Ukraine’s Liudmyla Luzan laid down a marker in her mission to win two gold medals with fast times on a day when some of the biggest names faltered at the International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan, Italy.
Luzan came out on top in both of her races as she pushes for the women’s canoe single 200m and canoe double 500m titles, but the day did not go so well for other leading paddlers.
Italy’s poster boys, Gabriele Casadei and Carlo Tacchini, failed to gain direct passage to the men’s C2 500m final, while Romania’s reigning C1 500m champion Catalin Chirila came unstuck, and Poland and Germany struggled in the women’s kayak four 500m.
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The women’s C1 200m looks set to be a thrilling showdown with Luzan, Olympic champion Katie Vincent of Canada, world title holder Yarisleidis Cirilo Duboys of Cuba, and Spain’s in-form Viktoriia Yarchevska poised to go head-to-head.
Luzan registered the quickest time in the heats, bursting out of the traps in the first race of the day to clock 46.06.
Vincent edged Yarchevska by 0.28 in her heat, while Cirilo Duboys also looked strong as they all advanced to the semi-finals.
After narrowly missing out on direct qualification to the women’s C2 500m final yesterday, Luzan and compatriot Iryna Fedoriv made no mistake in the semi-finals, registering 1:57.50 – the fastest time so far.
“This morning’s race went well,” said Luzan.
“I’m really happy with how it went against these girls.
“I can’t say much now, but I will after the final.
“I don’t know how things will go in the final, but I am hoping for a surprise.
“The (C2) race was good, there were a few waves which were hard, but I think we can do better in the final.”
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The line-up for the men’s and women’s K4 finals was also determined today after hotly contested semi-finals.
There were not too many problems for reigning world and Olympic champions Germany as they sealed their spot in the final after placing second behind Hungary, while Italy’s quartet also advanced.
However, Germany’s women’s K4, who had impressed this season, failed to make the medal race. The Polish team, which won world silver in 2023, also missed out as they both ranked fourth in their respective semi-finals.
Casadei and Tacchini were hoping to make smooth progress, but will need another opportunity to progress.
The Italian pair came second as Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) paddlers Zakhar Petrov and Ivan Shtyl took first spot.
“It was a tough race,” said Tacchini.
“First position was our goal.
“We wanted to go straight to the final, but (Petrov and Shtyl) are going to be a contender.
“We are quite satisfied.
“We need time to adjust our race, so let’s see.
“The tenths of seconds that we are missing, we will get from the crowd on Saturday and Sunday.
“I am sure that the Idroscalo will help us to push a little bit more.”
Italian paddlers are seeking to deliver a medal in front of their home fans - something they were not able to do when Milan last played host 10 years ago.
Samuele Burgo and Tommaso Freschi, who claimed the junior world title in 2015, will hope to get on the podium as they reached the men’s K2 500m final.
“It’s very important for us as we are in our home and we want to do our best,” said Freschi.
“This is our plan to get a medal, and we are feeling good.
“Ten years ago we won together in the Junior World Championships, and this year we are here together, so this is really beautiful for us.”
Germany’s Olympic gold medallists Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke looked strong as they posted 1:28.66, while reigning champions Messias Baptista and Joao Ribeiro clocked the quickest time of 1:28.10.
Baptista has opted not to defend his men’s kayak single 200m title as he bids for success in the men’s K2 500m and men’s K4 500m.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m a little bit sad (not to be racing in the K1), but I understand the conditions and the schedule, as there is a half an hour difference between the K1 and K4 finals.
“We made a decision to focus on the Olympic distances.”
In the women’s K2 500m, eight-time Olympic champion Lisa Carrington teamed up with Tara Vaughan to advance to the semi-finals along with the likes of Australia’s Kailey Harlen and Natalia Drobot, AIN duo Ina Sauchuk and Uladzislava Skryhanava, and Germany’s Paulina Paszek and Pauline Jagsch.
Chirila won the men’s C1 500m world title and recently defeated Czechia’s Martin Fuksa to clinch the European crown in the men’s C1 100m.
But the Romanian’s title defence came to an end, finishing fourth in his semi-final, while paddlers including Fuksa, Petrov, and Chinese Taipei’s Kuan-Chieh Lai made it through.
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