Blog Posts: #ICFslalom #canoeslalom #Olympics #K1
Perseverance is key for Chourraut as Spain collects first K1 gold
RIO DE JANEIRO - Maialen CHOURRAUT (ESP) blew away the rest of the women's K1 field at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games to win the first canoe slalom gold medal for Spain on Thursday, 20 years and three Olympics after first taking up the sport.
CHOURRAUT showed all of her experience and stamina to clock a time more than three seconds quicker than Luuka JONES (NZL) in silver and the event favourite Jessica FOX (AUS) in bronze at the Whitewater Stadium.
"I have been working every day, taking it step-by-step to get to this point of winning the Olympic gold medal," the...Read more
K1 final makes history as New Zealand and Australia take podium positions
New Zealand has won its first ever Olympic canoe slalom medal, and Oceania has filled two out of the three podium places in an historic day of racing in the K1 women’s final in Rio.
27-year-old Luuka Jones, competing in her third Olympics, finished second and Australian 20-year-old Jessica Fox thirdbehind Spain’s MaialenChourraut in an action-packed final.
“To be on the podium today with Jess, I mean she is an incredible athlete,” Jones said.
“It is a European-dominated sport, and that’s why we have to travel so much. So to have two women from Oceania on...Read more
Clarke feels at home with first kayak gold for Great Britain
RIO DE JANEIRO - Joseph CLARKE (GBR) won Great Britain's first individual gold medal in Olympic Games canoe slalom at Whitewater Stadium on Wednesday, and then paid tribute to his family and friends, his fellow K1 competitors, and the "British weather" which had enveloped the hilltop course.
CLARKE finished ahead of Peter KAUZER (SLO) in silver and Jiri PRSKAVEC (CZE) in bronze on his Olympic Games debut in blustery conditions more suited to his home town of Stoke-on-Trent than the Deodoro X-Park in Rio de Janeiro.
"To me the weather
...Read more
Ohrstrom makes swedish slalom history
When Sweden’s Isak Ohrstrom rolled at an early gate in his K1 semi-final run in Rio, he knew his Olympics were over.
And while the subsequent 50 second penalty officially killed off his Olympics, the 25-year-old was not inconsolable.
Quite the contrary – the moment he set foot in Rio he made history for his country, so he was already winning.
“I didn’t feel any pressure,” Ohrstrom said after his race.
“I was happy to be in the semi-finals, and I just tried to cut the lines a little bit too much, then what happened, happened.
“
...Read more
Mike Dawson finds that mum knows best
RIO DE JANEIRO - New Zealand paddler Mike DAWSON is hoping his second Olympic Games will be less of a family affair than his first, when his father protested his mother's awarding of a time penalty for touching a gate.
"At London 2012 I had quite a unique experience as my mum was a judge and she happened to give me a two-second penalty," DAWSON said after training at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro X-Park.
"I touched the pole with the back of my life jacket so I didn't think I had actually touched it. My dad, Les, who was my team manager and coach, protested...Read more
Yazawai cracks the code for absorbing pressure: become a monk!
Four years is a long time for anyone, and Japanese canoe slalom athlete Kazuki Yazawa is living proof a lot can change during an Olympic cycle.
Heading into London in 2012, his life was all about paddling. Heading to Rio things were a lot more complicated, but also a lot more peaceful.
Because Kazuki Yazawa has answered his calling, of sorts, and become a Buddhist Monk.
“London Olympics I was a professional athlete, now I am not,” Yazawa said after qualifying for the semi-finals of the K1 in Rio.
“London was big pressure for me, now is
...Read more