today 10:33
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Slovak water slalom skiers did not reach the podium at the final event of the World Cup in Pau, France. In the overall evaluation, Slovakia was not represented in the first three only once, in 1997.
The best result was ensured by Alexander Slafkovský, who took fourth place in the C1 final and finished fourth overall. The “knock” on the last 24 goals deprived him of a better position.
He knows the Slafkov track well in Pau, in 2017 he won silver at the world championships. If he went for a clean ride, he would take second place and get to the bronze podium overall. “In the semifinals I tried a responsible and good ride, so that it was enough for me to advance and in the final I just tuned the ride to eliminate mistakes. Although I did not avoid one on the 18th gate, where I left enough forces that I lacked in the end and that’s why I knocked on the last gate. Overall driving satisfaction, it’s a shame. “ said the Slovak representative for the canoe.sk portal.
Another singer, Marko Mirgorodský, started as the current leader of the overall SP standings. But in the semifinals, he finished close to 11th place and did not advance to the finals. Matej Beňuš, the last of the Slovak trio, also missed the final, finishing 15th in the semifinals. Participation in the top ten cost him two touches and a four-second penalty.
The kayakers did not succeed either, Martin Halčin was seventeen with a deficit of more than two seconds to advance, Jakub Grigar finished only in 28th place. Although the silver Olympian from Tokyo showed a clean ride, he had problems on the 19th goal that cost him too much time. “I felt good and I was looking forward to the ride, but gradually I started to lose and at the bottom of the track came a very big mistake, where I left 4-5 seconds and it cost me a lot of energy. I’m very sad and disappointed and we definitely have to disassemble the ride and improve things for the world championship in Bratislava, “ evaluated Grigar.
Eliška Mintálová took seventh place in K1. Among the Slovak kayakers, she presented herself as the only one in the final. She fought her way into the top ten from fourth place, when she showed a clean ride. However, she did not manage to repeat this in the final, when she scored six penalty seconds after the first seven goals. Although she managed the rest of the track without a mistake, three “knocks” cost her a better position.
“To be honest, I’m not excited about the final race, but today it wasn’t for more. I already felt on Friday during the qualifying race that this isn’t exactly my race and I tried to overcome it. The progress to the final is great, but with myself I can’t be happy with the ride, ” she stated.
Mintál’s compatriot Jana Dukátová took 24th place, when she collected four penalty seconds in the semifinals and was more than seven seconds behind the promotion.
The performances of Slovak singles were the most pleasing. Monika Škáchová and Zuzana Paňková advanced to the busy final from the sixth, resp. seventh place. A week ago in La Seu, Škáchová finished seventh in the World Championships, but her race in Pau did not work out. She took a risk on the fourth countercurrent goal and the referees assessed the pass as incorrect. She received 50 penalty seconds and finished in the last 10th place in the final.
“I crossed the fourth goal in the semifinals and lost seconds. I wanted to speed up the pass in the final and it didn’t work out, the 50-second penalty pushed me to the last 10th place, but otherwise I liked the final race. Except for this one mistake. well and in the end I am very satisfied, ” she said after the race.
For 16-year-old Paňková, it was only the second participation in the World Championships. She showed a clean ride, but she was prepared for a better time by a few hesitations and finally finished eighth. “It’s amazing and I’m very happy to have made it to the finals. It’s something incredible. Overall, I’m very happy with the La Seu and Pau races. I didn’t believe it. “
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