CORRECTED
Washington, D.C. Paddlers Advance at Slalom World Championships |
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Men’s Double Canoe Entries also Advance
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| Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
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FOZ DO IGUACU, Brazil – United States slalom paddlers Ashley Nee (Washington, D.C.) and Caroline Queen (Washington, D.C.) each advanced to the semifinals of the women’s single kayak by finishing among the top 40 in their qualifying runs on Thursday at the 2007 ICF Slalom World Championships in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The U.S. men’s double canoe entries of Austin Crane (Atlanta, Ga.) and Scott McCleskey (Sylva, N.C.) along with Rick Powell (Parkesburg, Pa.) and Casey Eichfeld (Drums, Pa.) also advanced.
With Scott Parsons (Sylvania, Ohio), Brett Heyl (Charlotte, N.C.) and Benn Fraker (Peachtree City, Ga.) emerging from Wednesday’s qualifying rounds, a total of seven U.S. boats have advanced to the semifinals of the slalom world championships, which run through Sunday on the Itaipu White Water Canal in Southwestern Brazil. The world event is the first of three qualifiers for U.S. athletes to earn points toward selection to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.
In the women’s single kayak, Nee’s combined two-run time of 251.27 seconds earned 30th-place among the field of 61 paddlers, while Queen negotiated the 23-gate Itaipu course in 276.17 seconds to finish 37th. The top 40 finishers in the women’s single kayak advanced to the semifinal.
In her first qualifying run, Nee’s, four gate-touches added 8 penalty seconds for a total time of 128.43 seconds. In her second run, Nee also found four gates, but bettered her first run by over 5 seconds with a time of 122.84 seconds. She finished 48.20 seconds behind the leader and 2006 World Champion, Jana Dukatova of Slovakia.
Queen, in her first run, finished with a time of 143.18 seconds. The result included three gate-touches for a total of 6 penalty seconds. In her second run, Queen bettered her performance by just over 10 seconds for a time of 132.99 seconds with only two touch penalties. U.S. paddler Zuzana Vanha (Charlotte, N.C.) finished 44th, missing the 40th and final qualifying spot by 10.23 seconds. The top five include top finisher Dukatova in a time of 203.47 seconds. Elana Kaliska of Slovakia was second, logging a time of 205.13 seconds, followed by Mandy Planert of Germany in third. Jingjing Li of China was fourth and Gabriela Stacherova of Slovakia was fifth.
In other World Championships qualifying action on Thursday for U.S. slalom paddlers, Crane and McCleskey finished 23rd, while Powell and Eichfeld finished 28th in the men’s double canoe to advance to the semifinals.
With the top 30 of the field of 35 progressing to the semifinals, McCleskey and Crane finished with a combined time of 236.32 seconds. Following the first run, the American duo was 19th with a time of 113.42 seconds including penalties for three gate-touches. In the second run, the pair found five gates contributing to a time of 122.90 seconds. Powell and Eichfeld logged a combined time of 330.62 seconds in their two qualifying runs. The duo had two gate-touches in their first race for a total time of 114.67 seconds. Their second race included several penalties for time of 215.95. Kay and Robby Simon of Germany finished first among qualifiers with a combined time of 207.38 seconds, while 2006 World Champions Jaroslav Volf and Ondrej Stepanik of the Czech Republic were just 0.95 seconds back for second. Pavel and Peter Hochschorner of Slovaki finished third in 209.71 seconds. Timothy Baillie and Etienne Stott of Great Britain were fourth and Marek Jiras and Tomas Mader of the Czech Republic were fifth.
The U.S. is entered in men’s and women’s single kayak and men’s single and doubles canoe events. The 250-meter competition course is set within the 400-meter-long, 12-meter-wide Itaipu White Water Canal. The canal has a total drop of 8.20 meters and steady flow of 12 cubic meters per second.
The World Championships continue with team races on Friday. Semifinals and finals take place Saturday and Sunday.
Complete results are available at http://cbca.org.br/foz2007/english/index.php
About Slalom Canoe/Kayak
In slalom canoe/kayak racing, paddlers navigate through pairs of poles called "gates" through a course of approximately 300-meters, set-up over challenging rapids, waves, eddies and currents. If the paddler touches one of the poles or misses a gate altogether, penalty times are added to the time achieved on the run. |
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About USA Canoe/Kayak
USA Canoe/Kayak is a non-profit membership organization promoting canoe and kayak racing in the United States. A member of the United States Olympic Committee, Charlotte, N.C. based USACK is the national governing body for the Olympic sports of Flatwater Sprint and Whitewater Slalom and official U.S. federation of the International Canoe Federation. Other paddling sports sanctioned by USACK include Marathon, Rodeo, Wildwater, Kayak Polo, Outrigger, and Dragon Boat. USA Canoe/Kayak’s National Team Sponsor is Bank of America and its National Team Apparel Sponsor is NIKE. To learn more about USACK and its other sponsors and suppliers, visit www.USACK.org .
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