Performance Slalom Canoe team go International

Last week the Canoe Wales Performance Slalom team headed to Krakow, Poland, to gain more experience and race at the European Cup race. A week of training and culture led them into the racing weekend before they knew it.

The format for racing was 1 run qualification and 1 run finals with the top 2/3 qualifying for the finals. Smooth and fast runs all around on Saturday morning saw an entire squad safely through to the finals!

With everyone going all out in the finals Fin Yates Jones had a cracking run but 1 touch prevented the win, settling for 2nd place in the under 23 category. In the J18 category saw just one little mistake from Oli Cooper but lightning-fast reactions saved the run to finish 8th and Sam Rice Jones a couple of seconds behind in 17th. In the J16 category, Gwion Williams put down another incredible run but matched teammate Oli’s mistake also requiring his lightning-fast reactions to save the run finishing in 8th place. Sennah Nader Humphries had a smooth run with impressive boatmanship but touches proved costly but a respectable 10th place to finish the racing on day one. 

Day 2 brought more racing and more challenges on the white water but none the less the whole team prepared well for qualification and 4/5 qualified for the finals, one error at the top of the course meant Sam had to paddle back upstream for one of the gates.

Onto the finals, first up Sennah, with a solid run, it was good enough for an impressive 6th place J16 K1W. Onto the K1M, Gwion put down a blistering run, only to be halted by the last stopper on the course, after skilfully exciting the stopper carried on with the pace, this time only enough for 20th J16. Oli set the pace and without any penalties left an impressive time for the rest to chase, overall 6th place J18 for Oli. The final racer for team Wales of the weekend was Fin who set a blistering time fast enough for the win but alas it was decided Fin cut the margins too tight and was awarded a 50 second penalty pushing him down to 4th place U23. Overall rankings for the weekend saw Fin Yates Jones take 3rd place.

Well done Fin and to the rest of the team for their 1st International Race!

This brings the first week of their month-long tour in Europe to an end with incredible memories and exposure to international racing with no heat wave in sight.

Next stop is Prague, Czech Republic for another race next weekend. Bring it on!

Written by Andy Kettlewell, Canoe Wales Performance Slalom Coach