World Kayak Event Coverage

(Sorry photos coming later)
After the dust settled on Semi-final day, we have our scene.  The K1 men’s class had two steps as they were cut from 20 to 10 then 10 to 5.  The end result was once again, Canadian Nick Troutman at the top with a final round ride that was 300 points higher than the next competitor!  Stephen Wright continued his consistancy in the top three on this wave with the second place ride of 580 and Peter Csonka showing that he can still hold onto his 3rd place spot… remembering that all Peter has to do is place 3rd to win the overall World Cup.  With something to say about that is Dustin Urban who, with Mathieu Dumoulin of France, snuck into the finals.  Missing the finals was Eric Jackson, a big surprise as he continues to be the favorite in these big events.

1. Nick Troutman- 880 points
2. Stephen Wright-580 points
3. Peter Czonka- 560 points
4. Dustin Urban- 540 points
5. Mathieu Domoulin- 527 points

The women were next with a close battle between Emily Jackson and Ruth Gordon of Canada.  Though they train together on the road, these two have been putting on a show for the entire year on the North American pro circuit… why stop now ;-)  Emily showed again she can take the scores to one step higher and took the semis in style.  With Ruth close second and Marianne Saether in third spot.

1. Emily Jackson, USA- 193 Points
2. Ruth Gordon, Canada- 180 points
3. Marianne Seather, Norway- 120 points
4. Lenka Novotna, Czech- 110 points
5. Jutta Kaiser, Germany- 103 points

The C1 class I was not able to get scores for as the sheets didn’t go up… so this is from memory.  Dave Brainbridge had the best rides of the day in C1 with US junior Dane Jackson making up for lost time coming in a close second.  The story of the day here was the French… Like Prague they crept up and were a mainstay in the finals.  Alexandre Besseau and Jonathan Suc both did very well rounding off this field with Englishman Lee Pike.

1. Dave Brainbridge, GBR
2. Dane Jackson, USA
3. Alexandre Besseau, FR
4. Jonathan Suc, FR
5. Lee Pyke, GBR

The juniors scores were slow to get up, but the finals are set with yet another great competition for these kids.  The Frenchman Sebastien Devred showed that his countrymates position at the top of these results lists was not a fluke.  This team came  here to compete and are proving they are a superpower in freestyle… and have depth with this young lad leading the way into the next generation.  Samuel Schwarz or Switzerland held onto 2nd spot with Jason Craig, our Netharland’s star Tom and a busy Dane Jackson rounding off the field.

1. Sebastian Devred, France
2. Samuel Schwarz, Switzerland
3. Jason Craig, USA
4. Tom van Kalmthoud, Netherlands
5. Dane Jackson, USA

This sets the stage for tomorrow’s finals… wooo hooo.