Women's K1 Final - Europeans dominate

Australian Canoeing Media Services, Saturday, 1 October 2005

In an all European final, Elena Kaliska of Slovakia took gold in the Women's K1 event at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships at Penrith Saturday.

With a huge 9 seconds separating the ten qualifiying athletes, it quickly became evident the top four paddlers were a shade above their opponents.

Kaliska, the current Olympic Champion, came in with a time of 219 sec, after a powerful and almost flawless performance, while Mandy Planert (GER) took away the silver medal in a time of 222 sec, and Peggy Dickens (FRA) the bronze.

The heavy price of penalties was felt by Stepanka Hilgertova (CZE), who is currently ranked number one in the world, after touching three gates throughout the event.

Although this may not have been a significant mistake in the semi-finals, the six points that were added to her final score put her with an uphill battle to get into the medals.

Gabriela Broskova Zamiskova (SVK) was disqualified from the event for not turning up to the start on time. She was ranked tenth going into the final, and was not considered to be a major medal contender.