The Penrith Whitewater Stadium,
the venue of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, will play host to what will now be
the third ICF Junior & U23 World Championships on April 23-27. The
competition will feature over 300 athletes from 31 different countries.
This year's team features a mix
of internationally experienced athletes, and new-comers looking to mark.
First-year Junior Team member Tyler Smith (Charlotte, NC) says
the realities of competing in his first major international race are now
beginning to set in, "We have one short training session left and
then nothing until race day. Though I'm a little nervous, I'm also very excited
to represent the U.S. here in Australia and hopeful to place well in both the
K1 and C1 events." Other Junior Team members making their
international debut include K1W Teegan Johnson (Lyons, CO), K1M
Jordan Sherman (Rockville, MD), and K1M Tyler Westfall
(Darnestown, MD), while K1W Evelyn VanHorn (Bellefonte,
PA), C1M/C2 William Coggan (Boulder, CO), and C1M/C2 Gabe
Machado (Louisville, CO) will look to build on their previous results.
For grizzled veterans on the U23
Team athletes, these World Championships offer another opportunity for a top
result. Zach "Bug" Lokken, continues his quest for a place on the
podium in the C1M class after a 9th place finish at this event last season,
as Tyler Hinton (Boulder, CO) looks to build off of his impressive
early domestic results. In the K1M class, Simon
Ranagan (Bethesda, MD) makes his return to the team after taking a year off
and Michal Smolen (Gastonia, NC) will look to make his way back into
the final while also racing C1.
Although many of these athletes have previously spent time paddling in Penrith, Smolen and Lokken came to Australia in February to gain more experience training and racing at this venue, experience which National Team Coach Rafal Smolen believes will prove to be invaluable; "If we look at the athletes that will compete here in U23 categories, we will see medalists and finalists from [Senior] World Championships and the [London] Olympics. Many of these athletes have spent a lot of time training here, whether it was winter training in the past or direct preparation for this event. I think that the February training camp gave us enough time on this course to challenge the best."
Event Website:
Event Schedule:
2014 ICF Junior & U23 World
Championships Canoe Slalom video preview:
Results:
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