it’s a very good product. take advantage of these resources. Natural “The environmental advantages of our water can provide knowledge of how to stay product are not well-known. I am sure the IOC on a course. It can provide good practice. will more and more be looking at what kind of China, Taiwan, and the Philippines legacy Olympic sports give. They have to work reportedly have the capacity to create on it a lot - and we do too.” n

Planet Canoe 53 54 Planet Canoe WINNING STRATEGIES BY MIDGIE THOMPSON

ave you ever wondered what makes enjoying herself while remaining competitive on the a winner? What it takes to get to an water. international stage of competition? Another aspect of a winner’s mindset is their con- What the difference is between gold fidence and self-belief. Kimberley’s attitude of “I can medal winners and the rest? do this, and I know I will do the best that I can” helps The difference is their mind; their her to remain positive regardless of the outcomes, mindset and mental approach towards what they do. much like Ed’s approach to his races. Whether an HThe physical and technical skills are unquestionably athlete wins or loses, knowing that they have given important, yet so are the mental skills. it their all, that they did everything they possibly This article will explore the mindset and men- could do and that has to be ok on the day. With the tal approach of a rising star in ‘just go for it’ kind of attitude, Kimberley used this Women’s C1, and London 2012 Olympic K1 Men’s same approach to take her driving test. She passed 200m Gold medallist Ed McKeever. her driving test on her first attempt! Strong confidence and self-belief is another Getting the foundation solid important element of a winner’s mindset. Ed’s A clear vision of your goals and having a plan to confidence and self-belief grows with each training achieve it is the first step to have a winner’s mindset. session and each event. He is confident because he Athletes articulate what they are aiming for and knows he has done all the necessary preparation what is required to achieve that end. They under- and training to be at his best. He has worked on stand the importance of focusing on the variables strengthening any weak areas and is ready to go they can control, rather than outcomes. Both on race day. Ed used this same approach when he Kimberley and Ed have clearly defined process goals, recently prepared for his accountancy exams. He has rather than performance goals and have many sub- completed the exams and knows that he did the best goals for an overall ultimate goal. he can. He is still waiting to hear about the results! Motivation is another key foundation element of Having recently moved into the senior category, a winner’s mindset, and these are the reasons WHY Kimberley’s confidence grew as she grew. With more they are doing what they are doing. Kimberley and experience and more exposure in international Ed are both motivated by enjoyment. They enjoy events, Kimberley’s confidence levels have gone the focus, the discipline and the dedication it takes from strength to strength. Ed believes that by put- to be the best they can be. They also both enjoy the ting yourself in as many start lines as possible will feelings they get when they race. Even during the help to build confidence levels. His view is that with London 2012 Olympics, Ed’s overall aim was to enjoy the increased exposure and experience to actual race the experience. Kimberley, having won the 2013 ICF situations, the more confident you will become and Canoe Slalom World Cup, Cardiff, wants to continue the better you will perform.

Planet Canoe 55 Performing like a winner On a final note Photos: Kimberley Moving onto the actual performance arenas, there Whether you aspire to be an Olympic medal winner, Woods with an are many more mindset elements that come into compete at international and national events or attacking run in the C1 Women’s event play. Dealing with the environment is one of those simply want to push yourself in your club, using the at the 2013 ICF elements and plays a part in how a winner succeeds. same strategies as gold medal winners will help. Canoe Slalom World Kimberley notes that there was a difference Getting clear on your goal and your reasons Championships in Prague between competing in national events and inter- why will help maintain your motivation, your national events. She said the pressure felt dif- self-discipline and your dedication to put those Ed McKeever ferent and Ed agreed that the environment does hours in and do whatever is necessary to be celebrating his win in the Canoe Sprint influence performance. He has learned to use the the best you can be. This clear focus can help to K1 Men 200m at bigger crowds and the nervous anticipation to his ensure everything that you do helps, rather than the London 2012 advantage. Rather than label what he experiences hinders, you being at your best. Olympic Games as something negative, like pre-race nerves; he Even if you experience disappointments and sees it as excitement and adrenalin that he can setback, it is important to learn from them. use in a positive way to fuel his performance. Simply reassuring yourself that you have done Every performance – be that in training or in everything necessary to get you to that race racing – requires some sort of pre-event rou- in the best possible physical, technical and tine to help the athletes get into ‘the zone’ and mental form will make the difference and help perform at their best. For Kimberley, part of her strengthen your confidence and the belief that routine after walking the course is to minimize you can do it! distractions by isolating herself from others. This Finally, managing those race nerves and gives her the space to focus on herself and her using that energy to fuel the performance race. Once the gun goes off, she just does what makes a big difference, as does having rou- feels natural to her. She is alert yet relaxed. She tines. Routines help athletes have a sense reacts to the course rather than trying to think it of familiarity even when the environment through. is different. This in turn helps keep those Ed does have his routine to prepare for a race, nerves down. Additionally, doing some yet remains flexible to modify what he does and mental rehearsal and visualising how you when he does it depending on the venue and the are going to do what you want to do helps race. Routines are indeed a very individual thing provide some ‘muscle memory’ for when for each athlete and the key is to determine what the gun goes off. works for you and what helps you to get into ‘the To sum up, according to Ed, his top tip zone’ and be at your best. is to go out and enjoy your experience. Where to place your focus is another ele- You will be a winner regardless of the ment that winners know the secret to! Winners outcome! Plus, when you put things into like Kimberley and Ed focus on their own race. perspective with the rest of your life; you They focus on what helps them perform well for can remind yourself that it is just a race! their race and avoid dwelling on any negative or unhelpful thoughts. Ed maintains a tunnel-like For more information vision on what he needs to do and simply does it. To find out more about how you Although he is aware of what is going on around can develop your own winning him, he maintains focus on himself, his own mindset, Midgie Thompson has efforts and on his own performance. Kimberley recently published Winning Strat- also focuses on herself and lets go of any mis- egies for Sports and Life, avail- takes along the way so she can just concentrate able at amazon, including kindle on what to do next. formats. She is also available A part of the pre-event routine is using mental for individual coaching sessions rehearsal, or imagery, to enhance the body’s via Skype and can be contacted knowledge of what you are about to do. Using all through her website, your senses and imaging actually doing the event brightfuturescoaching.com n is a powerful tool in a winner’s mind. Kimberley imagines herself going down the course, and she even tenses her arm muscles and body as if she really is doing the course.

56 Planet Canoe DEVELOP A WINNING MINDSET

GOALS – Get clear on your overall big goal and then break it into smaller, more manageable chunks. This way, you get a sense of achievement, progression and satisfac- tion that you are indeed making progress towards that big one!

FOCUS – By being clear on the reasons WHY you are going after your goal, you can help yourself stay on track and maintain the focus required to do what is necessary. You might ask yourself 'does what I am doing help me or hinder me towards achieving my goal?'

RESILIENCE – Take a bigger picture perspective to help you gain a healthier and more positive attitude towards your results. Understanding the wider perspective of what else is going on in your life and appreciating that other factors may have impacted on preparation and your performance helps you to understsand results and bounce back after setbacks.

Planet Canoe 57 feeling freedom Paracanoeing gave me back the two things I had lost. It gave me the feelings of freedom and capability.

58 Planet Canoe BY OLLIE WILLIAMS ernando Fernandes has redefined himself with the help of paracanoeing. When the sport, a fast-paced sprint over 200m in one of two boat designs, makes its Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, world champion Fernandes is set to proudly paddle for host nation Brazil. Four years ago, the 32-year-old lost the use of his Flegs in a car crash. At the time, he was a successful model on the international stage. “Modelling was something which began when I was still a child,” the former Brazilian Big Brother contestant recalls. “I kept working as a model until I had the crash, but sport was always my passion and my inspiration. “I was an amateur boxer and I tried to be a profes- sional football player, but financially it wasn’t worth it. So I decided to be a model, but that wasn’t an easy choice because I was giving up my dream. “At the end of July 2009, I had an important mod- elling job on the catwalk during Milan Fashion Week. It was going to be the biggest moment of my career. I had to get thin for the job, and everyone knows how hard that is. “That day I ran 15km, trained for more than an hour of , and then my father invited me to play football. I never liked to decline a football match, so I went, even though my body sent me signals that I was too tired. “After the game I stayed chatting with friends and then, while I was driving home, I had a blank. I just don’t remember what happened.” Fernandes awoke in hospital. “I had terrible days of not knowing what I would do. I was into fashion, and sports, and suddenly these things I knew so well were so far away from me. How would I get my life back? “But then I remembered that all the good things I Fernando Fernandes has redefined himself with the help of Paracanoeing

have had in my life were the consequences of sport: my will to do the best I could in every situation, the skills I had to deal with my fears… every lesson, I got from sport. I realised sport was the way out of the darkness.” Fernandes arrived at a rehabilitation centre which happened to offer paracanoeing as a sport. “I met this beautiful sport and a new part of my life began,” he says.

Planet Canoe 59 The science behind it is mind-blowing. I’ll be bigger and stronger next year. My plan is to outgrow all my clothes

A SPORT I’VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH

» Across the globe in Great Britain, another paraca- noe world champion – Emma Wiggs – is struggling. “There is only so much chicken you can eat,” she says. London 2012, having contracted a mystery virus Wiggs is trying to get through 3,000 calories per when she was 18 which left her arms and legs para- day as part of a “winter bulking” dietary regime, lysed. “My arms recovered, but my legs didn’t,” she designed by her coaches to make sure she races and explains. trains at the ideal weight. The 33-year-old and her British colleagues are now “It’s actually really hard to do that and eat a good the early favourites to top the medal table in Rio. diet. Most evenings, I’m sitting there thinking: Despite winning world gold, Wiggs still ‘What on earth can I eat to finish these calories off?’ in the shadow of team-mate Jeanette Chippington, “The science behind it is mind-blowing. I’ll be big- who raced to not one but three world titles in Ger- ger and stronger next year. My plan is to outgrow all many this summer - all in the space of one hour. my clothes. “I felt absolutely exhausted,” laughs Chippington, “But I’m genuinely trying to eat a five-egg reflecting on her achievement. “You have such an omelette before bed. It’s a big learning curve for me.” adrenaline rush that you just drop, you want to go to From the moment paracanoeing gained Para- bed, you’re emotionally shattered from it. lympic recognition in 2010 - the year the sport was “It’s not until weeks, months later that you look included in the programme for Rio 2016 - Great back and think, ‘Wow.’ I can’t believe I did it.” Britain has worked hard to find a competitive edge. The 43-year-old is also no stranger to the Paralym- Extra-large omelettes are just a tiny part of that. pic Games - she won 12 medals over the space of five “To find a sport that is so professional, so perfor- consecutive Games as a swimmer from 1988 to 2004. mance-driven, is far, far above anything I could have She then left elite sport, promising herself a “kind-of dreamed of,” says Wiggs, who only joined the British normal life”, but tried paracanoeing in 2011 and was squad in March but went on to win 2013’s K1 200m hooked. TA world title. “Jeanette is an exceptional athlete,” says Steve “I’ve found a sport I’ve fallen in love with, and it Harris, who oversees the British paracanoe squad. has everything I need to make it as far as I possibly “But it is the programme’s responsibility to find can.” somebody faster than Jeanette.” Wiggs already has Paralympic experience. She As part of this approach, Wiggs and Chippington competed for Team GB in sitting at - previously in separate disciplines - will now race

60 Planet Canoe PARACANOEING EXPLAINED

Paracanoeing is almost identical to the Olympic sport of canoe sprint, with races currently exclusively held in single-person boats over the 200m distance.

There are two types of boat: the Va’a (or V1), which has a small attached to it for added stability, and a slightly modified version of the standard racing kayak (or K1). against each other for a place in the K1 200m va’a. Beyond that, each discipline is divided (The va’a, named for a Tahitian design, is a canoe into three categories based on an ath- with a small outrigger attached for stability.) lete’s level of disability: The two world champions will go head-to-head for selection in an event the British expect to feature in the Rio 2016 schedule - though that has still to be The A category stands for ‘arms’. Athletes confirmed at the time of writing. in this class do not have significant use of “I believe we are the best-funded paracanoe team their legs or trunk, and are reliant upon in the world, per head,” says Harris. “We were the their arms for forward motion in the first people to fully understand that this was going to be a full-on Paralympic event. We got to grips with water. it.” TA paddlers have significant use of both WHEN HE IS FISHING, HE IS TRAINING their trunk and arms, but limited use of their lower limbs. LTA athletes retain For Britain, the ambition in Rio is gold. For others, getting to the start line is an ambition fulfilled. some use of their legs, trunk and arms. Kenyan fisherman William Araka has suffered the effects of polio from a young age. His right leg At the 2013 World Championships, this has withered and he walks with the aid of a large, resulted in 12 paracanoeing events: six wooden pole. each for men and women. Six medal He has a wife and four children to support, though an income is hard to find. He struggles to stand so events will form the sport’s programme fishing, which allows him to sit, is one of the few on its Paralympic debut at Rio 2016 - the jobs he can do back home. His brother lends him a six chosen disciplines had not been con- small boat. firmed at the time of writing.

Planet Canoe 61 » There are not many fish, and hence there is not much growing fast, and the Paralympics will increase para- money. But working on the water has helped Araka canoeing’s importance in this country,” he says. to discover a hidden talent. Fernandes beat Britain’s Ian Marsden by 0.590 “When he is fishing, we say he is training. He is seconds to win the men’s K1 200m A class at this using the techniques! However badly,” says Margaret year’s World Championships, but he insists his Mukami. ambition is not simply beating Britain’s paracanoe- Against the odds, Araka’s paddling ability was rec- ing powerhouse come Rio. ognised several years ago by Mukami, who had just “Brazil has to be more concerned about devel- trained as a classifier in disability sport - she helps oping the sport than beating the UK, or any to ensure athletes are competing at the right level, other country,” he says. against others of similar ability. “In Britain they are already getting results Araka did enough to qualify for this year’s World from the beautiful work they have done for Championships in Duisburg and, with the help of years. In Brazil we are doing a good job, but the International Canoe Federation in securing flight we are just beginning. We have a very good tickets and accommodation, he and Mukami made team but we still have a lot to do.” the day-long trip from the shores of Lake to Steve Harris, the British coach, knows Germany. it is a matter of time before the world “We have never seen such an organised place. So catches up. many boats, so many people,” Mukami told the BBC “Very, very much so,” he agrees. as they arrived at the venue. Araka, beside her, wore “There were more athletes than ever traditional Kenyan clothing, a colourful contrast to before at the 2013 World Champion- the tracksuited athletes around him. ships, and the times are much closer In his two races, he finished seventh and ninth. to the able-bodied athletes’ times The results were not important. After the first race than ever before.” he paddled towards Mukami, a broad smile on his Wiggs adds: “I think this will face. explode as a sport. In the next 10 “The race was good. I was not defeated,” he years we’ll see a huge develop- announced, laughing. ment in paracanoeing. People Mukami said: “I’m just happy that he’s done it will see the value in it. - and I think there will be many more. He can get “It has already come such others to do it. When he takes all that information a long way in the short time across [to ], they will embrace the sport.” I’ve been involved in it. It’s a massively exciting sport THIS WILL EXPLODE AS A SPORT - it’s the equivalent of the 100m in athletics. Fernandes is used to being a poster boy. Now, he “Rio is the big goal, but serves that purpose for his country and his sport I’ll be 40 by the time of ahead of Brazil’s home Paralympic Games in Rio de Tokyo 2020 and I don’t Janeiro. think that’s too old as He has established the Fernando Fernandes Life long as you love what Institute in his home town of Sao Paulo, “to promote you’re doing. And it paracanoeing and inclusion for people with and sounds dead cheesy, without disability”. He wants to lead his sport into a but I’m living the bright future. dream.” n “In Brazil, we still have a long way to go to match other developed countries in this sport. But we are

Photos: P54 Fernando Fernandes (BRA), P56 Emma Wiggs (GBR), P58 Jeanette Chippington (GBR) and William Araka (KEN)

62 Planet Canoe William Araka

Can we expect Paracanoeists to take on their able-bodied rivals for gold in future? Steve Harris believes so.

“I think there is every they can be competitive in category (LTA athletes seconds [if Kierey used chance it could happen,” the Olympics as well.” have some use of their the same boat as an says the British coach, legs, trunk and arms). able-bodied paddler], and who formerly worked Harris points to results Kierey completed his 34 seconds puts you in on the GB able-bodied at this year’s World final in a time of 38.891 contention in the Olympic programme. “Some of Championships - held seconds to win gold. programme.” our athletes already on the same Duisburg paddle in Olympic boats course for both able- “If you look at that time, Sweden’s Petter Ostrom for their training. bodied paddlers and Kierey is using a boat that won the able-bodied paracanoeists - as has been proven to be world title over the “It may be a stretch for evidence for the narrow four seconds slower over same distance in a time Rio 2016 - maybe one or margins between the two that distance than the of 34.644 seconds. The two could - but certainly disciplines. boats used in the Olympic slowest time in the able- at the Paralympics programme,” says Harris. bodied final was 35.733 after that. The world’s As an example, he uses seconds. “It’s not a stretch best paracanoeists are Germany’s Tom Kierey in “So that would reduce of the imagination,” absolutely so good that the K1 men’s 200m LTA his time to just over 34 concludes Harris.

Planet Canoe 63 Brad Morgan explores the history of Africa’s epic four-day canoe marathon from to Durban, one of the toughest races on the planet.

64 Planet Canoe he , raced between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal Province, is South Africa’s biggest canoe event. With a record entry of 2 127 paddlers in 2000, the race can claim to be one of the biggest canoe marathons in the world. Alternat- Ting annually between K1 and K2 races, it offers up a unique challenge and is an event steeped in tradition. World renowned conservationist Doctor Ian Player, the brother of golf legend Gary Player, first proposed the race, which would cover approxi- mately 120 kilometres. It would be a non-stop event and traverse valleys where transport by road did not exist. Player was one of five men present when the Natal Canoe Club, the hosts of the Dusi, was founded on 11 December 1951. The minutes of that first meeting noted: “The objects of the club would be to foster the sport of canoeing, pro- mote self-teaching in the art of bush craft, map reading and compass reading and veld lore. Also to encourage young Natalians to gain knowledge about the outbacks of their province, by canoeing down rivers and meeting the native peoples in their natural habitat.” A reminder of the Second World War, which had finished just six years earlier, came in the next sentence, which read: “Mr Player explained that by doing this they would do South Africa a service; because in the event of a war all their knowledge would be put to immediate and useful purposes.” At the same meeting, discussions were held about a canoe race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Only eight men entered the first Dusi in 1951, but just Ian Player finished. It took him six days to reach the coast and his journey included suffering a bite from a night adder. The carrier pigeons,

Planet Canoe 65 which were intended to carry news of the paddlers’ progress, instead became food! The first paddlers made their own from wood and canvas, and in the early days, they were all single (K1) canoes. Contrary to international custom, the craft are called “canoes” where the rest of the world would actually call them . Today, paddlers use state of the art equipment and "canoes" made from and glass fibre. The modern designs are more suited to flatwater marathon racing, as opposed to rough white water river paddling. In 1956, the race was changed to its present three-stage format, bringing an end to non-stop It was in the 1960s that the greatest racing, through-the-night paddling and sleeping out in the open. of all Dusi paddlers first made his The Dusi places a higher premium on portaging than other canoe marathons and it’s not of the flat mark. Known as “the Dusi King”, road variety; the challenge of carrying a boat on one’s shoulders is compounded by vicious ascents Graeme Pope-Ellis first participated and descents, with the aptly named “Burma Road” the best known of these. in the event in 1965 Due to the toughness of the test the Dusi asked of competitors, it was not until 1967 that the race passed the 100-entry mark. By 1970 it was being billed “the toughest canoe race in the world”. It was in the 1960s that the greatest of all Dusi paddlers first entered the race. Known as “the Dusi King”, Graeme Pope-Ellis first participated in the event in 1965. His first victory was achieved in 1972 and his last in 1990, making him a winner in three different decades. In total, he won the race an incredible 15 times, and he contested it a

66 Planet Canoe founded on 11 December 1951 A record 2,127 paddlers competed in 2000

record 46 times before his untimely passing in a leopard skin band in memory of that first Dusi 2010 in a farming accident. when Ernie Pearce cut up a leopard skin carpet at After Pope-Ellis, Martin Dreyer, “The Dusi home and added it to his hat. Many of them are Duke”, became the dominant Dusi paddler of Dusi Rats, the term given to those paddlers who his era, winning the event seven times and the have done more than 10 Dusis. Non-Stop Dusi, which was introduced in 1997, an Natal Canoe Club General Manager Brett equal number of times. Austen Smith said of the iconic event: “We are A remarkable all-round sportsman, Dreyer won very proud of The Dusi and what it means to the Land Rover G4 Challenge against competitors canoeing in South Africa. The event is one of the from 17 other countries in 2006, while he claimed few remaining challenges accessible to ordinary Women were first allowed to the Freedom Challenge Mountain Bike Race people. The history and traditions of the event are contest the Dusi Across South Africa title in 2012, covering the ingrained in the management of the event, and alone in 1986 very tough 2 300 kilometres in a record of 10 days form a compelling reason why paddlers come back 16 hours 40 minutes. year after year.”n Women were first allowed to contest the Dusi alone in 1986 and Marlene Loewenstein (RSA) became its first female star. She remained unde- feated in both the K1 and K2 races from that year until 1993, recording eight victories. Abby Ulansky (nee Miedema) matched Loe- wenstein when she also claimed eight victories, in 2003, 2005 to 2010, and 2012. Had she not moved to Canada, she might have won even more races, although her eighth victory came on a visit to South Africa. The history and traditions of the event are celebrated in the Commemorative Dusi Canvas Journey, which is undertaken annually by Dusi veterans in craft similar to those used in the very first Dusi Canoe Marathon. Participation is by invitation only. The paddlers wear a traditional uniform of khakis and bush hats. For those that have done more than one Canvas Dusi, those hats include

Planet Canoe 67 ESTANGUET CHANGING THE RULES By Richard Eaton

Canoeing must “change the rules a little bit” if it is to guarantee its Olympic future, Tony Estanguet says. New ways forward need to be found to create equal access for all, according to the sport’s biggest name. Most people know about the Frenchman’s startling achievements in winning a third Olympic gold medal shortly before retirement. Fewer realise how he is now working to influence the future of canoeing in an even deeper way. As a newly elected member of the International Olympic Committee, Estanguet is potentially well placed to do this. The emphasis however is on the potentially. For a while reality may dictate otherwise. “After 20 years competing it’s not so easy to stop,” he admitted. “It’s a big difference in my life. It’s quite tough to manage because I was used to focussing on just one thing - and now so many things arrive from different directions.” So it may take time for Estanguet to be effective. But he has no doubt about what has to be tackled - the widening gap between elite performance and the sport’s grass roots, and countries which have less access to facilities. “We definitely have to find a way to get to all countries better involved,” he insists. “Not all of them have the same expertise and facilities. “If we want to help those countries which are not at the best level we must change the rules a little bit, to make sure they have equal access. We have to create an easier route to excellence, especially for countries without great facilities.” He apologises for his English, very competent though it is, his modesty and self-deprecation sitting curiously alongside his ambition and focus. It is an unusual combination which has been evidenced before during Estanguet’s celebrated career, and it is engaging and charismatic. But what did he mean by changing the rules? “I don’t know yet,” he replied, though this sounded as though he might be easing himself into arts of diplomacy which are now crucial for his IOC effectiveness. In fact he did know, and in outline he knew a great deal, as became apparent. “We are very focussed on high level performance but at the same time we have a distance between top level and low level which is increasing,” he warned.

68 Planet Canoe Estanguet prepares for gold medal run at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Planet Canoe 69 70 Planet Canoe “That’s not the development of our sport we need. All continents will build at the higher levels. So we have to change something.” He followed this with a little more clarity. The sport’s strengths are evident, but insufficient advantage has been taken of this, Estanguet reckoned. Too many people are unaware of them. “We need to use its diversity better,” he emphasised. “We should maybe use this to create and make a product which is different. “It’s time to offer a product with different goals, to respond to different sensibilities. People like sports where other people are playing at the same time,” he said, hinting at the development of venues for both leisure and performance. “At the moment there is a line between special paddlers and others who think it’s something more aesthetic - so we have to find out how to cross that line,” Estanguet asserted, then becom- ing mindful of conflicting opinions on this vital topic. “It is an open debate,” he added. “We have to see how canoeing and kayaking can appear as part of the same family. If we are able to work together, we will win. But I don’t think one discipline will survive without the other.” As he warmed to these themes, Estanguet’s ideas poured out more freely. “It could be that we need another discipline in the Olympic programme,” he went on. “For now we are not in danger (of losing Olympic status) but we need to reinforce our product. That’s why it’s time to work together, and work in the interests of our sport. And that’s why I’m saying it’s time to change the rules of the product.” Estanguet also wants to communicate more - especially within the Olympic family - what canoeing is really about, how its struc- tures operate, and how special is its relationship to the environ- ment. Canoeing has to learn to advertise itself better. “I am convinced we haven’t used our assets properly”, he said. “A sport like canoeing has to add something to the Olympic fam- ily. But because it’s a sport in which you can participate both for leisure and for competition, it is good news for us.” By now he had become eloquent. It left you wishing there were more time to talk. But wishing too that the issues he raised will be taken up. They had been well identified. “When you compete you don’t think about all these things, but now I realise better that our sport is very great and that we have the possibility to improve it,” he said. “I am sure that the IOC will more and more look at what the legacy of an Olympic sport will be,” he concluded. “They have to work on that a lot - and we do too.” And with that Estanguet offered his au revoir. In fact we may see less of him, but we could well hear a lot more. n

Planet Canoe 71 72 Planet Canoe THE WALLACES SERIOUS FUN By Brett Clancy

here is a cheeky tradition in the Wallace household Tthat shines a light on the family’s attitude to sporting success. Oldest sibling Frances, a former Australian swimmer, dishes out ‘points’ depending on how Ken and Bernadette have gone in recent competition. The winner gets to sit at the head of the table for family dinners, beaming with mischievous pride; a rite of passage borne of close family ties and healthy sibling rivalry. “The Wallace family upstaging is handled by our older sister, who is the point scorer, because back in her day she would have been winning always when she was a swimmer,” Bernadette said. “I remember at selections (nationals) I was probably more concerned about Ken beating me than the girl next door.” For Ken, there’s a different take on the theme. “At home, I (normally) sit at the head of the table, I never realised it, I just sat there and when I go away overseas they’ll send a photo of Bernadette sitting at the head of the table or my older sister,’ Ken said. “It’s a bit of joke and it’s a joke about who is the favorite child, but we are all loved just as much by our parents.” One doubts there’s ever a dull moment at the family home of Trevor and Margaret Wallace. Their children have all made their mark on the sporting landscape. Not that Bernadette feels any pressure trying to live up to the achievements of her gold-medal winning brother. “By winning an Olympic gold medal its probably made it a bit more believable for me to do it, it’s a bit more tangible .. he’s my brother, if he can do it why can’t I? “I don’t feel pressure from it. If he can do it, he looked like he had a heap of fun, I just want to have that kind of adventure too,” the 24-year-old said. The Wallace paddling adventure began in Currumbin, on the Gold Coast after the family moved up from Gosford in NSW. Ken was 16 when he started kayaking in 2000 to help get stronger in the ski leg for ironman. Bernadette, six years younger than Ken, tried paddling as a 13-year-old. “At the time I was doing figure skating, swimming and surf and all sorts and I was never really, I guess, excelling at either of them. “I went down one Saturday morning when Ken was paddling and had a go on one of his own boats, it was fun and I could do

Planet Canoe 73 » it, so I just went down saturday morning for the It was a breakout 2013 for the pair, winning next few years,” Bernadette said. World Cup gold in the K2 1000. Ken recalls the first time his little sister had “It’s all about what happens in the water, not a go on his . necessarily out, so we might look like an odd “I remember that day, down at Currumbin couple but me being the tall one, her being the Alley, it was the first surf ski I ever had, she was grunt .. I’ve got the leverage, she’s got the push, straddled on the front as we were coming down it works in the water,” Bernadette said. some small waves, and you could see the grin on It was also a momentous year for Ken, on her face, she loved it,” he said. all fronts. “I guess that’s where it all started just having “I had a baby boy Nixon, I bought a new house fun and a good time and eventually going ‘there’s and I got engaged so everything seemed to line a racing side to it as well’. up. I really enjoyed myself and the results seemed to follow.” Ken and Bernadette both train out of the AIS base on the Gold Coast. Occasionally they’ll paddle together. “There are a lot of things that a coach in a motor boat may not be able to see, but someone sitting on wash next to them actually can. “It might be one word or phrase that is a bit different from what the coach is saying and she will understand it completely,’ Ken said. The pair will continue working hard on the water, and off it, and making sure they have fun along the journey, looking out for each other and loving it when they get their chance to sit at the head of the table. ‘I think now that I am a little bit more competitive, we try to push each other, to get up there on the podium for our family. “It would be a dream having us both winning medals at the same time, it would be fun, and I guess that would be the larrikin part of it, breaking those expectations, like who would expect the brother sister combo to both be on the podium at the same time?,” Bernadette said. n Since then the pair has put in countless hours of training, but they also take ‘having fun’ very seriously. “I’ve got to make sure I am enjoying myself or A big 2013 for Kenny and Bernadette else I don’t go anywhere near as good as what I want to be,” Ken said. And same same goes for Bernadette. “Going fast is fun so you put the hard work in until you get there, and then you enjoy the benefits of the speed you can get in your boat. “When you are having fun you are not dead with nerves, you are excited about racing, you let your paddling do the talking,” she said. Bernadette took time out of the sport in 2011. A year off gave her a chance to recharge the batteries mentally and physically. The break proved just the tonic, and she reunited with Naomi Flood in the K2, after the pair briefly teamed up to win at the nationals in 2010.

74 Planet Canoe Advice to young paddlers Ken and Bernadette Wallace are as fiercely competitive as anyone, but they know it helps their performance to make sure they have fun.

KENNY’S ADVICE BERNADETTE’S ADVICE

The surf life saver turned kayaker “This year was probably the perfect “Try and have fun... I know people say turned up to his first serious race example, I was actually enjoying myself ‘just try and have fun’... but once you wearing a sombrero, so it’s pretty clear overseas, we had a good time, we had a let go of all expectations and focus Kenny knows how to have small group of guys, training together on yourself and try to be the fastest fun. And that’s a trait he likes seeing in and I had a baby boy Nixon, I bought a person you can be I think that is how the younger emerging Aussie paddlers. new house and I got engaged so every- I’ve found the most fun – pushing my “We do take it (training) seriously, thing seemed to line up. own limits. but having fun, we take that quite seri- “I really enjoyed myself and the “Don’t expect anything of yourself, ously as well. results seemed to follow. It doesn’t I mean I have really blown out what I “I’ve got to make sure I am enjoying mean we’re not taking it seriously, but thought I was going to max out on, so myself or else I don’t go anywhere near we are taking having fun seriously.’ just keep pushing and don’t give up on as good as what I want to be. you beliefs, just back yourself.”

Kenny’s Top 2013 Results Bernadette’s Top 2013 Results

Gold K1 5000m ICF World Championships, Duisburg, GER 7th K4 500m ICF World Championships, Duisburg, GER Silver K1 1000m ICF World Championships, Duisburg, GER 10th K2 500m ICF World Championships Duisburg, GER Gold K1 500m ICF World Cup 1 Szeged, HUN Gold K1 5000m ICF World Cup 2 Racice, CZE Gold K1 500m ICF World Cup 2 Racice, CZE Gold K2 1000m ICF World Cup 2 Racice, CZE Gold K1 5000m ICF World Cup 3 Poznan, POL 1st BF K1 1000m ICF World Cup 1 Szeged, HUN Silver K1 5000m ICF World Cup 2 Racice, CZE 8th K2 200m ICF World Cup 2 Racice, CZE Silver K1 5000m ICF World Cup 2 Racice, CZE 9th K2 500m ICF World Cup 1 Szeged, HUN Bronze K1 1000m ICF World Cup 2, Racice, CZE Gold K2 500m Australian National Championships Gold K1 1000m Oceania Championships, NZL Gold K4 500m Australian National Championships Gold K2 1000m + 200m Oceania Championships, NZL Gold K1 1000m Australian National Championships

Planet Canoe 75 76 Planet Canoe

conti_ad.indd 1 10/03/2014 11:28 THE CHALLENGE Lisa Carrington and Jessica Fox spent 2013 flat out, setting themselves new goals and punishing schedules that would break many.

BY ROSS SOLLY

Planet Canoe 77

conti_ad.indd 1 10/03/2014 11:28 or many Olympians, the year straight paddling because I knew I had the potential to get after an Olympics is the one where you those results and the speed,” she said. kick back, take it easy, and prepare for “I was often in the top five in all the heats and the next big challenge. the semis, but obviously in the finals it didn’t But not for two of biggest young always come together for me. guns in World Canoeing. Lisa Car- “I was confident in my race approach, which was rington and Jessica Fox spent 2013 flat out, setting to put it all on the line and obviously that resulted themselves new goals and punishing schedules that in risks in the final. Sometimes you have to take Fwould break many. those risks, and sometimes you win sometimes you “I just wanted to have a new challenge,” said New lose.” Zealand’s Carrington. “This year the goal was to do a lot of races and Creating History really get that experience in racing,” said Australia’s In Slovenia 19-year-old Fox created history, becom- Fox. ing the first woman to win gold in the both the K1 So what did they do? Well Carrington, the Lon- and C1 at the same World Cup. don Olympic gold medalist in the K1 200 sprint, But in the World Championships in Prague the decided to add the K1 500 to her repertoire. punishing schedule seemed to catch up with her. And Fox, the K1 slalom silver medalist in Lon- After winning the C1 world title, she found herself don, decided she’d compete in both the K1 and C1 well below her best in the K1. events at every slalom World Cup, and the World “It was really draining and taxing, and I didn’t Championships. realise that until I look back on it now,” Fox admits. Of course, both have youthful exuberance on “At first I thought, yes I’m ready for the K1, but their side. Carrington is still just 24, while incred- it was really quite difficult to back up. Emotionally I ibly Fox is still in her final teenage year. was drained I think, and I wasn’t able to switch off. It was a long, heavy day. Punishing Schedule “That’s definitely something I’ll look at next year, There’s method to their madness, and Carrington finding the strategies to manage that.” certainly believes she can pull off both races. And what of the fame and pressure that goes “Obviously the 200 was going well, and I still with the Olympic glory and becoming a legend in wanted to get better. Doing the K1 500 was the your own sports-mad country? Lisa Carrington next step,” she said. found it challenging. “I really wanted it to work, and I deep down “It’s been really full on. It’s like I’ve added believed it could, but I was quite afraid of getting another aspect of my life, the ‘Professional Lisa out there and doing it. I was the fastest K1 paddler Carrington,” she reflects. in New Zealand, and I’d done some good times pre- “It’s been really busy, but I’ve had really good viously, so I knew I had the goods, but whether or people around me so I can cope with that. I’ve not I could race well repeatedly was the question. been able to put kayaking first and everything else “Obviously if I went really bad this year I would second. have to sit down and reassess. But it seemed to go “It has been tough and there’s been a lot more well.” going on. I don’t like the spotlight so much, I’m Indeed. Gold in the 200 and bronze in the 500 at quite a private person. It’s quite cool being out the Duisburg World Championships confirms Car- there and meeting new people, but it also can be rington’s faith is well placed. pretty tough.” And what of Fox and her ambitious schedule? For Jessica Fox there’s been the added pressure For the first part of the season, it went well. of being the public face of the campaign to have “This year I definitely felt more confident in my women’s C1 added to the Olympic program. She’d

78 Planet Canoe This year the goal was to do a lot of races and really get that experience in racing

Planet Canoe 79 rather she wasn’t, but she’s passionate about it and “Eventually people will figure it out, eventually has no intention of backing down. people will understand what we’re talking about “I think it’s been quite taxing, emotionally as and it is the right thing to do.” well, because I’ve had not the nicest comments from everyone I guess on it. But you’ve got to learn Different Paths to put them beside you,” Fox said. Carrington and Fox look set to take different “I tried to separate it from my racing, but in the approaches in 2014. The new Zealander has no end it’s always on my mind because the message I intention of slowing down. was really trying to push this year was it’s not about “You can’t be perfect all the time,” Carrington me, it’s about the sport. concedes. “It’s about the sport beyond Rio, and the women “It’s tough, but I just have to remember why I beyond Rio, and not everybody understood that. kayak, why I enjoy it, and what I’m there to do. I definitely felt that there was a lot of criticism, “There are aspects of a race, like my start, my that people felt it was mainly Australia pushing it technique, that can get more efficient. That sort of because we’re good at it, or because I do it. stuff can be hard to improve, so we’ll just have to “It was definitely difficult to have that weighing work on that. The world is moving forward so we down, but I don’t think it affected my paddling. In have to keep getting better.” the end I do it because I love it. Whether it’s in the Fox is happy to refine her schedule if necessary. Olympics or not I’m going to keep on doing it and “That’s probably the challenging thing, figuring I’m going to keep fighting for C1 women because out how much time to spend on each. On race day it that’s the right thing to do. can be pretty taxing on the body, but in the end it’s all about learning, and the more starts I can get the better,” she said. “Paddling C1 really helps my K1 because I can transfer my technique over, and these days I’m trying to paddle more like my C1 because I have better feeling in C1, sitting higher in the boat, so I’m trying to find ways to find that connection in K1 as well. “I’ll go there with the aim of doing both, but we’ll just see how the body’s holding up and see how I’m feeling and if I feel confident in doing that.”n There are aspects of a race, like my start, my technique, that can get more efficient

80 Planet Canoe 1972 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 CANOE SLALOM AN OLYMPIC HISTORY Canoe slalom is a sport that rapidly evolved from a summer recreation to full-blown Olympic competition, and is the only whitewater sport on today’s Olympic programme. Ramon Ganyet takes a look at the key moments in the history of the sport for Planet Canoe.

he first canoe slalom race was on all creating competitions, and in biannual event, until the turn of the Tthe Aar River, Switzerland, in 1933. 1946 the ICF created the first Slalom millennium. Initially the saying was – ski slalom Committee. The 1960s brought with it the on snow in winter, canoe slalom on Slalom was traditionally considered use of fibreglass, and a new era of water in summer. There were two as competition of skill and technique, light and hydrodynamic boats. The runs marked with buoys, these were but in 1947, due to the pressure from advancement in materials and pro- later replaced with the now familiar the Swiss members it also became duction also significantly reduced the suspended poles. a speed competition. In 1948 the costs of a boat, allowing more people Slalom competition expanded very International Canoe Federation (ICF) the opportunity to compete. quickly, with Austria (1935), Germany Congress ratified the rules, and the In 1966 the ICF congress voted to (1936), Czechoslovakia (1937), Yugo- inaugural World Championships was apply for the inclusion of canoe sla- slavia (1937) and Great Britain (1939) held in Geneva in 1949; this became a lom at the 1972 Munich Olympic

Planet Canoe 81 » Games and in 1970, at a meeting held the approval of Pasqual Maragall, in Amsterdam, the IOC approved its Barcelona’s mayor, and Juan Antonio inclusion as an exhibition sport. The Samaranch, IOC President, canoe sla- artificial course at Eiskanal in Augs- lom was ready to return to the Olympic burg was to be the venue. programme. 1972 Munich Olympics The five events (K1, C1 and C2 Men, and K1 Women) were contested by The first Olympic slalom competition 135 athletes, representing twenty-five was on 28 and 30 August 1972, with four National Olympic Committees. categories. Sixteen federations partici- The Parc Olímpic del Segre was a pated, with 119 athletes. Each day, over pioneer in innovation, with significant 30,000 spectators witnessed a thrilling enhancements, such as the boat trans- start to the sport’s Olympic history. To portation conveyor belts. The pumped this day the course is still used for top- circular course successfully addressed level international competition. any environmental and economic sus- Despite its huge success, canoe sla- tainability concerns and provided a clear lom was not included in the 1976 Mon- template for future course design. In treal Olympic Games, and this marked addition, the competition was reduced the start of a twenty year absence in length and the course design adapted Photos: P89 Augsburg, from the Games. Nevertheless, canoe P90 (Top-bottom) La Seu to ensure each athlete’s run would take slalom continued to grow in popularity, d’Urgell, Atlanta, Penrith less than two minutes – conducive for and progressed under the umbrella of television broadcast. the ICF. A framework of international This decision was more than justi- competition was established and the fied, with excellent TV viewing figures disciplines’ rules refined. and the IOC TV Broadcast Silver Rings Continental and World Champion- award. ships continued to revolutionise the With a focus on legacy for the sport sport’s professionalism, and it was within the organising city, and effec- reintroduced at the 1992 Barcelona tive volunteers’ participation, the 1992 Olympic Games, a recognition of the Barcelona Olympic Games was certainly a true globalisation of the sport. highlight in the Olympic history of canoe 1992 Barcelona Olympics slalom. The success was further recog- nised with the International Association A small historic town in the Catalan for Sports and Leisure Facilities bronze Pyrénées range, north of Barcelona, was award for combining sport and the the selected destination for the sport’s environment. return. The La Seu d’Urgell course had already hosted two European Cups 1996 Atlanta Olympics (1980 and 1986) and the Junior World When it was known that Atlanta would Championships in 1988, and following

82 Planet Canoe OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS

C1 Men

1972 Munich Reinhard Eiben (GDR)

1992 Barcelona Lukáš Pollert (TCH)

1996 Atlanta Michal Martikán (SVK)

2000 Sydney Tony Estanguet (FRA)

2004 Athens Tony Estanguet (FRA)

2008 Beijing Michal Martikán (SVK)

2012 London Tony Estanguet (FRA) bid for the 1996 Olympic Games, several C2 Men members of the Atlanta Whitewater Club formed the Atlanta Centre of Excellence 1972 Munich Hans-Otto Schumacher & Rolf-Dieter Amend (GDR) (ACE). This group worked to persuade offi- 1992 Barcelona Joe Jacobi & (USA) cials within the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) to include slalom 1996 Atlanta & Wilfrid Forgues (FRA) in their bid. 2000 Sydney Pavol Hochschorner & Peter Hochschorner (SVK) ACE organised races and training camps on the Ocoee River to garner popularity 2004 Athens Pavol Hochschorner & Peter Hochschorner (SVK) for the sport among the local community, 2008 Beijing Pavol Hochschorner & Peter Hochschorner (SVK) and prove that the venue was a viable proposition for the Games. These actions 2012 London Timothy Baillie & Etienne Stott (GBR) ensured that canoe slalom continued its K1 Men inclusion in the Games. Following Atlanta’s successful bid to 1972 Munich (GDR) host the Games, US Team Trials and other 1992 Barcelona (ITA) high-profile events were held on the lower section of the Ocoee River. However, for 1996 Atlanta (GER) the Games itself a decision was taken to 2000 Sydney (GER) develop the Olympic course on a sec- tion above the Ocoee River Dam, with a 2004 Athens Benoît Peschier (FRA) vision to use this section as an addition 2008 Beijing (GER) to the lower section in order to increase the opportunity for recreation after the 2012 London Daniele Molmenti (ITA) Games. K1 Women The development of the course was sup- ported through, and with agreement by, 1972 Munich Angelika Bahmann (GDR) the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and 1992 Barcelona Elisabeth Micheler (GER) the State of Tennessee. With plans and financing set, the course was created, and 1996 Atlanta Štepánka Hilgertová (CZE) delivered an extremely successful show- 2000 Sydney Štepánka Hilgertová (CZE) case for the sport in an iconic venue. The natural river, lined with spectators, pro- 2004 Athens Elena Kaliská (SVK) vided a spectacular backdrop for images 2008 Beijing Elena Kaliská (SVK) broadcast all over the world. Combined with a first class group of volunteers, it 2012 London Émilie Fer (FRA) created an unforgettable event that was truly embedded in the local community. 1976–1988 Not included in the Olympic programme Despite the significant success, the

Planet Canoe 83 » post-Games legacy tells a different 320 (75 slalom, 245 sprint). This was story to the one that was envisaged, eventually amended to allow eighty-two with the upper course, on average, slalom competitors. being used just a single week a year in The stadium concept at the Penrith the time since the Games. This is pri- Whitewater Centre was exceptionally marily due to the dual-purpose nature successful, and added further to the of the venue, where recreation pales continual improvement of Olympic into insignificance compared to the canoe slalom courses. Once again sites primary use, to generate hydro- canoe slalom was a broadcasting suc- electric power. Despite this negative, cess story, and the events organisation the Atlanta experience added to a built further on past success. shaping template for future Olympic The Sydney Olympics also marked venues, and truly embedded canoe the arrival of the Slovakian twins slalom into the fabric of the Olympic Peter and Pavol Hochschorner (C2M), Games. and Tony Estanguet (FRA, C1M) who Interestingly Atlanta was the last each won their first of many Olympic Olympic Slalom event to have unre- golds. stricted entry, and also saw the rise of two athletes who would go on to 2004 Athens Olympics become legends – Štěpánka Hilgertová In non-Olympic years the ICF contin- (K1W), and Michal Martikán (C1M). ued to hold World Championships, with the 2003 World Championship 2000 Sydney Olympics in Augsburg scaling new heights – Since 1995, the ICF Slalom Commit- recording 340 athletes from seventy- tee had been preparing to ensure the four nations, spanning five conti- continuity of canoe slalom in the nents, and underlining the truly global Olympic Games programme. The bid- appeal of the sport. ding offer of Sydney, and the success The slalom facility for the XXVIII of two Olympic slalom events favored Olympiad was situated in a former the sport’s third consecutive inclusion. airport within a metropolitan city But, with the election of a new state of 4 million inhabitants. The venue Government and a subsequent new construction broke new ground – Olympic Minister, there was a drive to designed to look like an amphithe- significantly reduce the cost-burden of ater, the stadia impressed. Uniquely, the Games. the course used seawater, an option The desired reduction in costs was to that can now be considered by future the tune of 12 million AUD (8 million Olympic candidate cities. USD) – the estimated cost of the canoe The athletes’ participation was slalom venue. Being sidelined, for what again restricted to eighty-two, with had now become the pinnacle of the the organisation and TV figures event in the sport, was not an option. considered highly successful. How- The ICF and National Federations, ever, the economic downturn has not through their National Olympic Com- allowed the venue to succeed as far as mittees, united to apply pressure and legacy is concerned. High operation try to ensure a reversal of decision, costs and lack of funds to promote by the Sydney Organising Committee sports tourism have factored in the for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), to decline of the venue. remove canoe slalom from the Games. Furthermore, the group raised an 2008 Beijing Olympics incredible 3 million AUD – 1.5 million The build-up to the Beijing Games pro- from the National Federations associ- vided another opportunity for canoe ated with the ICF, and a 1.5 million slalom to increase its global appeal, investment from Penrith City Council. and to use the impetus provided by Plus, Pacific Power International, the the Games to grow the sport in the company contracted to build the venue, world’s most populous nation (1.3 agreed to reduce the construction costs billion). by 2 million AUD. In 2002, China hosted an ICF Photos: (Top-Bottom) Athens, Beijing The considerable injection of cash and World Cup for the first time and the and London the reduction in overheads was enough sport was also added to the Chinese to ensure canoe slalom remained at the National Games. Several new courses Sydney Olympic Games, but on the con- were developed across the country, dition that both canoe disciplines were quickly enhancing the presence of the forced to share a total athlete quota of sport in China.

84 Planet Canoe In the intervening years between and further enhanced all that had Sydney and Beijing the ICFs desire to gone before. ensure global rotation of the Canoe In addition, the competition Slalom World Championships also rules were amended, with two continued to build pace. A fixed date runs permitted for qualification for the championships at the begin- and a single run in the subsequent ning of September was established, semi-final and final. The sport also ensuring nations from both hemi- added start intervals to allow TV spheres could bid for the champion- to profile athletes prior to the each ships when climates would be most run. favourable for competition. The shift The success in organisation, in strategy worked, with Australia’s volunteer and professional event Penrith hosting the championships support created an incredible pro- in 2005 and Brazil’s Foz do Iguaçu in motion for the sport. TV produc- 2007. This marked a deliberate move tion reached new levels, and a sig- away from the sport’s traditional nificant growth in interest in the European roots. sport was established both on and The Beijing venue, like Sydney, offline. For the second time Canoe brought together both disciplines, Slalom Olympic TV was awarded with canoe sprint and slalom in the the IOC Silver Rings. same complex, in Shunyi. However, for the first time, a separate training The Future course with an independent pump- Canoe slalom rules have been well ing station was built specifically for adapted to benefit the sport from an canoe slalom. Video judging was also audience and athlete perspective and implemented to help penalty deci- increase the sport’s global appeal. sions, and technical video services In the future, slalom facilities were distributed to participant should be economically sustain- teams. able and able to combine sport The slalom course, with a high and recreation. The experience water flow rate, caused issues for of London, together with La Seu many paddlers who trained in tra- d’Urgell and Penrith, demonstrates ditional whitewater. Post-Olympic this and provides clear examples use of the course has not taken of how urban whitewater courses advantage of this extra power, which can deliver Olympic legacy and appears to have been specifically continue to drive elite and grass- designed to increase the intensity of roots growth of the sport the Olympic competition. and other recreational Beijing demonstrated further activities. that the model to create specific The progress of canoe slalom canoe slalom venues within large in urban societies has endless cities worked. The 2008 Games also possibilities. In the last twenty underlined the sport’s universal cre- years, the Olympic Games have dentials and growing global appeal, inspired the best athletes to take with Benjamin Boukpeti from Togo up the sport and improve their making history by becoming the first skills, creating a continual evolu- African to win a canoe slalom Olym- tion and progress of slalom all over pic medal – the K1 Men bronze. the world. There now needs to be a bal- 2012 London Olympics ance of female to male compet- The experience and expertise of the itors, and greater cooperation British Canoe Union and Lee Valley between whitewater canoe Park achieved the best whitewater disciplines – slalom, wildwa- canoeing facility to date. With a ter racing and freestyle. All of local catchment area of 20 million these different canoeing disci- inhabitants, the site design focused plines not only share the same on legacy, without compromising the interests but they complement quality of the competition. each other. Movable hydraulic obstacles Finally, TV and internet presented a significant evolution. streaming of the sport needs Water treatment levels also met to continue to enhance swimming pool standards. The the global visibility. n venue marked the way of the future

Planet Canoe 85 rue gender equity will be achieved in gender disparities in 2012, London was acclaimed canoe and kayak competitions by the as the most gender equal Games of the Modern Olympic Games in 2024 under plans agreed Olympiad, with every National Olympic Committee by the International Canoe Federation. fielding at least one female competitor. The Federation’s board voted at its meet- Two men’s events will disappear from the ing in Lima, Peru in November to include Olympic programme in 2020 to make way for the Twomen’s canoe events both the slalom and sprint new women’s canoe events: men’s C2 slalom and programmes at Tokyo in 2020. A further reshuf- K2 200m sprint. The exit of the 200m event, which fling of events after those Games will result in a debuted in London, will concern those who saw it balanced number of medal events between the as an important innovation in the Olympic canoe- sexes by 2024. The ICF believes achieving gender kayak programme. parity is important for the sport’s development. It’s a view understood by the ICF board as the ICF President José Perurena described the vote 200m disciplines have a sizeable fan base. to introduce women’s canoe events as ‘exception- But, according to , chair of the ally positive.’ ICF Women’s Commission, the introduction of Mr Perurena said the vote underlined the federa- more female classes will encourage more women tion’s determination to ensure equity at every level into the sport. “The inclusion of C1 women’s of competition: “Women’s C1 in both sprint and events in 2020 is a great opportunity. It provides slalom has improved dramatically and the proposal increased global competition and media coverage to include it in the Olympic programme will further of women’s events. The inclusion of women’s C1 support its future development.” events for 2020 will provide the impetus for those At the 2012 Olympic Games in London there young paddlers entering the sport, as well as junior were 11 men’s medal events in canoe-kayak and looking for opportunities to qualify for the Olympic just 5 women’s. The imbalance was seen by critics Games.” as evidence that the sport was not moving with The ICF is working to develop canoe sports. It the times and had not taken the issue seriously backed a women’s canoe summit in 2013 and sees enough. The board vote in November came three more competitions for female canoe racers taking years after women’s C1 in sprint and slalom were place. In September, with ICF support, Boulogne introduced as medal events at the World Champi- Canoe Club in France ran a 7 day programme of onships and World Cup competitions. training and competition, attracting 27 partici- The ICF move reflects efforts by the Interna- pants from 11 national federations. tional Olympic Committee to move towards gender Some critics argue that the ICF’s measures are equity. At the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in late in the day. And the federation’s own Women’s 2010, all participating National Olympic Com- Commission continues to press for more change. In mittees sent female competitors. its report to the ICF board in Lima, it called for the And although there inequality of opportunities for women athletes to were still be addressed as it was an ongoing priority for the International Olympic Committee. The Commission is now actively looking at ways to make canoeing a friendly sport for

86 Planet Canoe Gender equity in canoe sport comes a step closer

By Guy Dresser

Planet Canoe 87 We should think about what’s a good fit for new disciplines, have managed to effect women and create change more quickly.” “Obviously it’s good news that appropriate events eventually there will be more women’s medal events in the Olympic canoeing » girls and women. Amongst the initi- programme but by delaying till 2020 atives will be a development project means there will not be much if any for national federations who have no innovation in our sport by Rio in 2016. female athletes at all. When I look at how other sports are “Over the next couple of years, the innovating, I become concerned for ICF envisages a significant increase canoeing’s status as an Olympic sport.” of participation by women in C1, as Dr Jens Kahl, sports director of the well as continuing the credible perfor- German Canoe Federation (DKV) said mances currently seen on the water,” gender equity was one of several chal- Brownlee added. lenges on the ICF’s plate. He said: “I The case for women’s canoe is think innovation is important. Rather compelling and the sport is growing. than just push for gender equity and In 2013, 29 countries had women com- bring in women’s versions of what we peting in and 25 countries do now, is that more attractive? We in slalom canoe at World, Continental, should think about what’s a good fit for and other international level competi- women and create appropriate events.” tions. In all, 37-39 countries across all “This may help our efforts to make five continents include women train- the sport more attractive as a televisual ing or racing in sprint and slalom product.” Canoes at various stages of develop- Canoe sprinter Pam Botteler of ment – from international elite, to Washington Canoe Club in the US and national or local/club level. president of the women’s canoeing Some gender equity campaign- lobby group WomenCan International ers, however, question the speed said she looked forward to the ICF with which women’s canoe going further. events are to be introduced to “I’d like to see the ICF offering a the Olympic programme. full and equal programme at world , National Per- championships and world cups and all formance Director of Australia continental championships. Without Canoeing, a leading force in the this there national federations will still campaign for gender equity, lack the incentive to do everything welcomed the ICF vote but said: they can. It’s important as a sport that “2024 is still a long way off. I do we demonstrate gender equality and see it as a missed opportunity universality, these are principles which not to have done something by every Olympic sport has to demon- 2016. And the ICF could have strate.” n used this opportunity to address some of the important issues around broadcasting, sponsorship and youth policy in our sport. Other sports, This may help our efforts particularly in the Winter Olympic programme where you had 12 to make the sport more attractive as a televisual product

88 Planet Canoe

DREAM DOUBLE DAVID FLORENCE By: Rob Eyton-Jones

t’s been described as the slightest of touches in the final disciplines where your rivals are Imiraculous, and even David put him out of the medals. Then in training full-time in each of those Florence did not think it Augsburg he finished fourth, having disciplines, you have to be really possible any paddler could win been second in the semi-final. It had focussed and the quality of every two world titles in one year. all been he recalls “a tad frustrating”. session has got to be very high.” But in September’s World But with perfect timing it all came Doubling up is obviously more Championships in Prague the together in August’s World Cup final physically demanding and master- 31 year old became the in Bratislava where he won the ing the technicalities of two vastly first slalom paddler in the modern Men’s C1 silver medal. Slovakia took differing events takes its toll. But era to win the C1 and then, with gold, bronze and fourth place, with training for both has its upsides. Richard Hounslow, the C2. Michal Martikan the man ahead of On race days the pair has the “To come to the World Cham- Florence by 0.33 of a second. This advantage of racing the course pionships and win both races is success proved the perfect spring in one boat, gaining valuable just amazing, something I thought board to the Worlds in Prague. insights, before competing in the would never be done by anyone,” “To finally get it right in other. Florence also feels that said Florence following the pair’s Bratislava stood me in really good having twin focuses allows him stead going in to the World Cham- to step back and keeps things pionships, especially against the fresh and interesting, which as three Slovaks who are three of he approaches what would be his the top guys in the world,” said third straight Olympics can only Florence. be a good strategy. “So by the time the Worlds came Winter training has already round I was ready and knew I had begun in earnest for the 2014 been going well all season. It’s still season, Florence applying himself canoe slalom and in some sense any- with characteristic intensity to his thing can happen but I managed to programme at Lee Valley. get it right and just at the right time, “The competition gets a bit and it ended up as an absolutely harder every year with so many unbelievable season. good guys out there all training “And obviously a massive thanks hard over the winter to try and to Rich. I’m very pleased for him to make gains, so it never really takes have joined me only 24 hours later a step back,” he says. win over Czech pair Jaroslav Volf as the World Champion.” “I’m always looking for better and Ondrej Stepaneck and Slova- It was in 2008, post the Beijing ways of training and for differ- kians Ladislav and Peter Skantar. Games, that Florence took what ent ways of improving. I’m mak- The previous day the Scot had many in the sport considered a ing improvements all the time, added the C1 Worlds title to an out- surprising, even foolish, decision whether it’s in strength or fitness standing resume, beating Slovakia’s to take on the two separate classes. or in technical improvements. I Alexander Slafkovsky and Slovenia’s He joined forces in C2 with the feel I’m getting better every year.” Benjamin Savsek. Any disappoint- skilful London paddler, Hounslow, He believes he can keep making ments at not medalling in the C1 who would himself make the com- small margins of improvement all at the London Games were swiftly mitment to double up by adding the the way to Rio 2014 where he is erased. tough K1 class to his own schedule, planning on doubling up. It all The 2013 World Cup season began both working with Florence’s long begs the question, could he win with its C1 annoyances for twice term coach, GB Canoeing’s Mark the one medal which so far eluded Olympic silver medallist, Florence. Delaney. him, crowning an incredible career He put down the fastest run in “It’s hard to think of another with a gold in Brazil? the Cardiff semis, a time which sport where the disciplines are as He has the hunger, he’s moti- would have won him the final where different as the canoe slalom dis- vated and up for the challenge. he came fifth. In Seu his semi-final ciplines,” explains Delaney. “So to And of course he has already time was again the fastest of the take on that challenge you have to proved he can make the impos- day and, minus its penalty, quick be incredibly mentally strong to sible possible. n enough to win him the final. But make it happen. “To train for both

90 Planet Canoe I’m always looking for better ways of training and for different ways of improving PHOTO: (Above) Florence celebrates victory with his C2 Partner Richard Hounslow (Left) Florence celebrates C1 World Title

Planet Canoe 91 Canoe Polo

Inspired by Innovation

anoe Polo has seen a rise to prominence Clearly demonstrating the committee’s desire to in recent times; with its inclusion in three further innovate, he continued, “We are looking to successive World Games and increasing make games even faster with the introduction of participation at World Championships, quicker re-starts after a goal is scored using rules the discipline is swiftly becoming a global similar to .” success story. Continual progression of the rules and the CAs the only team discipline within canoe, the sport introduction of professional referees in 2010 has stands apart, offering many paddlers the oppor- taken the sport to the next level, underlined by its tunity to combine their love of canoeing with the placing in the top three sports at the recent World competitive nature of team sports. It’s an exciting Games in Cali, Colombia. contact team game, where tactics and positional There has also been a strategic approach to play are as important as the speed and fitness of the competition structure, with World and Con- the individual athletes. tinental Championships being run biannually on This philosophy also rings true away from the alternate years. This is a deliberate strategy to waterside with a committed and innovative group maximise the growth of the sport and to allow of Canoe Polo enthusiasts driving the sport for- the Continental Championships to also act as ward at international level. second tier World Cham- This group has instigated many changes that pionship qualification. have seen the sport quickly move from a predomi- Following each nantely recreational pursuit taking place in the World Champion- local swimming pool, to a highly competitive global ships a number of sport that is contested at specially constructed teams gain direct playing areas within canoe sprint venues attracting qualification into the large crowds. next Championship; to confirm their entry they are required to participate in their Continental Championship the following year. This ensures a continued high-level of competition at world and continental level. In addition to the direct qualifiers, teams who are yet to earn a place have the opportunity to qualify through their Continental Championships. This two-tiered system has proved extremely suc- cessful and played a significant part in the sport’s global growth. 2013 saw Continental Championships held across the world in Namibia, Brazil, India, Poland and New Zealand. The next World Championships will take place in Thury Harcourt, France, later this year, and the 2016 Championships is set for London. In addi- tion there are already bids on the table to host One recent innovation is the introduction of the the 2018 World Championships. Smale said, “We 60-second shot clock, a similar concept to that have two bids, from Australia and Canada. It will be used in where each team has to shoot good for the sport to again move out of Europe to within a time limit after receiving the ball. develop further.” “The shot clock has resulted in faster games, The discipline is certainly progressing at an impres- higher scores and more entertainment for specta- sive rate; expect to hear many more success stories tors,” said Greg Smale, ICF Canoe Polo Chairman. from the world of Canoe Polo in the near future. n

92 Planet Canoe Planet Canoe 93 BEHIND THE COVER

Dan Vojtěch, the photographer behind the stunning front cover image of the 2013 ICF Canoe Slalom K1 Men’s World Champion, Vavřinec Hradílek (CZE), talks to Planet Canoe.

The photo shoot took place 100 km from Prague in a town called Hradec Králové. This is the base for my camera flash sponsor who agreed to help with production of the shoot.

The biggest challenge was suspending Vavřinec and kayak in the air. After long discussions we eventually decided to use climbing gear. This allowed for minimal visual disruption in the photo, but was very tough for Vavřinec because he had to hold thekayak in the air with his legs for long periods of time. To prevent the kayak from spinning in the air we fixed its position with fishing line.

For the shoot I used a Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200/2.8 lens and six strobes, Fomei digitalis pro 400. They have super- shot duration flash providing the perfect freeze frame of water. We also introduced additional light with multiple light stands and a contrasting black backdrop. To prevent other light pollution we shot at night.

We started the session with portraits, adding the water to each shot with four sprayers from different angles. Working with water is very difficult but rewarding.

For the action shots we filled four buckets and threw them at the same time from different angles. To be kind to Vavřinec we opted to use warm water.

My personal favourite shot is the portrait of Vavřinec stand- ing still with the water powerfully pouring around him (1). I’m also pleased with the action shot that utilises the light stand as an improvised slalom pole, you can see the added dimension of the base of the kayak, something that is miss- ing when shot in normal conditions (2).

The shoot went really well and Vavřinec was a true profes- sional who I really enjoyed working with. ➊ ➋

Photographer: Dan Vojtech

Planet Canoe 95 ICF CALENDAR

2014 ICF World Championships

23–27 April Junior & U23 World Canoe Slalom Championships Penrith, Australia 10–15 June Wildwater Canoeing World Championships Valtellina, Italy 17–20 July Junior & U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships Szeged, Hungary 6–10 August Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Championships , Russia 28 –31August World Championships Poznan, Poland 17–21September Canoe Slalom Senior World Championships Deep Creek, USA 24–28 September Canoe Polo World Championships Thury-Harcourt, France 26–28 September Canoe Marathon World Cup Oklahoma, USA

2014 ICF World Cups

2–4 May Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Cup 1 Milan, Italy 16–18 May Canoe Sprint World Cup 2 Racice, Czech Republic 23–25 May Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Cup 3 Szeged, Hungary 6–8 June Canoe Slalom World Cup 1 Lee Valley, United Kingdom 13–15 June Canoe Slalom World Cup 2 Tacen, Slovenia 20–22 June Canoe Slalom World Cup 3 Prague, Czech Republic 1–3 August Canoe Slalom World Cup 4 La Seu D’Urgell, Spain 15–17 August Canoe Slalom World Cup Final Augsburg, Germany 7–8 June Canoe Marathon World Cup Bohinj, Slovenia 24–25 September Canoe Marathon Masters World Cup Oklahoma, USA 19–June Wildwater Canoeing World Cup 1 - Classic Lofer, Austria 21–22 June Wildwater Canoeing World Cup 2&3 - Classic/Sprint Lofer, Austria 28–29 June Wildwater Canoeing World Cup Final - Sprint Vienna, Austria 25–29 June Canoe Freestyle World Cup Millau, France 1–6 July Canoe Freestyle World Cup Salt, Spain 8–12 July Canoe Freestyle World Cup Sort, Spain

3–9 November ICF Ordinary Congress Warsaw, Poland

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