Performance levels are continuing to increase as the International Canoe Federation’s global development programme made its mark in Brandenburg, Germany.
After a successful opening week in Szeged, Hungary, the season-long initiative moved to Brandenburg where paddlers were given another valuable opportunity to compete on the international stage.
A total of 20 promising paddlers from developing paddle sport nations participated in the camp that was held alongside the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup.
Angola, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mozambique, Peru and Sao Tome and Principe were represented in Brandenburg thanks to the ICF’s ongoing commitment to grow the sport globally.
The impact of the programme was evident on the water, with several development athletes advancing to the semi-finals and producing strong performances in the heats.
Egypt’s Mohamed Gouda is among those making positive strides as he represents his country with pride.
“It means a lot to compete for Egypt, and I will do my best for my country,” said Gouda.
“It’s big to be here in the development camp with my coaches.
“I want to thank everyone who has helped me, like the ICF, my country and my family.
“Many things motivate me to be here. I work hard for many reasons.
“I love this sport, it’s a life for me.
“My dream to go to Los Angeles [2028 Olympic Games].”
India’s Samara Antony Chacko has also seen progress through the programme and is excited by how quickly her performances have improved.
“In one year, I have improved by 20 seconds,” said Antony Chacko.
“I started off in the camp in Portugal for last year’s U23 World Championships with a time of 2:23 and then I entered the camp in China with a time of 2:10.
“It is a big happiness to be able to achieve those times with the help of my coaches.
“It’s a very positive environment within the team because the coaches really motivate us to help us improve our times.
“It makes me enjoy what I am doing.
“That’s why every time I step onto the startline it motivates me to give my best and I enjoy it every time.
“My dream is to represent India at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and I want to get on the podium at Brisbane 2032.”
Marlene La Tour is coaching the athlete in the development camp along with Nichita Sergan and ICF Development Manager and Flatwater Technical Advisor Sebastian Cuattrin.
“We give the athletes the best conditions to develop and achieve their objectives,” said La Tour.
“This is a long camp, so we are really going to see improvement.
“They are very happy and very motivated, and we are going to get the best out of them in this camp.
“I am very grateful for all the people involved to create this opportunity with more resources and time to really make them work and observe their results.”
La Tour also hopes the camp will lead to an increase in more female paddlers taking up the sport.
“This is a seed that we are spreading in their countries and day by day, event by event, year by year, we are going to have more females included in canoeing,” she added.
“That’s one of our objectives.
“We are very happy with the group of females that we have involved now.
“They are like a family as they help each other.
“We are continuing to do this because we want to increase the number of women in canoeing and we are getting there step by step.”
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