The International Canoe Federation World Championships are back in London!
This year’s competition, which will see the athletes race to qualify for places at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is one that is already proving to be full of surprises.
From the 19 to 24 of September, Lee Valley White Water Centre is hosting the prestigious world championships, with some of the best kayakers and canoeists in the world racing on the Olympic course as they compete for the coveted positions that could send them to Paris.
The start of the week saw the K1 and C1 slalom heats which will come to a dramatic finale on Saturday, and Sunday will bring a demonstration of the brand new Kayak Cross event - akin to BMX racing in boats.
It is technically challenging and amazing to watch, particularly the compulsory boat roll!
The K1 and C1 slalom (single kayak and single canoe respectively) involves racing down a whitewater course and charting a route through hanging pole ‘gates’ both up and down stream.
With paddlers incurring a 2-second penalty if they touch a pole, and a 50-second penalty if they miss a gate entirely (or pass through it upside-down - a rare occurrence but not unheard of), precision is key, particularly when there is less than a second between 1st and 4th place.
The morning started with the female heats, and it was so inspiring to watch 74 top-ranked kayakers in the world compete, particularly with three Brits in the competition.
Martina Wegman from the Netherlands led for much of the competition with a phenomenal time of 87.75 seconds, but in the end it was the world number two Ricarda Funk of Germany who came in just under a second quicker to win the first heats, where the first thirty paddlers were guaranteed a place in Saturday’s semi-final.
These included both Kimberley Woods and Phoebe Spicer, who were joined by Mallory Franklin, who came 7th in the second heat, where the top ten went through to the semi-final.
It was a day of celebration for the British team with three out of three women making the semi-final.
However, when it comes to the men, the Brits are still on tenterhooks.
Joe Clarke and Christopher Bowers went straight through without issue, but Jonny Dickson picked up a pair of 2-second penalties which resulted in a tense wait for the second set of men’s heats, which were delayed briefly due to the impending storm with torrential rain and some quite impressive thunder.
Once the sun had returned, however, the racing was able to continue, and some incredible racing left Jonny Dickson in joint 10th place, as he and Dimitri Marx of Switzerland achieved identical times to a hundredth of a second.
As, officially, only ten paddlers from the second heat can go through to the semi-finals, both will now have a tense wait until their provisional qualifications are confirmed.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the men’s event, however, was Felix Oschmautz of Austria, who despite coming 4th in the Tokyo Olympics, capsized on his first run and missed a gate before being able to right himself.
This meant all hopes were pinned on the second heat, where he picked up a 2-second penalty and ended up finishing 13th even though he was just 0.7 seconds behind Dickson.
Lee Valley isn’t just home to big events like the World Championships however. The Legacy course is regularly open for those of us not cut out to be professional athletes, as canoe and kayak clubs are able to book sessions, as well as the centre offering rafting and kayaking experiences.
Last Sunday, Andy Garlick of Meridian Canoe Club organised a session for the club, which was very much enjoyed by all.
As it was the first time some had been on white water, the more experienced coaches were always on hand to help rescue and drain boats when necessary.
Garlick said afterwards: “I think it is important that paddlers experience all disciplines of paddle sport, and not just narrowly follow a single one. Whitewater is especially important because it combines so many different skills and experiences.
“You have to develop the right paddling skills, the ability to read the water, and it all happens so fast that decisions have to be taken quickly which sharpens the senses.”
When asked about his reason for choosing Lee Valley, he said: “If we rule out considerations like it is the closest artificial course to our base, then the most important factors are that it is a safe environment to experience moving water.
“On a river there are rocks, trees, and other objective hazards that mean learning can be more of a handful for beginners.
“The water at Lee Valley is ‘clean’ and free from contamination and biohazards, which is not always the case in the natural environment.
“This hopefully contributes to leaving paddlers with a positive experience, and therefore they are more likely to progress to moving water trips in the future.”
Lee Valley is a positive experience and also an incredibly inspiring one so if you are stuck for what to do this weekend, head over to Lee Valley, you can be assured of an amazing time, and you never know, you might even be inspired to join in yourself!
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