Reigning world champion Matej Vanek of Czechia clinched gold and Great Britain’s Kerry Christie starred at the International Canoe Federation Ranking Race in Wildwater Canoeing.
Llangollen in Wales, Great Britain was the host for an action-packed weekend of Wildwater Canoeing on the River Dee, staging an European Canoe Association Cup Sprint Race and an ICF Ranking Race over the classic distance.
Vanek, who was crowned world champion in September, showed his class as he swept to victory in the men’s canoe single in a time of 10:29.47.
Great Britain’s Andrew Crowhurst claimed silver in 10:46.50, with Czechia’s Martin Novak earning bronze in 10:48.50.
The women’s C1 title was taken by Germany’s Franziska Gawehn who emerged victorious in a time of 11:23.25.
Czechia’s Tereza Marouskova came second in 11:47.30, with third place going to Slovakia’s Viktoria Scholczova in 12:00.16.
Great Britain’s Christie came out on top in the women’s kayak single, triumphing in 10:38.27.
Silver was won by Germany’s Ronja Haseloff after registering a time of 10:42.30, while Great Britain’s Victoria Murray bagged bronze in 10:43.60.
There was a British one-two-three in the men’s K1 as Sam Stevely sealed gold in 9:30.72.
He was followed by Jacob Holmes who picked up silver in 9:33.13 and Leon Tomlinson who claimed bronze in 9:34.57.
The ICF Ranking Race was staged a day after Llangollen hosted an ECA Cup Sprint Race.
It was a Czech one-two in the men’s C1 as Vanek got the better of Novak to secure the gold medal.
Vanek triumphed in 54.95, beating Novak by 4.73, while Great Britain’s Andrew Crowhurst got bronze with 59.74.
There was also Czech success in the men’s canoe double as Filip Kopriva and Cenek Hitha took the title in 56.63.
Crowhurst joined forces with Phil Dean to win silver in 59.78, while fellow Brits Tomlinson and Jack Maloney sealed bronze in 1:00.46.
Marouskova delivered another gold for Czechia when she won the women’s C1 in 1:05.70.
Scholczova settled for silver in 1:05.98, while Gawehn added a bronze medal to her collection after finishing in 1:08.91.
Great Britain tasted medal success in the kayak events in the ECA Cup Sprint Race as Katie Pocklington pocketed gold in 57.93.
Germany’s Luisa Puttkammer narrowly missed out on the title, taking silver in 57.96.
Christie delivered bronze for Great Britain after crossing the finish line in 58.68.
In the men’s K1, Germany’s Ivo Lamers took top spot on the podium after clocking a winning time of 51.35.
Great Britain took the other two medals with Adam Knox grabbing silver in 51.96 and Jacob Holmes winning bronze in 52.26.
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