Pic by Balint Vekassy
Canoe sprint fans itching to see Olympic medallists taking on each other at the ICF World Cup 2 in Szeged this weekend will be spoiled for choice, however there’s one match-up that won’t be happening, even though both athletes will be competing.
New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington and Poland’s Marta Walczykiewicz finished gold and silver in the K1 200 in Rio, but only Walczykiewicz will race the event this weekend.
Carrington has added the K1 500 to her schedule, after sticking with team boats in Montemor-o-Velho last weekend, which will be her last hit-out in Europe before the ICF Sprint Canoe World Championships in Racice in August.
After picking up gold medals in K2 200, K2 500 and the K4 500 last weekend, Carrington has confirmed it’s a direction she wants to keep going.
“I really want to be part of the team and get into the team boat, so we’re looking forward to the World Championships,” Carrington said.
For her part Walczykiewicz was easing herself back into competitive racing last weekend, after taking an extended break after Rio through injury.
“It’s been very hard because I had a problem with my arm and I had to have a five month break,” she said.
Despite the seriousness of the injury and the frustration associated with an enforced lay-off, Walczykiewicz said she never contemplated giving the sport away.
“It was my dream come true after Rio, but I want more,” she said.
“I have tasted a silver medal, and now I want to taste a gold medal. I try not to think about my arm, I just focus on my race.
More than 800 athletes from 66 nations will compete in Szeged this weekend, with a capacity crowd expected in a city where sprint canoeing is like a religion.
The Rio gold and silver medallists from the men’s K1 1000 and K1 200 will face-off this weekend. Spain’s Marcus Walz and the Czech Republic’s Josef Dostal will renew their 1000 metre rivalry, while Great Britain’s Liam Heath and France’s Maxime Beaumont will go head-to-head in the 200.
“Every year you pop out the other end of winter training and it’s always good to see where you are and how training has been going,” Heath said.
“The year after the Games can be a funny one because some people who were at the Games might have been resting a bit whilst other people are pushing harder. So you can get some interesting results.
“I just treat it almost as if I’m starting from scratch again. If you have the attitude of starting from scratch then you always go out there to do your best and don’t get distracted by people out chasing for you.”
Along with Olympic gold and silver medal match-ups, there will be plenty of other Olympic finalists and medallists returning to the fold, as the build up begins towards this year’s World Championships.
The 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 2 begins in Szeged, Hungary, on Thursday afternoon and runs through until Sunday.
