World Cup #2 Semi Finals
By James McBeath • Aug 24th, 2008 • Category: Feature Story, WK World Cup Coverage
The C1ers started the day with their semis, the top 5 making it to the finals. Markus Hummel of Germany stood atop the field with 380 points with a remarkable ride in this tough C1 hole. Out from nowhere Lee Pike of Great Britain took second spot and Stepan Fiedler took third. Lukas and Alexandre came to the final two spots to set the scene for the finals tomorrow.
The Junior Women took to the stage, starting at the semi-finals due to the small heats. Leonie Haberling of Switzerland took the early lead in the competition tripling the points of all others. Vera Knook of the Netherlands represented in second spot with Andrea Kaspers of Germany in third. This was
a tough run for the girls as this hole was retentive and difficult. You will notice that the men’s scores are not as consistently high as they were in Prague. Telling of the feature.
The Women took to the field for a tight battle. Though we didnt see the grand rides we saw in the prelims, Marlene Devillez of France and Ruth Gordon of Canada kept up the heat. Emily Jackson began looking more like her self after battling a flu bug for the past week and stepped it up a knotch to end in third. Maria Lindgren of Sweden and Nina Halasova of Slovakia rounded thee ttop 5 going onto the finals.
The men’s semifinals saw some surprise as Canadian Nick Troutman fall to a couple of weak rides… bowing out of the competition in 7th place. Eric Jackson stepped it up a notch placing second behind France’s Mathiew Dumoulin who kept consistent. Peter Csonka stayed alive in the competition as the favorite as well as American Dustin Urban who has really found his beat. Stephen Wright who has been a pillar of strength in this hole had a disappointing ride and dropped out with Troutman.
James McBeath is known for having a unique place in whitewater. The founder of Kayak Futaleufu and a former partner in Liquid Skills, James (aka "Pollo") has been around the paddling world for many a year. James currently is the director of World Kayak in hopes of aiding a significant growth through community activity world wide!
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