Krakow staged six days of gripping contests at the International Canoe Federation Junior and U23 Canoe Slalom World Championships.
A total of 445 athletes from 51 nations took to Polish waters from June 30 to July 5, delivering an action-packed week of races.
Many stars emerged over the course of the week as age-group world titles were awarded.
Click here for all the results from Krakow
1. Czechia become winning machine
From Tereza Kneblova’s victory on the opening day to the Marketa Stepankova-led clean sweep on the final day, Czechia showcased their dominance across the categories. The Czech team topped the medal table with a whopping 11 gold medals. The first of those came in the women’s kayak cross individual when Kneblova emerged victorious. They dominated the teams events, winning four of the eight gold medals available, including three of the four canoe teams titles up for grabs on day three. Czechia also enjoyed two clean sweeps. Barbora Ondrackova led the first of those, winning gold in the women’s kayak junior while Valentyna Kocirova got silver and Lucie Vaculova bagged bronze. Kocirova and Vaculova were part of another Czech one-two-three, taking silver and bronze respectively, as Stepankova earned women’s junior kayak cross gold.
2. Ondrackova is star of the show
Among Czechia’s 11 gold medals, Ondrackova won four of those as she enjoyed a sensational week in Krakow. Ondrackova joined forces with Kocirova and Vaculova to win the women’s junior kayak teams crown. She then linked up with Stepankova and Kocirova to seal the women’s junior canoe title. The 16-year-old continued her winning streak when she got the better of her teammates Kocirova and Vaculova to clinch top spot in the women’s junior K1 final. There was no stopping Ondrackova as she completed a canoe-kayak double courtesy of her women’s junior C1 success after overcoming Kocirova and France’s Margot Lapeze.
3. Future is bright for Debliquy and co.
The next generation of French slalom stars were on display in Krakow. Martin Cornu, Titouan Estanguet and Mewen Debliquy proved too strong of a combination, winning the U23 teams titles in both kayak and canoe. Debliquy continued his form in the individual events. After reaching the men’s U23 K1 final, Debliquy came out on top in the men’s U23 C1 as he defeated Czechia’s defending champion Lukas Kratochvil. It completed a golden hat-trick from Debliquy who bounced back in style after missing out on selection for the French senior team. There was also gold for France on the final day of competition as Ianis Triomphe clinched the men’s U23 kayak cross title.
4. Leaver and Kneblova boost hopes for Oklahoma City
While the main focus was on competing for age-group world titles in Krakow, one eye was also on preparations for the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships which takes place in Oklahoma City later this month. Both Leaver and Kneblova have already made the trip to the United States and they will arrive on the back of a successful week in Krakow. Although Kneblova would have been disappointed to fail to make the women’s U23 C1 final, the Czech paddler’s confidence has been boosted with victories in the women’s U23 kayak cross individual and women’s U23 kayak cross. Leaver will also head into the World Championships on a high courtesy of his triumph in the men’s U23 K1. The 21-year-old edged out Spain’s Faust Juanmarti Clotet by 0.14 to secure top spot despite picking up a two-second penalty for a gate touch during his run.
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5. Inspired Zachos achieves memorable medal
One of the storylines of the World Championships was the medal for Greece’s Ioanis Zachos. The 17-year-old produced a clean run to secure a superb bronze in the men’s junior K1 final. Following his success, Zachos was carried away by his teammates in his boat as he celebrated his medal. It was a significant medal for his nation as Zachos said it had been more than 15 years since Greece last tasted international success. Zachos added that he had experienced a lot of disappointment in his career but stressed that dreams do come true.
Full coverage of the ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Slalom World Championships can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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