The day got off to a crispy start as the temperatures had dropped below zero during the night – frost gave the terrain a ghostly appearance as the participants arrived for the day’s races.
As the day warmed up so did the competition – the teams are loving the river and the continuous Class 3 rapids that keep coming at you making it essential that you stay sharp throughout. It also provides different lines to choose ensuring great discussions on the river banks.
The first division to compete was U19 and there were saw a clean sweep of the Gold medals from the hosts, Argentina, much to the huge delight of the locals present and the large throng of local media. Second in the U19 Men’s was a delighted Costa Rica followed by Russia. In the U19 Women it was Russia in second place with Czech third.
The Argentinian teams continued to win medals in the U23 division but this time it was Silver in both categories. The U23 Men’s Gold was scooped up by Slovenia with Czech taking third. In U23 Women it was Russia who took the Gold with Czech third once again.
Czech Masters Men, who are the favourites for this category, took the Gold with Argentina second and newcomers to this category USA (but not to the WRC) took third. In the Masters Women it was Norway that were delighted to scoop up the Gold with the legendary USA team taking second, and Slovakia, also a new team to this category, taking third.
Brazil Open Men launched the defence of their title in great style by taking Gold with Japan second and Czech third. Russia Open Women take their first Gold medal in the OW category, stating their intentions clearly of being a force to reckon with in the future. Great Britain took second and showed they have it in them to keep their R4 title. Japan claimed Bronze just in front of Czech.
The lunch was a typical Argentinian Asado, enjoyed by all in the warmth of the day, and then followed the medal ceremonies. The afternoon saw the Open teams heading to train on the Downriver, while the rest of the teams got the afternoon to relax.
Tomorrow is also supposed to be a warm day (weather is important as it can vary so hugely!) and it will certainly be an exciting day as it is the first time at a World Rafting Championship that teams will be competing in the Head-to-Head using the new format.
Results:
Videos of previous days:
- Quick wrap of Day One and Opening Ceremony
- Day One – quick review
- SP & H2H Training
- What’s the meaning behind the word RAFT
Photos of previous days:
#irfwrc #AreYouReady #RaftersAreAwesome #LiveTheStrengthOfTheRiver #ViviLaFuerzaDelRio #Aluminé #Neuquén #VillaPehueniaMoquehue
