The last semifinalists of the
individual canoe slalom events at the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023 are
known. On Friday, canoeists fought for the 30 places in the semifinal which is
on the programme on the last day of the European Games. German canoeists Elena
LILIK and Franz ANTON were the best paddlers of the morning heats.
The 2018 world champion Franz ANTON
(GER) produced the best run in men's canoe heats in Kolna Sports Centre to
secure a place in Sunday's semifinal. The 33-year-old paddler had a penalty
free run and was half a second faster than Lucas ROISIN (FRA) in second place,
while Luka BOZIC from Slovenia concluded the first stage of the race in third
position.
"I am quite happy with my run.
Six days ago, I changed my boat from lady Hype to Demon 4 which is a huge
difference. I felt comfortable, and I had to figure it out here in Krakow where
is my sit position. In the first few sessions I struggled a lot with this. Now,
I am happy I have completed my run that I am totally happy with from the start
to the finish line," said ANTON.
Elena LILIK (GER) was the fastest in
women's canoe heats despite the touch on the gate number 20. The touch meant an
addition of two seconds to her time, however, she was still one second faster
than Tereza KNEBLOVA (CZE) in second position. Elena MICOZZI (ITA) a bit
surprisingly concluded the heats in third place.
"I am super happy with my run. I
had a stupid touch with the tail of my boat, but it happens sometimes. I am
very excited for the next few days," said LILIK.
LILIK, who also successfully
qualified to kayak semifinal, added, "Before the race I was thinking a lot
about the gates four and five, but also about the combination eight-nine-ten-
eleven. That's the tricky part."
Majority of the favourites advanced
from the heats to the semifinal on Sunday, but some had many problems on the
Vistula River and were placed outside the semifinalists. One of them is Swiss
canoeist Thomas KOECHLIN, the 2017 European Championships silver medallist, who
had 56 penalty seconds in his second run, which meant he concluded his
competitions at the European Games.
In the afternoon, men's and women's
canoe team events are on the programme where the teams will fight for the
medals.
The complete competition schedule and
results can be found here.
European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023
is the Europe’s biggest multidisciplinary sporting event in 2023. More than 7
thousand athletes are competing in 26 sports and 29 disciplines for 253 gold
medals. More than that, European Games 2023 are part of the qualification
process for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 in 19 sports. This great
celebration of sports starts with opening ceremony in Krakow on 21st of June.
The closing ceremony will take place on July 2nd.
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