Four champions were crowned at the Aquece Rio International Canoe Slalom Challenge under dramatically contrasting weather that provided as testing an environment off the water as on it as the action at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro, Brazil concluded.
With two days of a standard Olympic schedule squeezed into one there was plenty of racing as each of the four classes contested both their semifinal and final.
The racing was split into two clear session with the C1M and K1M fortuitously completing their session in bright sunshine; by contrast the C2M and K1W had to pull their way down the course in torrential rain interspersed with thunder and lightening.
David Florence (GBR) had another memorable day adding two more medals to his ever-swelling collection under the Jekyll and Hyde conditions.
After dominating the C1M event from start to finish, the multiple-World Champion then went on to join forces with his compatriot, Richard Hounslow, to take silver in the C2M behind Luka Bozic and Saso Taljat (SLO).
Underlining the courses difficulty, Florence said, "They have set the gates really, really hard for this competition. I have seen a lot of mistakes from a lot of athletes. Not many people managed to have a perfect run. It was really difficult."
Japan's Takuya Haneda was Florence's closest challenger in the C1M and finished with a silver medal. Cameron Smedley (CAN) rounded out the podium in the individual class, whilst Russia's Mikhail Kuznetsov and Dmitry Larionov did the same in the doubles.
After disappointing runs in the opening rounds, Mathieu Biazizzo (FRA) demonstrated why he is considered one of the best up-and-coming K1M stars on the international circuit.
The 24-year-old managed to squeeze a three-second advantage over his closest rivals at the top end of the course, a margin he retained until the end.
"In the semifinal I felt slow, like I was under the water all the time. But in the final I was kind of flying, it was really great," commented Biazizzo, the 2014 World Championship bronze medallist.
Biazizzo's compatriot, Sebastien Combot (FRA) took bronze, with Germany's Sebastian Schubert squeezed in-between.
38-year-old Violetta Obliger-Peters (AUS) turned back the clock and demonstrated superb composure to set a target time of 105.77 that was eventually unanswered by the world-class roster.
Fourth out of the blocks, the Austrian was over a second quicker than the rest of the field managing to hold off challenges from the recently crowned World Champion, Katerina Kudejova (CZE, silver) and the talented Maialen Chourrant (ESP, bronze).
MEDAL WINNERS
C1M
- David FLORENCE GBR (2) 105.17 0.00
- Takuya HANEDA JPN (2) 106.29 +1.12
- Cameron SMEDLEY CAN (2) 106.95 +1.78
K1M
- Mathieu BIAZIZZO FRA (0) 91.77 0.00
- Sebastian SCHUBERT GER (0) 93.89 +2.12
- Sebastien COMBOT FRA (0) 94.48 +2.71
C2M
- S.TALJAT/L.BOZIC SLO (0) 108.02 0.00
- D.FLORENCE/R.HOUNSLOW GBR (2) 111.60 +3.58
- M.KUZNETSOV/D.LARIONOV RUS (0) 112.06 +4.04
K1W
- Violetta OBLINGER-PETERS AUT (0) 105.77 0.00
- Katerina KUDEJOVA CZE (0) 107.56 +1.79
- Maialen CHOURRAUT ESP (2) 107.70 +1.93
Complete results and the schedule can be found on the following link - click here
