Top-class slalom canoeists show off their skills on the Passer

For the 5th time after 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2015, a world ranking canoe slalom will be held on Saturday and Sunday on the Passer in the Gilf natural arena. You can paddle for world ranking points in 6 boat classes. 190 canoeists from 20 countries, including some from overseas, Australia, New Zealand and 1 canoeist from the USA as well as from Iran and Turkey will take part in the “ICF Worldranking Race”.

As part of the big Meran canoe event, the canoe slalom Italian championship for juniors (U18) will also be held. 30 paddlers registered for the Italian Championships will expand the list of participants to 220. Numerous juniors and canoeists in the U23 class use the race in Meran as their last rendezvous before the upcoming U23 and U18 Canoe Slalom World Championships in Ivrea. For some nations, the result in Merano also counts towards qualifying for the national team, including for Italy's juniors, including Valentin and Jakob Luther, for whom the U18 Italian championship title in the kayak single sculls is also at stake. The K1 team run at the Junior Italian Championships will also be interesting for the three teams from SC Meran/Torggler, which are considered favorites.

13 SCM canoeists will be involved in the canoe slalom on the Passer. They are led by the brothers Matthias and Jakob Weger and the cousins Valentin and Jakob Luther from the SCM elite troop. There are also the 9 young paddlers from SC Meran/Torggler, Jonas Walter, Paul Tirler, Gregor Garber, Emil Belasi, Elias Kuen, Felix and Niklas Pöhl, Max Rainer and Alex Guerrini.

Apart from the Canoe Slalom U23 and U18 World Championships in July in Ivrea (Piedmont), the 63rd International Canoe Slalom in Merano, an absolute classic, is the biggest event in Italy in this acrobatic Olympic discipline. The announced good weather and the wonderful water level (30-40 cubic meters per second) are the best conditions for a spectacular canoe weekend in the wildly romantic Gilf with some local heroes in the closest circle of favorites. “In contrast to previous years, the water level on the Passer is not causing us any problems this time. We could rather get too much water than too little,” says OC boss Walter Weger.

More than 100 dedicated helpers will ensure the success of the event, including the goal judges, the lifeguards, the technical team, the press, the field announcers, the timekeepers, the referees, those responsible for food and drinks, logistics and the parking spaces and the OK team. At the world ranking canoe slalom there will be 6 qualifying runs on Saturday in the 2 boat classes, kayak singles for women and men, canoe singles for women and men as well as canoe pairs for men and canoe pairs mixed. The best paddlers qualify for the semi-final run, which, like the final run, is on the program on Sunday. Paddling takes place on a technically demanding course between the Gilfklamm and the Steinernem Steg. 18 to 20 gates, six of them upwards, have to be paddled through as quickly as possible.

In the supreme discipline, the kayak single, the four best South Tyrolean slalom canoeists will be in action: the successful canoeing brothers Matthias and Jakob Weger from Schenna and the cousins Valentin and Jakob Luther from Meran. In the world ranking canoe slalom, the top discipline, the men's kayak one, includes Jakob and Matthias Weger with the currently best slalom canoeist in Italy, Giovanni De Gennaro, ninth at the European Championships in Prague, the Austrians Felix Oschmautz and Mario Leitner, the Slovenian Kuder Marusic and Luca Cizman and the Italian Marco Vianello are among the closest favorites. For the women, Noemie Fox from Australia and Lisa Leitner from Austria are two absolute top paddlers. A one-hour television report from the canoe slalom in Meran will be broadcast on Rai Sport 1 at a later date.

Below is the program of the canoe event in Merano: Saturday, 9th June 2018 09:30 a.m.: Qualification, women's kayak single, men's canoe single, canoe two, mixed, 2 runs each 13:30 p.m.: Qualification, women's canoe single, men's kayak single and men's canoe two, 2 runs each Sunday, 10th June 2018 09:00 a.m.: Start of the semi-final races in all 6 boat classes 13:00 p.m.: Start of the finals in all 6 boat classes 16:00 p.m.: Award ceremony

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Top-class slalom canoeists show off their skills on the Passer

The world ranking canoe slalom will stop in Meran for the 5th time on Saturday and Sunday. 220 canoeists from 20 countries start in 6 boat classes. 13 SCM canoeists also want to impress.

Suggestions

Comments (0)