Nouria Newman (FRA) and Sam Sutton (NZL) win 10th adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship
The infamous WellerbrĆ¼cke rapids in Ćtztal, Austria, were once again the worthy stage for the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship.
For the tenthĀ anniversary edition of the event 175 of the worldās best kayakers from 33 different countries gathered to find the ideal ā or āsickestā ā line on the challenging race course.Ā
The relatively high water levels already guaranteed fast times in an exciting series ofĀ knock-out rounds, and with a new course record of 53,80 seconds set by multipleĀ Freestyle World Champion Dane Jackson in the semi-final, the battle for the prestigiousĀ sickline belt in the final was going to be a close one.
The adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship is truly unique as it brings togetherĀ athletes from all the individual kayaking disciplines, extreme expedition paddlers, freestylersĀ and Olympic slalom kayakers, to compete against one another on a world class stretch ofĀ whitewater.
For the 10th anniversary edition almost all of the previous World Champions wereĀ at the start line, except for Joe Morley (2013/2014) und Sandra Hyslop (2016).
And all of theseĀ six previous World Champions, namely Thilo Schmitt (2008), Alexander Grimm (2009), SamĀ Sutton (2010-2012), Gerd Serrasolses (2015), Aniol Serrasolses (2016) and Mariann SaetherĀ (2015), qualified for the actual World Championship battle on the 280-metre long WellerbrĆ¼ckeĀ race course, on which only the top 52 men and top 8 women are allowed to compete.
Prominent Upsets On Unpredictable CourseĀ The quarter and semi-final knock-out rounds already saw some prominent upsets; GerdĀ Serrasolses (ESP), Thilo Schmitt (GER), Fabian Dƶrfler (GER), Honza Lasko (CZE) and
Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE) were kicked out while Jamie Sutton (NZL), Mathieu Dumoulin (FRA)Ā and Mikel Sarasola (ESP) reached the final of the top 16 men with a lucky loser ticket.
āI was having a decent run and I thought I was going to have a good Champions Killer, butĀ unfortunately as I hit the boil, I lost balance and I flipped so I had to roll and that cost me a lotĀ of time, so Iām out for todayā, Gerd Serrasolses said after his quarter final heat.Ā
Olympic silver medallist Vavra Hradilek had a blistering fast run in the quarter final ā in fact heĀ set a new course record of 0:54,41. However, that time was undercut by Dane Jackson in theĀ semi-final; in that round Vavra was 2.5 seconds slower than before.
āThe run wasnāt good from the beginningā, he said. āThen I tried to focus on the lines and theĀ crux moves: TNT and Champions Killer, both didnāt go really well, but still, you know, I wasĀ happy to be there with Sven. Sven deserves the final as well. I think I missed out the final by aĀ really close margin, but thatās fine – Iāve been kayaking here the whole week so Iām happy. ItāsĀ just an awesome section we race on and itās a beautiful river. A lot of good people participateĀ and we all really share the vibe – itās just a good vibe so no matter if you lose or win, you
always come out with a smile: maybe with a bit of frustration, but that always washes away atĀ the after-party.ā
The womenās semi-final saw Mariann Saether flip in the TNT cataract, so the run of the 2015Ā World Champion unravelled and she lost her heat against Jennifer Chrimes.
āWeāre whitewater kayakers and we know this can happen once in a whileā, Mariann said.
āYou just make a slight mistake and then the consequence is pretty big. For me, I made aĀ slight mistake in a place I usually don’t have any problems and it cost me 20-25 seconds. AtĀ least, Iām proud of not swimming, and obviously I knew that the race was over at that point, butĀ I was trying to just get out of the sticky place I was in and then I nailed my lines afterwards,Ā which Iām also a little bit proud of. Of course, itās very disappointing when that happens in aĀ competition.ā
Nouria Newman Finally Claims Extreme Title
The womenās World Championship final was up first today and pitted 2015 adidas SicklineĀ Silver medallist Jennifer Chrimes against the 2016 silver and bronze medallist Nouria NewmanĀ (FRA) and Martina Wegman (NED), along with Anne HĆ¼bner (GER) and Marieke Vogt (AUT).
Nouria had put down a marker in the semi-final, with a new female course record of 1.00,57Ā and as such was most spectatorsā favourite to win in the final.Ā
Nouria, one of the most talented whitewater athletes out there, was the last in the start order.
She fired off the seal launch and took off with a very fast stroke rate, benefitting from herĀ strong slalom background. The 26-year old nailed a perfect line through the TNT cataract andĀ Minus 1, she also took a smooth line through Champions Killer, but then got pushed a little bitĀ too far right slightly hitting a rock.
Nevertheless, she crossed the finish line after 1:01,75, whichĀ was the second fastest female time of the day, 2.99 seconds faster than Martina Wegman whoĀ finished in second place and 7.66 seconds faster than Jenny Chrimes who came in third.
āIt feels great to become World Champion!ā Nouria said. āIt was frustrating last year to haveĀ good runs all the way through to the finals and then mess up my final run. To be able to pull itĀ together today, just makes me really happy. And I hope I can come back next year and haveĀ more clean runs and try to be even faster. Itās a big race, everyone is fast – so to just manageĀ to have a good run in the final and take the win is just a great feeling, Iām really happy – it wasĀ hard.ā
Martina Wegman who won her first silver medal at the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak WorldĀ Championship today, revealed later that she didnāt expect to do so well this year.Ā
āIām super happy with second place, I was way more scared this year than in previous years. IĀ just had an awesome slalom season, but havenāt been in a plastic boat much, so I was a bitĀ shaky at the start. Iām super stoked to come out in second place. I think Nouria Newman reallyĀ deserves the adidas Sickline World Champion title.ā
Third placed Jenny Chrimes could barely believe what she just had done. āIām so stoked, IĀ didnāt even think I would make it through the last qualifierā, she said. āIāve not been paddling allĀ summer as Iāve been injured, so Iām pretty sore right now. To make it to the final was a hugeĀ achievement for me – and to make it onto the podium seemed impossible.ā
Sam Sutton Does It Again
Next, 16 of the worldās best male kayakers from 10 different countries lined up for the final.
After some great performances ā all times in the final were sub one minute – it was 31-year oldĀ Alexander Grimm from Germany, who snatched third place in 0:55,39, ahead of Dane JacksonĀ (0:55,85).
The 2008 Olympic Slalom Champion mastered all key sections without any visibleĀ mistakes. Being patient enough to set the crucial late boof stroke at āChampionās Killerā, AlexĀ got a great boost out of the drop and towards the finish line. He claimed third place and yetĀ another adidas Sickline podium after winning the event in 2009.
āIām very happy to be back on the podium after 2009ā, Alex Grimm said. It was a hard race.
The guys nailed some sick lines today and it was an exciting final. I had a good run, too. I was
able to improve in each round today. It couldnāt have gone better.ā
Last yearās adidas Sickline Champion Aniol Serrasolses from Spain had a slightlyĀ disappointing semi-final run, but in the final the 26-year old Catalan was back to his best.Ā
Flying through the TNT cataract and the Champions Killer Minus 1, Serrasolses showed whyĀ he is one of the most respected athletes on the scene. He kept an almost ideal line throughoutĀ his final run dropping Championās Killer with ease and paddling hard towards the finish line,Ā which he crossed in a time of 0:55,17 seconds. At the end it wasnāt enough to defend his title,Ā but he could still claim second place.
Kiwi Sam Sutton who lost his victory to Aniol last year by only one hundredth of a second hadĀ some unfinished business in Oetz. After nailing the second fastest time in the quarter final andĀ the third fastest time in the semi-final, he was hoping to find his sickest line in the last round.Ā
And he did.
āSo, in my final run I had an awesome feeling at the start, I was like just go out and enjoy it,Ā you never know if this is your last Sickline Samā, he said, āso I was pretty stoked just to pushĀ off and carry on down. I made a couple of little mistakes at the start, and thought āOh no!ā butĀ then I managed to pull it together. I was a little bit out of control, but tried to keep the boatĀ moving and then I was reasonably happy with my time.ā Sam was hoping to be one secondĀ faster, but the 0:54,89 he clocked at the finish line were fast enough to claim the title today, as
neither Hannes Aigner nor Dane Jackson, who started after him, had faster runs.
āIt feels really surreal and I mean, itās always something that I have wanted to do, win anotherĀ one – but it has taken bloody ages since my last oneā, Sam said. āI was pretty stoked just toĀ come here and you know, Iām getting older and it seems harder and harder, because I findĀ less and less time to go kayaking. I feel sorry for Dane because he was the fastest out thereĀ today, it was his race to lose, but Iāll take his loss as my victory. And itās good to switch itĀ around with Aniol.
Last year he beat me by hardly anything and heās an incredible paddler.Ā Alex stuffed it up at the start, those German muscles just marched and powered him down toĀ the bottom – very, very impressive!ā
With his fourth Extreme Kayak World Championship title, the man from Rotorua, New ZealandĀ will go down in the history books. His achievement will most likely not be repeated, becauseĀ the worldās best kayakers agree that the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World ChampionshipĀ is the hardest race to win ā unless your name is Sam Suttonā¦
Result Finals
Complete result list under: http://www.adidas-sickline.com/en/race-info/results/
Top 5 Men
Top 5 Women