Canoe Slalom paddlers had the opportunity to test the newly built Olympic course in Tokyo for the first time last year and in October also started at the pre-Olympic test event. Among those who experienced the new venue were the best Czech paddlers, but they were not too happy with the course.
“It is irregular. The course is changing too much, almost everything is decided by chance. If this course will be for the Olympics it will probably not be a fair race,” pointed out Jiri Prskavec, reigning world champion.
The course was designed at Czech Technical University in Prague and the paddlers agreed it should be more difficult, as now it does not include nice waves, rollers and passages, and that they cannot make head or tail with the second part of the course.
The drop and flow rate are similar to the course in Prague and Rio de Janeiro, but the problem seems to be that Japanese added too many obstacles which slows down the water flow. “Man cannot count on anything there. One run everything is connected nicely, and in the other the waves come up that weren’t even there before. This is not good,” said Prindiš, reigning European Champion, and Tereza Fišerova agreed, “There are no proper waves. It's more of a coincidence, and it seems to me all unfinished.”
Not only Czech are unsatisfied with the course. Slovenian Peter Kauzer said, “They will have to implement many corrections, especially in the middle part of the course to the finish. There are too many obstacles on the bottom and the water disperses, there is no constant flow.”
Source: http://www.kanoe.cz/sporty/slalom-a-sjezd/12-slalom/clanky/8254-olympijska-trat-v-tokiu-je-neregulerni-shoduji-se-vodni-slalomari
2.3.2020
