The Slovak 500m four-stroke team consisting of Denis Myšák, Samuel Baláž, Csaba Zalka, Adam Botek will not get a place at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. At the WC in Duisburg, he finished fifth in the first semi-final with a loss of more than half a second to the winning Serbs and did not advance to the A-final among the elite nine.
10 boats qualify for Paris in K4. However, four continents must be represented, so the Slovak team needed to finish in 7th place. Eight European crews advanced to the medal fights. For the first time since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Slovakia will not have its flagship at the Olympics. Slovaks won two silver medals (2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing) and two bronze medals (2004 Olympic Games in Athens, 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo) in the quadruple kayak. Erik Vlček was behind all the successes.
“It’s a sad day for Slovak canoeing. The guys showed one of the best rides this season in the semi-final, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the A-final. We must congratulate the countries that still have a chance to win Olympic spots. The conditions were normal for everyone. I hope that our representatives will now show character and at least try to win the B-final. We could get to the Olympics only in case of some disqualifications, which is very unlikely. We have to move on and think about the future.” said Filip Petrla, sports director of the smooth water section of Slovak Canoeing, for TASR.
“Háčik” Denis Myšák did not hide his great disappointment that he will not have the opportunity to fight for the third medal in K4 in Paris. “Everyone wants to get to the Olympics and a medal is a bonus. Me and the other guys are very disappointed, because K4 doesn’t have a second chance to get to Paris. We have to take a breather. We weren’t at the top all year. We moved a little before the WC, but obviously it wasn’t enough. We didn’t have any problems on the track, but the others were faster than us.”
Even the women’s foursome in the semi-final, consisting of Katarína Pecsuková, Réka Bugárová, Bianka Sidová, Mariana Petrušová, did not succeed in the semi-final, finishing eighth in the second semi-final, which was not even enough to participate in the B-final in the strong competition.
2023-08-25 12:30:00
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