International Rafting Federation

Official world rafting governing body

Slalom Day for U19 and U23 at the WRC

11 October 2014

Today on the Itaipu Channel, Foz do Iguaçu, the Brazilians took the title of Slalom Champions in the men’s categories of Under-19 and Under-23 and the women’s Under-19.

Tomorrow (12th) happens in the Iguaçu National Park and it is the last and decisive discipline (Downriver) which will define the new world champions in the categories of Youth (Under-19) and Junior (Under 23). The landscapes of the Iguaçu Falls and its famous rapids promise to be a huge plus on the show for the title.

According to the rafter Arnold Baumann (U23), of the Austrian team, the Itaipu Canal is the best place he has ever trained until today. “The place is very beautiful and also requires a very high level of skill during the competition because the competitors are very strong,” he said.

In the Slalom evidence Brazilians demonstrated knowledge about the Itaipu Channel for the second consecutive day they featured on the championship. In the Under-19 Brazilian won with a time of 3: 00.82, followed closely by the Russians that marked 3:02:27. The bronze went to the Slovaks with a time of 3: 19:05. In the U-23 Brazilian team did an almost perfect descent, marked the best time among all categories of today (2:53.09) and conquered the gold. The silver went to the Colombians with 3:2:15 and bronze with the Czechs that marked 3:10.95.

For Angelo Eduardo Brazilian, from the U-23 Male team, the training to compete in the World Championship started a year ago. “We trained very hard to get ready for the World Championship and win this title for Brazil,” he said.

In the Under-19 the girls from Brazil took the Slalom title with a time of 4:28.95, followed by New Zealand with 4:48.24 and Australia 4:51.55. In the Under-23 category the Czech female team had a great performance in the Slalom and secured the gold with a mark of 3:49.98, ahead of Brazil with 4:24.98 and Russia 4:34.03.

For the president of Brazilian Canoe Confederation, João Tomasini Schwertner, Brazilian teams are showing the strength of the Brazilian Rafting, long recognized as one of the leading countries on the world scene. “Here in Foz, competing at home, we are achieving great results. Among 12 races done so far we have 9 gold’s. This shows the work in cities like Brotas (SP) and Nova Roma do Sul (RJ), cores of development of the sport, “he said.

Tomorrow the teams head to the Iguassu River for the finale of the Downriver.

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