The 2018 Canoe Slalom World Cup series continued this weekend with a fourth race of the year. The venue which hosted the 2017 ECA Canoe Slalom European Championships in Ljubljana welcomed over 200 athletes from 30 countries. The race was supposed to be organised over three days, but the flooded course, a result of a heavy rain during the competition, forced organisers to cancel Sunday’s race.
Canoeist Sideris Tasiadis (GER) won his third gold medal of the World Cup series this year. He was the fastest also in Liptovsky Mikulaš and Augsburg. Alexander Slafkovsky (SVK) stood on the winner’s podium on all four races so far and he picked up silver medal at all venues, including in Slovenia this weekend. Franz Anton (GER) won bronze medal in men’s canoe event.
Austrian kayaker Corinna Kuhnle, the 2017 European Champion and 2010 World Champion from the same venue, showed this course really suits her winning the race ahead of Australian Jessica Fox and Austrian compatriot Viktoria Wolffhardt.
In the C2 mix event only four crews were on the start list. Czech duo Veronika Vojtova and Jan Mašek produced the best run to win gold medal ahead of French crew Yves Prigent – Margaux Henry and another Czech duo Jana Matulkova – Vojtech Mružek.
On Sunday the semifinals and finals in women’s canoe and men’s kayak events were supposed to follow, but the prognosis of water level of the Sava River forced organisers to cancel the Sunday’s programme due to flooded course. As it is stated in the competition rules, the results from the heats were then the final ones. This meant that 22-year-old Slovenian kayaker Žan Jakše, member of a local club in Tacen, celebrated his first win in the world cup series. This was also his first world cup series podium position, but he had won medals in team event at last year’s senior world championships in Pau, team medals at U23 European and World Championships as well as individual medal at last year’s U23 European Championships in Hohenlimburg. Jiri Prskavec (CZE) was second and Mathieu Biazizzo (FRA) third.
In women’s canoe Jessica Fox (AUS) prolonged her winning streak, her compatriot Rosalyn Lawrence was second and Sona Stanovska (SVK) third.
The 2018 World Cup series will conclude in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain, upcoming weekend.
RESULTS
C1M
1. Sideris Tasiadis GER
2. Alexander Slafkovsky SVK
3. Franz Anton GER
K1W
1. Corinna Kuhnle AUT
2. Jessica Fox AUS
3. Viktoria Wolffhardt AUT
C2MX
1. Veronika Vojtova – Jan Mašek CZE
2. Yves Prigent – Margaux Henry FRA
3. Jana Matulkova – Vojtech Mružek CZE
C1W
1. Jessica Fox AUS
2. Rosalyn Lawrence AUS
3. Sona Stanovska SVK
K1M
1. Žan Jakše SLO
2. Jiri Prskavec CZE
3. Mathieu Biazizzo FRA
3.9.2018
