Mann Places Seventh in Spain

World Cup No. 2 Wraps Up, Next Stop: Augsburg

LA SEU DE URGELL, Spain – Scott Mann (Woodstock, Vt.) finished in seventh place in the men’s K-1 final at ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup No. 2 Sunday. Heading into the day at the top of the leaderboard, Mann was in fifth place after the semifinal run. His final run was clocked at 92.16, 3.55 seconds behind the winner Daniele Molmenti of Italy, who also won World Cup No. 1.

“I went for it and it was a clean run,” Mann said. “I gave it my all out there today and just came up short. Let’s go to Augsburg.”

Augsburg, Germany is the site of the third and final stop on the World Cup tour, July 2-4. For complete results of the World Cup in Spain, visit http://canoeslalomseu.parcolimpic.com.

Mann, elected team captain at the beginning of the World Cup, was the only American to qualify for the final round. Scott Parsons (Silvania, Ohio) finished the men’s K-1 semifinal round in 15th place. A small mistake at the bottom of the course marred an otherwise great run and kept him out of the finals. Brett Heyl (Norwich, Vt.) finished in 36th place.

“Although we came up short of a podium result today, Scott put himself in a position to medal at today’s World Cup, which is all that we can ask,” USA C/K National Teams Director William Irving said. “I’m really proud of how consistent and clean he paddled this weekend and I know that he will learn from this and take it into Augsburg next weekend.”

Americans in the women’s C-1 approached the tough course very cautiously and missed out on the final round. Sixteen-year-old Hailey Thompson (Stevens Point, Wis.) finished in 11th place, 22 seconds out of the top ten. Micki Reeves (Grand Junction, Colo.) and Carolyn Peterson (Austin, Texas) placed 14th and 16th, respectively.

Beijing Olympians Casey Eichfeld (Drums, Pa.) and Benn Fraker (Peachtree, Ga.) placed 26th and 30th, respectively, in the semifinal round of the men’s C-1. Eichfeld competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in the C-2 event and this was his first semifinal as a C-1 athlete. Fraker entered the day ranked ninth but struggled at the bottom of the course where many other canoe athletes also had difficulty crossing from the right to left ups based on the gate position.

It was the last World Cup of the season for teenagers Thompson, Zach Lokken (Durango, Colo.), and Caroline Queen (Darnestown, Md.), who will all be competing at the Junior World Championships in France, July 8-11.

USA Canoe/Kayak is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation. It governs the Olympic disciplines of Flatwater Sprint and Whitewater Slalom and sanctions Freestyle, Marathon, Outrigger, Wildwater, Kayak Polo, Dragon Boat and Canoe Sailing in the United States. For more information about USA Canoe/Kayak, please visit us on the web at www.usack.org.