The ICF World Freestyle Championships have wrapped up for the second day of competition at the Nantahala Outdoor Centre in Bryson City, North Carolina. The day started with both Men’s and Women’s Squirt heats, and ended with K1 Junior Women’s Semi-Finals.
Squirt heats took place at 2013 Wave and the eddies below, where the athletes attempted to rack up high scores with combinations of classic squirt boating maneuvers such as flat water stern squirts and “mystery moves”, where the paddlers try to get as much down time in the feature as they can.
In the Men’s Squirt division, members from the US team dominated the top three spots. Dane Jackson earned himself first place moving into Semi-Finals with a 500 point lead and final score of 2,463 points. Teammate Clay Wright came second with a final score of 1, 953 points, while Jeremy Laucks earned himself a very respectable 1, 056 points.
In the Women’s division, reigning champion Claire O’Hara (GBR) came out swinging in the preliminary round, her first run earning her 1, 156 points, followed by a 781 point run, landing her in the top spot with 1, 937 points overall. Rounding out the top 3 in the Women’s Squirt were two Japanese paddlers, Hitomi Takaku in second with 684 points, followed closely by teammate Motoko Ishida with 652 points.
Breaking up the pro-division competition was the WaveSport Wesser Falls Extreme race, where pro athletes and recreational paddlers alike had the chance to duke it out in a head to head style race from above the 2013 Wave and ending below Wesser Falls, a Class V rapid. Fidel Moreno won the Men’s division, while Adriene Levknecht took home the gold in the Women’s division. While they both get to take home bragging rights, they also got to take home $500 in cash.
K1 Junior Women’s preliminaries once again turned into a Semi-Final round, as the field of competitors was only 10 deep. Nuria Fontane (ESP) came first with a score of 530 points, while Rowan Stuart (USA) came in a close second with 493 points. Completing the top 3 was Kimberlee Aldred (GBR) with a score of 233 points. The top 5 Junior Women will face off in the final on Sunday morning.
Tomorrow, the day will be devoted mainly to K1 Junior Men’s heats, along with some fun races sponsored by Bomber Gear and Dagger kayaks. Be sure to catch all the action here: http://www.freestylekayaking2013.com/worlds-live-feed.html
Official results from today’s events can be found here.
