CANOE/SLALOM: The second of five ICF canoe slalom World Cups has concluded in Tacen, Slovenia following three days of racing on one of the world’s toughest courses.
Just four Australians were in action on the final day of racing with Olympic silver medallist Jessica Fox the best of those, finishing ninth in the K1W final.
Fox celebrated her 20th birthday earlier in the week with a gold medal in the non-Olympic C1W final on Saturday. Also on Saturday Australia won their first ever C1 Teams World Cup gold medal when Robin Jeffery, Christian Fabris and Ian Borrows each recorded clean runs en route to the gold, in another non-Olympci event.
At the same World Cup last year Fox won the remarkable C1/K1 double and it looked possible again until the K1 Final.
The Penrith paddler entered the final after producing the second fastest semifinal time. Her hopes of a second gold medal in Tacen ended after she incurred a 50 second penalty for missing gate six.
Two-time world champion Jana Dukatova of Slovakia won the gold. The 31 year old was one of only two competitors in the final to produce a clean run alongside silver medallist Jasmin Schornberg, which goes to show the importance of keeping it clean in the final.
Dukatova won in 111.24, 2.59 seconds ahead of the German with Austrian Corinna Kuhnle winning her second consecutive World Cup medal in third.
Despite producing the third quickest raw time, 54 seconds in penalties meant Fox trailed the winner by 53.94 seconds.
NSWIS paddler Rosalyn Lawrence finished 20th in the semifinal.
Earlier in the day Australian C2M pairing Ethan Hodson and Robin Jeffery finished 15th in the semifinal.
Despite failing to reach the final the pair finished as the tenth best nation meaning that they have qualified the boat for the ICF World Championships later this year. Hodson and Jeffery improved their London result by six places and are showing positive signs looking ahead to the remaining three World Cups.
The third instalment of the ICF World Cup series will take place in Prague, Czech Republic from 20-22 June.
Australian Canoeing
