The busiest and (thankfully) final day of competition for the Slalom Worlds took place on Sunday. Huge crowds and great weather set the scene for a perfect days racing, so long as Great Britain could secure some final spots in the C1W,C1M and K1M categories. With all 9 GB athletes across these categories set to be racing in the Semi Final, in the morning, there was a distinct optimism in the air for a medal haul kind of day.
First up the the C1M class. A strong performance for Great Britain and for Team Peak UK, with representation in the final coming from Adam Burgess, Ryan Westley, David Florence and Michal Martikan. Come the final run in the afternoon, it would be Ryan and David who would capitalise on others mistakes. Ryan set off first in the final, he posted a competitive time, eventually winning a bronze medal. Congratulation Ryan, a great result in your first World Championship Final.
It would be David, who would once again steal the headlines though. After an unsettled start to his final run, David found his usual powerful rhythm on the Olympic course, storming the last two thirds of his run. Crossing the line into first place, no other subsequent challenger could better David’s time, resulting in David being crowned World Champion in C1 for the second time in 3 years!! Congratulations David, from everyone at Peak UK, a truly amazing achievement.
Similar to the C1M, in the C1W, Great Britain would have a good showing in the final, with all 3 boats battling it out for the medals. Unfortunately mistake riddled runs and penalties meant the Great Britain women finished outside of the medals this time. Kim Woods finished 4th, Eilidh Gibson 5th and Mallory Franklin in 7th. Jess Fox showed her dominance on the category, by putting on a master class in C1W paddling for the crowds, securing yet another World Championship title.
Anticipation for more GB finalists in the K1M category was justified with the great results, Hounslow, Forbes-Cryans and Clarke had been posting throughout the Championships. Unfortunately the Semi Final did not go to plan for the team, with Hounslow and Forbes-Cryans falling victim to a few mistakes and penalties on their semi final run, finishing 19th and 18th respectively. Joe Clarke had been securing World Cup finals all year, so expectation was naturally high. A harsh 50 second penalty on Joe’s semi final run, meant rather than finishing 7th and having the opportunity to challenge for a medal, Joe finished 38th and would have to watch the finals from the river bank.
Elsewhere, Peak UK Team members struggled to make the final with Boris Neveu (11th) and Sebastian Schubert (32h) missing out.
Attention now turns for the British Team to the Special Olympic Selection Events. These are being held at Lee Valley 24/25th October. As the GB team secured Olympic quota spots in all disciplines for the Rio Games, this selection series will decide who books their name on the Rio bound tickets...
Photos:Pete Astles
