By: Kathy Holcombe / Photography: Peter Holcombe
Today began the whittling process of the World Championships, where some paddlers made it through to paddle another day, while others left broken hearted. The Men’s Canoe started the day with 20 paddlers and cut to five finalists during two rounds of competition. In the preliminary heats athletes battled with changing water levels, resulting in several top athletes flushing before their ride even started. Team USA dominated both rounds of the Men’s C1 competition and claimed four of the five spots in the final round.
The Women’s Canoe had the crowd on the edge of their seat as junior paddler Sophie Gilfillan laid down a top scoring ride early in the competition and led the event until the final 15 seconds of the heat. Reigning World Champion, Ottilie Robinson-Shaw, flushed on her first two rides and then came back strong and took the top position in the last few seconds of her last ride in a flurry of high scoring tricks. Team Great Britain dominated the Women’s C1 event with three of their paddlers making it through to the final round. Both Men’s and Women’s C1 Finals will take place on Thursday at 1:25 PM EDT.
The Women’s Kayak preliminary round narrowed the field from 38 competitors down to twenty paddlers who will compete in the quarter final heats on Friday at 11:35 AM EDT. The top ladies all have massive tricks, and anything can happen in this powerful and unpredictable feature. We can’t wait to see who ends up at the top of this incredibly competitive field.
WOMEN’S C1 FINAL PRELIMS (Finals on Thursday)
MEN’S C1 SEMI FINAL
| 1st | Dane JACKSON | USA | 913.33 |
| 2nd | Landon MILLER | USA | 793.33 |
| 3rd | Seth CHAPELLE | USA | 540.00 |
| 4th | Subaru FUKUSHI | JAP | 420.00 |
| 5th | Jordan POFFENBERGER | USA | 413.33 |
| 6th | Zachary ZWANENBURG | CAN | 281.67 |
| 7th | Sebastian Kurt Rudolf NELLE | GER | 176.67 |
| 8th | Adam RAMADAN | GBR | 120.00 |
| 9th | Tom DOLLE | FRA | 113.33 |
| 10th | Florentin ABEL | FRA | 43.33 |
WOMEN’S K1 FINAL PRELIMS (Quarter Finals on Friday)
| 1st | Ottilie ROBINSON-SHAW | GBR | 775.00 |
| 2nd | Hitomi TAKAKU | JAP | 656.67 |
| 3rd | Emily JACKSON | USA | 598.67 |
| 4th | Anna BRUNO | USA | 463.33 |
| 5th | Heidi WALSH | GBR | 281.67 |
| 6th | Miki SATO | JAP | 250.00 |
| 7th | Darby MCADAMS | USA | 231.66 |
| 8th | Abby HOLCOMBE | USA | 188.33 |
| 9th | Savannah WESTEINDE | CAN | 156.67 |
| 10th | Zofia TULA | POL | 90.00 |
