Canoe Slalom Olympic day 4 review and day 5 medals preview (C2M & K1W)

Joe Clarke was crowned as Great Britain’s first K1M Olympic canoe slalom gold medallist. First, a review of the K1M semi-final and final, followed by a preview of what to expect on Thursday for the C2M & K1W semi-finals.

Peter Kauzer (SLO) has twice been World champion and three-times ICF World Cup series champion. After disappointment for Kauzer in both Beijing & London, it is fantastic to see the 32-year-old on the podium. It was Slovenia’s second Olympic canoe slalom medal, 20 years after Andraz Vehovar took silver in Atlanta.

Jiri Prskavec’s (CZE) stunningly quick time of 86.99 enabled him to still make the podium with a 2-second penalty on gate 13. Significantly, for the Czech Republic Olympic team, Prskavec’s bronze represents their first medal at these Rio Olympic Games.

London Olympic bronze medallist, Hannes Aigner (GER) gained more than 2.5 seconds between the 2^nd split and the finish. Ultimately, he finished an agonising 4^th 0.49 seconds behind Clarke. In fact, the top 5 men were separated by just 0.90 seconds.

Continuing his strong year, 19-year-old Jakub Grigar (SVK) put down an exceptionally quick semi-final run in 88.84 seconds clear.

Brazilian charmer, Pepe Goncalves, aka Pedro Da Silva, super-charged his hero status even further with a fast and clean run for 6^th place to wild applause.  

Day 5 – C2M & K1W semi-final & final preview – Thursday, Aug 10

Here is a short preview of the semi-finals for both C2M & K1W.In the period 2000-2012, Slovakia has won 5 of the available 8-medals in C2M & K1W. World No. 1 C2M crew Klauss/Peche (FRA) have surprisingly never won an Olympic or World Championship title despite their consistency. Jess Fox (AUS) appears on track to win an Olympic title - but at which Olympics?  

Schedule for the Thursday

12:30 / 13:05 – Men´s Canoe Doubles (K2M) – Semi-final

13:15 / 14:02 – Women´s Canoe Single (K1W) – Semi-final

14:15 / 14:47 – Men´s Canoe Double (K2M) – Final

15:00 / 15:32 – Women´s Canoe Single (K1W) – Final

15:37 / 15:44 – C2M Victory Ceremony

15:49 / 15:56 – K1W Victory Ceremony

Progression for C2M & K1W

Heat winners Ladislav & Peter Skantar (SVK:C2M) & Stefanie Horn (ITA:K1W) will be the last paddler off in their respective semi-final.

Paddlers to watch in C2M semi-final

The Olympic medallists competing in Rio semi-final are:

• David Florence & Richard Hounslow (GBR) – silver London 2012
• Mikhail Kuznetsov & Dmitry Larionov (RUS) – bronze Beijing 2008

The World Champions competing in Rio semi-final are:

• Franz Anton & Jan Benzien (GER) – 2015
• Luka Bozic & Saso Taljat (SLO) – 2014
• David Florence & Richard Hounslow - 2013

World Cup series champion competing in Rio semi-final is:

• Gauthier Klauss & Matthieu Peche (FRA) – 2015 & 2013
• Ladislav & Peter Skantar (SVK) – 2014, 2010 & 2009

Last new C2M Champions

In the years since Barcelona, four nations have won Olympic C2M gold; USA (1992) France (1996), Slovakia (2000, 2004 & 2008) and Great Britain (2012).

It is expected that an application will be made to the IOC in the next year to create gender equity in the medals for Tokyo 2020 by substituting the C2M class with C1W. In this context, it implies that this will be the last C2M Olympic final.

France is represented for the first time by World number 1 crew, Gauthier Klauss & Matthieu Peche (FRA) and Ladislav & Peter Skantar (SVK). Can they emulate their C1M team-mates to the podium?

The C2M class has an exceptional depth of Olympic experience, with five of the semi-finalists having raced at Olympics previously.

Paddlers to watch in K1W semi-final

The Olympic medallists competing in Rio semi-final are:

• Jess Fox (AUS) – silver London 2012
• Maialen Chourraut (ESP) – bronze London 2012

The World Champions competing in Rio semi-final are:

• Katerina Kudejova (CZE) – 2015
• Jess Fox (AUS) – 2014
• Corinna Kuhnle (AUT) – 2010 & 2011
• Jana Dukatova (SVK) - 2006

World Cup series champion competing in Rio semi-final is:

• Corinna Kuhnle (AUT) – 2014 & 2015
• Jana Dukatova (SVK) – 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2013
• Ursa Kragelj (SLO) – 2012

There are an amazing nine previous Olympians competing in the semi-finals; Jess Fox (AUS), Maialen Chourraut (ESP) pictured above, Corinna Kuhnle (AUT), Jana Dukatova (SVK), Marta Kharitonova (RUS), Stefanie Horn (ITA), Fiona Pennie (GBR), Luuka Jones (NZL) & Natalia Pacierpnik (POL). The youngest K1W in the Olympic semi-final also happens to be the World No. 1

Keep tuning in

Tune in tomorrow for the race analysis of C2M & K1W semi-finals and finals.

Follow the live Olympic canoe slalom race commentary on Twitter @PlanetCanoe or search hashtag #ICFslalom