Spain has decided the K2 and C2 to go for the Olympic berths

After the first day of national trials in Spain to choose the paddlers who will fight for the olympic berths at the European Preolympic at Poznan (Poland), the K2 and the C2 are already decided. The Verducido Dam has seen closed races in a chilly rainy morning, but the contestants have given a true spectacle to the last metre of the course. In K2, the defending couple, Javier Hernanz and Diego Cosgaya, have set the best time, stopping the clock in 3'22" and avoiding that way a second race in case they have lost, so they have earned the right to be the Spanish contestants at Poznan. In second position arrived Víctor Rodríguez and Diego Piña (3'24"), who were a serious menace through the first three quartes of the race, head by head in the lead, but couldn't keep the winners pace over the las 200 metres. Third place went to Emilio Merchán and Pablo Baños (3'26").

Twenty minutes later it was the time for the C2, with five boats on the start line. It was a direct final, so the winner would earn the place for Poznan with no second leg possible.

Belgian Nationals to celebrate this next weekend

Christoph Bittner, Belgium

Next April 14-15 the first Belgian Championships of the season will take place over the distances of 2.000 and 5.000 metres for all the categories in K1, K2 and K4. Despite of important absences, like Laurens Pannecoucke and Wouter d’Haene, the starting list includes most of the first line Belgian paddlers to fight for the first titles of the season. As those being part of the National Team are allowed just to paddle in one race, the field is open for new becomers to fight for the medals on every distance and boat, so excitement is assured all over the weekend.

At this link you can check the full program and starting list of the Championships.

Eirik Verås Larsen

The Olympic Games are approaching and meanwhile most of the paddlers have to go through tough national trials and then preolympic qualifiers with just some quota places on the table, some others already did their homework during last year's World Champs in Szeged and have earned their right to fight for the medals at Eton Dorney in August. That's the case of Eirik Verås Larsen, Olympic Champion over 1.000 metres at Athens 2004 and who closely saw how Tim Brabants broke the Norwegian dictatorship over that distance for the last two decades. Natural successor of the great Knut Holmann, Eirik shows up his feelings on the course in this nice video.

Birgit Fischer's olympic dream comes to an end

Birgit Fischer, at the press conference in Duisburg

We started this year 2012 with news about the comeback of legend Birgit Fischer trying to qualify for her seventh Olympic Games at London. But this weekend, in a press conference from Duisburg, where Germany Olympic trials started on Saturday, she has announced her refusal after being discovered heart arrythmias during the winter training. Doctors treating the eight times olympic gold medalist said that she will need specific treatment not compatible with the elite training she was carrying.

A dissapointed Fischer appeared in front of the media last Friday to refuse his olympic try, that would have made even bigger her impressive career, including 6 olympic Games (could have been seven, because of the boicot of former RDA to Los Angeles '84), 8 gold medals (at 18 years old the first one, 42 the last one) and 4 silvers, as well as several world and european championships.

But German Canoeing didn't stop after this sad news and the Duisbourg venue had great races this weekend under a very cold weather. They were the first national trials to make the olympic team and despite of important absences, like Nicole Reinhardt and the K4 component Paul Mittelstedt, both world champions and having a fever episode, some other great paddlers take an advantage in the tough German competition. Victories of Ronald Rauhe, Franziska Weber, Max Hoff , Tina Dietze and Sebastian Brendl in the C1 have shown that they are in the good path to be at London this summer. On the other hand, Katrin Wagner-Augustin was not having her best weekend and finished third over 500 metres. The Postdamer, a bit disappointed, said that good news are that there is still time to recover and she trusts her improvement margin in the next few weeks facing the second and definitive trial.

Head German Coach Reiner Kiessler said "this weekend we have already seen some important references for the national team. It's a pity having some people not competing due to illness, but they are strong paddlers that I'm sure they will show up again in a great performance at the second test".

Marathon and Surfski start their season in Spain

After two months with everybody focused on the 5.000 metres races, Spanish canoeing season spreads now towards spring in a variety of disciplines and two out of them have already seen their first competitions this last weekend.

This is the case of the Spanish Surfski Cup, which consists on five races mostly along the Mediterranean coast. The first one was held last Saturday at Denia (quite closed location to Villajoyosa, where the International Euro Challenge will be held on May 4th). Borja Estomba (Feve - Oviedo Kayak) in K1 and the U23 Iñaki Bisellach and Biel Palmer (R.C.N. Palma - O.S. La Caixa) in K2 claimed victory to start leading the Spanish Cup under a sunny weather and rather calmed water.

You can read at this link the full results.

Further North, at the Basque Country, it was also held the Regional Marathon Championship, where 2011 Spanish bronze medalist Xabier Ruiz de Aretxabaleta (Donostia Kayak) went for gold beating in a closed sprint the former world champion Jorge Alonso, who was participating as a guest.

Xabier Ruiz is the new Basque Marathon Champion

In a rainy afternoon at Orio's bay, the K2 category was closely competed for the first half of the race, with four boats fighting in a leading bunch through the first kilometres, but it was broken up at the first portage at the beach and the final victory went to Iosu Ansola and Haize Galarraga (Itxas-Gain K.E.).

The full results can be checked at this link.