Weather turns stormy for the final day on the mountain!
Weather Update, 11:50am: A line of showers with gusty winds, arriving in half an hour. Start of the finals has been moved forward by an hour from 12:02 to 13:02 running with a compacted schedule. Lightening moves closing ceremonies into town for shelter.
Semi-final runs were a challenge in the wind. Not only does the racer have to react to the ever-changing boils and mushy water, now the gates moved position without notice. At times it helped the athlete, yet rarely, as in the case of Viktoria Wolfhardt, AUT, who was one of five amongst the 30 K-1 women to land a clean run, but shocked to see a 50 second penalty given her as she crossed the line.
Top ten advanced to the finals, with Jessica Fox leading the charge.
Melanie Pfeifer, GER, was boat number two to start in the K-1 Womens Finals and laid down a clean run. Next down the course Fiona Pennie, GBR, broke the time by a full six seconds to take the lead. It held until the final paddler, Jessica Fox, AUS, came blazing down the 24-gate course. Killing it with each stroke, she laid down a fast and clean run, surpassed Fiona’s time by a single second and claimed this World Championships as her own with double gold!
For the C-2 Men, the hardest sequence was the gate 18 to 19 flush gate (one pole hung upstream of the other) combination. Not a single pair went direct, instead choosing to pass below the second pole, paddle up the eddy to re-enter the current and pass through the gate from left to right, conservative and three seconds longer. In the finals, only three teams went direct. The Slovenian boat of Bozic/Taljat cleared it, winning the 2014 World Title, the Polish C-2 hit the downstream pole landing in fourth, and the Germans went all out paddling with abandon, but when the bow paddler tapped the pole of gate 19 with his head it was perceived as intentional and given a ‘50’ placing the pair in 10th. The final results being: SLO, FRA, SVK.
Team runs completed the agenda for the 2014 World Championships. In order of 1st, 2nd, 3rd for the women it is FRA, AUT, SVK. And for the C-2’s FRA, SVK, CZE.
The sun came back but storms predicted for the late afternoon, will bring the Closing Ceremonies back down the mountain to Garrett College for 7pm.
Great worlds, great gathering, and phenomenal racing. Helmets off to Deep Creek for nailing it!
Claudia Kerckhoff-van Wijk is a ten time Canadian Slalom champion, 5th 1979 Worlds in Jonquiere, Bronze medallist in Slalom, and owner of Madawaska Kanu Centre and OWL Rafting.
