Tokyo champs have a successful opening in ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup
On the first day of finals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Racice, female medalists from the Tokyo Olympics demonstrated that their Olympic form is good form. Leading the pack was Lisa Carrington from New Zealand, followed by Shixiao Xu and Mengya Sun from China, and the Polish women’s K4 500 crew.
On Saturday, all three of these competitors won their respective Olympic class races with ease in the Czech Republic. In addition to them, Fernando Pimenta of Portugal, the Spanish men’s K4 team, and the C2 500 crew of Cayetano Garcia and Pablo Martinez also secured victories in their respective events.
Carrington, a five-time Olympic winner, kicked off her return to world cup competition in 2019 with a dominant victory in the women’s K1 500 event. She led the whole race and won by a comfortable margin.
“Since Tokyo was such a significant competition, I decided to take a little break—about two months—before beginning the buildup to Paris,” Carrington said.
“It’s good to finally be back in Europe, but the jitters still seem to be the same even though it’s been three years since I raced in a World Cup.”
The Chinese duo of Xu and Sun demonstrated that they have reached an even higher level of strength since they won gold in the women’s C2 500 event in Tokyo the previous year, dominating a competitive field.
“We feel extremely strong, and I am pleased to have a really wonderful relationship,” added Xu. “I am delighted to have a really excellent partner.”
After having two new crew members join them in Racice, Poland made a solid start to their campaign for Paris 2024 with a comfortable victory over Spain and China. Poland won bronze in the women’s K4 500 event that was held in Tokyo.
“It was a wonderful race for us, our first final as a team, and now we know what we need to do to be better,” said Anna Pulawska after the race. “It was our first final together, and now we know what we need to do to be better.”
“Because this is a new team, we didn’t know what we were capable of doing, so we were a little bit startled,” said one of the players, “but now we know.”
Claiming the bronze medal in the men’s K1 1000 competition at the Olympic Games in Tokyo the year before
Fernando Pimenta went on to win the world championship a few short weeks later. He then continued his strong form after the Olympics by taking first place in the all-the-way race in Racice.
Pimenta took advantage of a strong tailwind to establish a good early pace, and he was able to maintain that pace despite a strong finish by Tom Green of Australia.
“I began the last Olympic cycle with a gold, and after five years, a new Olympic cycle, I’m not in my best form yet but every day I feel a bit better,” Pimenta said. “I’m not in my best shape yet but every day I feel a bit better.”
“After Tokyo, with the bronze medal, I don’t feel any more pressure any longer since I have fulfilled a goal in my life,” she said. “I have nothing else to prove to myself.” The only thing left for me to do is win the gold medal, as I already have the silver and the bronze.
With the same Olympic crew, Spain, which came in a close second in the men’s K4 in Tokyo, was taking no chances on Saturday. The German crew, Olympic gold medalists from Tokyo, finished fourth and outside the medals for the first time on a global stage since the K4 500 became an Olympic event after Rio 2016. This was the biggest shock.
The world championships are now our next goal, stated Carlos Arevalo, “this was a really solid race for us.”
“We believe we are in excellent condition. We had to perform well here since it was also our opportunity to earn a spot in the global championships. Paddling with friends we’ve known for a while is considerably simpler.
In Paris, a brand-new Olympic competition for men called the C2 500 is already being dominated by Spain.
Cayetano Garcia and Pablo Martinez of a Spanish crew won first place and a trip to this year’s ICF World Championships, respectively.
The fact that Spain has such a high level of competition makes us more stronger here at the world cup, added Martinez.
Teammate Garcia declared, “The Olympics are our major goal, and we won’t stop until we achieve it.
On Sunday, the first ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup’s last day of competition will take place.
You may either stay on this page and explore for more ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup news and updates, or you can visit OKBET Sportsbook to learn more.
If you’re looking for the best website to place wagers on the World Cup Games 2022, go to OKBET right now to take advantage the promotions, including a cash back bonus of up to 50% on your first deposit, a bonus of up to 68% on your second deposit, and many more. Join Now!
