Twelve countries competed at the Panamerican Sprint Championships in Puerto Rico

Kevin and Samuel Figueroa (Puerto Rico). Photo: Federación Portorriqueña

This last weekend it was held in Ponce (Puerto Rico) the Panamerican Sprint Championships, gathering paddlers from twelve countries of  the new continent. The dates of the championship, somewhat far in time from the peaks of the season, made them good testing ground for young paddlers, which mixed with others well experienced in international competitions.

Without any doubt, the star of the championships in advance was the Ecuadorian César de Cesare, who won gold in his favorite event, the K1 200, leaving the silver to Edson Silva (Brazil), which nevertheless managed to take revenge on K2, where pairing with Hans Mallman took gold and left silver to de Cesare and Yautung Cueva. The bronze went to Mexico through Carlos Montalvo in K1 and Canadians Austin Denman and Jacob Sosna claimed it in K2 in very tight arrivals.

Mruzek and Odvarko in K2 and Tomas Slovak in K1, winners of the Cesky Krumlov River Marathon

This last weekend, with a double session on Friday and Saturday, the Cesky Krumlov River Marathon was held in the Czech Republic, race included into the ICF Marathon Classic Series 2013. While the marathon was held on Saturday over a distance of 36 kilometers , on Friday there was a Sprint competition as an appetizer on the stretch of river that runs through the center of the city, just 250 meters long but with a weir shot included. The winners in this discipline were Richard Hala and Jonatan Sramek in K2 and Tomas Slovak in K1, all of them just arrived from paddling the Fish at South Africa.

Mruzek and Odvarko leading the marathon race. Pic: Jan Homolka

On Saturday, almost three hundred boats gathered on the water of Cesky Krumlov river to face the descent all the way down to the town of the same name. Many contestants, as usual, made it on RR kayaks, but every year there are more who are encouraged to do so on the increasingly popular tables SUP (Stand Up Paddle) as well as in large canoes and all kind of plastics, including canoes with a crew of nine members. Noteworthy is the participation and festive atmosphere at these Central European competitions , as with the French Ardèche or the Irish Liffey, without going any further. One aspect, leisure and tourism, that in Spain is trying to be exploited by the Miño and Cinca Descents, among others, although it is true that the basis of target audience is not comparable.

Spain take the doubles medals two by two in Men while Jeannette Løvborg and Henriette Engel Hansen claim the world title at home

Sunday, September 22^nd, was the final day of the ICF Marathon World Championships in Copenhagen. After the emotions experienced in the previous two days, there were high expectations  when at 9:30 started the Women Senior K2 and Men Senior C2.

However, the first surprise jumped out just before the first kilometer. And never better said, because in the K2 of ones of the favorites for the medals, South Africans Michele Eray and Bridgitte Hartley , one of the rudder roulette screws jumped out, leaving them off the race. So the first leading bunch, facing the first portage, included one K2 from each of the following teams: Danish, Hungarian, Czech, British and Spanish Nuria Villacé and Raquel Carbajo. The other Spanish crew, formed by the very young and Begoña Lazcano and Amaia Benavente, was forced to leave after having done most of the first round in that group due to some sickness suffered by Lazcano. A pity, but a boat to keep in mind for the future and not just at Marathon, but also at Sprint.

Csay/Bara lead one of the portages with Løvborg/Hansen behind. Pic: Jan N

Meanwhile , ahead the selection started from the first portage . It was clear that the Hungarian crew of Renata Csay/Alexandra Bara and the Danish of Jeannette Løvborg/Henriette Engel Hansen were step by step tightening the rope, so after one third of the race thay both remained ahead just along with the Czechs Anna Adamova (Kova now) and Lenka Hrochova, the only ones who could keep on their wash. Behind, the chase group was led by the current European gold and silver medalists, Lizzie Lamph and Fay Broughton (GBR) and Nuria Villacé and Raquel Carbajo (ESP), who were for a long part of the race pulling from a group that included some other strong boats, like the Italiana Anna Alberti and Stefania Cicali and the Belgians and Lize Broekx and Hermien Peters, among others. In the last laps, British and Spaniards managed tu pull away and the fourth place went finally to Lamph/Broughton (GBR).

Csay, McGregor and Kavar were the Marathon World Champions in singles

Very similar races the Women Senior K1 and the Men Senior C1. In both two pairs of paddlers took the lead from the first lap. Twelve times world champion Renata Csay (HUN) and Anna Kova (CZE) quickly opened a gap that went up to one minute in just two laps. The Italians Stefania Cicali and Anna Alberti took the responsibility in the chase group, but never managed to hold the gap. U23 champion Teneale Hatton (NZL) dropped from the group at half race, maybe not recovered 100% of her race on Friday, but made a great comeback and was again in the fight for the bronze medal after the last portage.

Renata Csay in the center, yellow boat. Picture: Jan N

Meanwhile, Renata Csay pulled away from Anna Kova in the fifth portage and made a solo last lap, entering the finish line with more than one minute of advantage. Anna Kova got the silver medal and Stefania Cicali, after a good sixth portage, entered in third position leading the group of five she had led for most of the race.

Antonio Campos (ESP) and Marton Kavar (HUN) decided in the C1 race that they didn’d want a large group around and pushed hard from the start, managing to make the gap bigger on every lap over a group of four that was more into the fight for bronze than into the chase for the leaders. Not far from them, Tamas Kiss (HUN) and David Mosquera (ESP) were fighting for bronze without losing the perspective of a virtual comeback to the leading par, but after 4 laps it was clear that gold and silver were unreachable. 

Hatton, Amorim and Birkett, new marathon world champions U23 after superb races

The Canoe Marathon World Championships kicked off with the Junior and U23 events on Friday 20th at Lake Bagsværd in Copenhagen.

In the junior competition, Hungary smashed the field, claiming three golds out of three races with Tamara Takacs in K1 Women, Adam Petra in K1 Men and Kristof Khaut in C1 Men. 

Raquel Carbajo leads the race with Hatton (in black) and Brun-Lie (in white). Photo: Jan N (DKF)

2 hours later, in perfect, glassy conditions, the U23 K1 Women, and C1 men, set off. After the first lap it was clear that Teneale Hatton (NZL), recently crowned 5000m world champion, wanted to set the pace in order to have the race under her control. After the second portage the front group was reduced to three paddlers: Hatton, Agnes Brun-Lie (NOR) and Raquel Carbajo (ESP), opening a gap of around 30 seconds over a group of six paddlers including Susanna Cicali (ITA), Noami Horvath (HUN) and Nuria Villace (ESP) and Lize Broekx (BEL), among others. The three leaders were careful to maintain the gap, each taking turns at the front to keep everything under control until the last lap.