France’s Titouan Castryck and Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska captured the respective men’s and women’s kayak titles on the penultimate day of the International Canoe Federation Slalom World Championships in Sydney, Australia.
Victory wrapped up a stunning double for Zwolinska who backed up her unexpected women’s C1 success with gold in the women’s K1, while Castryck sealed her first individual world title.
Australia were celebrating another medal with Kate Eckhardt’s bronze, while Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods and Czech duo Jakub Krejci and Jiri Prskavec also got on the podium.
Here’s what the medallists had to say after a fantastic Friday.
Click here for live startlists and results from Sydney
Men’s Kayak
Titouan CASTRYCK (FRA – gold)
Winning gold here is a dream. Even though I had an exceptional season, it was at the World Championships that I needed to deliver – that’s where it really counts. That’s where the federation evaluates us, where everyone is assessed from all sides. It’s done now, so it’s perfect. The feeling was pretty special – I didn’t necessarily think I’d go for this title in terms of sensations, but in the end, it was enough. It was my idea for my parents to come. I bought their plane tickets with the money I earned from the Olympics. I really wanted them to be here and to experience these amazing racing moments. Above all, I wanted us, after the championships, to visit the country a little together, because we’re in such a beautiful place. We've rented a van. When we leave here, we’ll drive up to Brisbane. I surf a bit, so we’ll try to hit the best beaches.
Jakub KREJCI (CZE – silver)
That was great, it's awesome. I was super nervous before my final run. I didn't feel good on the water early in the run, but in the end I stuck around and had a good run, and yeah this medal is great, I’m very happy. I didn't do the first part of the course that I wanted, I did better in the semi-final. But I figured it out and then I was feeling super good and thought, I know that I can do this. So I was really trusting myself. When I finished, I already knew that I would have medal, so I was super happy. I just was hoping for the best result. Before the World Championships kicked off, I didn’t want to focus on the results. I just wanted to focus on a solid run and do the best I can. I feel like I did that today and this medal is great.
Jiri PRSKAVEC (CZE – bronze)
It feels amazing to win the bronze medal. Australia, and particularly Penrith, is my second home and I have lived and trained here for at least two years. I'm really excited that I was able to maybe break not such a good season as I've had this years and secure a medal here. I'm really truly happy that I managed to. Jakub (Krejci) has been really fast throughout the whole season and I think he always had a stupid touch or something, so I'm really happy for him as well. I think the winner also deserved to win because Titouan (Castryck) has been exceptional throughout the whole season. I really think he is the king now.
Women’s Kayak
Klaudia ZWOLINSKA (POL – gold)
I don't know what to say. Like I said, K1 has always been my goal because it's the category that I feel the most confident in. I knew it was possible to get a second medal because Jessica Fox has done it. She has always been my inspiration. When I was younger, my goal was to follow her path. I have seen that she has won many medals in one championship before. So I thought ‘I can do it too’. I love this place. This is my favourite course on the world. I still need to wait to celebrate because I have a race tomorrow. But I don't know how I will prepare for it, because now I'm just shocked. I probably won't sleep today.
Kimberley WOODS (GBR – silver)
That run was way better than this morning, that's for sure. I had a lot more energy and I actually heard my race hype song as I was warming up, with the crowd. I just felt way more up for it and really attacked that run. That slightest touch on the main wave really cost me the gold, but I'm really happy how I attacked that.
Kate ECKHARDT (AUS – bronze)
It’s amazing, clearly surreal, I don’t think I really believe it myself yet but here we are. I was really proud of the run that I put down, and I knew that pretty much anyone else on the line-up for the final could beat it. So I was super, super nervous and, it really came down to the wire at the end. Cami (Camille Prigent) was about a whisker away from being ahead of me, so I need to go find her and give her a big hug. But it was very, very nerve wracking. I was just happy with the run that I put down and, yeah, really proud of how it all came together.
