The last time the Hungary Open Women’s team were in Banja Luka they won a Silver medal in Sprint in Euro Rafting Champs 2019. So they are happily looking forward to returning to this great location for World Rafting Champs 2022.
Multi-talented
In the team competing at this World Championship they have rafting guides and athletes racing on flatwater and in slalom kayak. Their team has achieved various results, some are multiple World and European Champions, every one of them has national titles in Hungary in multiple disciplines and they also have a World Games medalist among them!. Some of them compete, or used to compete in flatwater kayaking, canoeing, dragonboating, or even all three and they also have a teammate who used to play handball. Captain Lilla Süveges says
“We love that we could try ourselves in so many sports and strive to use all this experience in rafting too. The one thing we are sorry for is that only 5 of us can compete in the World Championships and we cannot share the experience with our other teammates.”
The Hungary Open Women’s team in WRC 2022:
- Beatrix Ölschléger
- Dóra Kolb
- Zita Lakner
- Andrada Alexia Serban
- Team captain: Lilla Süveges
The athletes all started rafting at different times, and some weren’t even on the same team initially. One of the team has been competing since 2007, and yet another is only now attending their first rafting competition!
Their team has been racing for many years, with their last competition right there, in Banja Luka, in 2019. They have cherished memories from that competition, as it was the first time the team earned an European title, writing sports history for Hungary.
When it comes to training their possibilities are a little different, as there is no whitewater in Hungary. They train in a special indoor pool during the winter and paddle a lot on the Danube in the Spring. They’re lucky that one of their teammates lives in Bovec, Slovenia with her family and so they have the possibility to train a lot on the Soca River. They also won’t miss out on their closest options, Cunovo, or Wildapen in Austria either. This year they were extra lucky, as they could also practice on the WRC race location, for which they would like to give their extreme thanks to the Bosnian Men’s teams!
Besides racing they would really like to see the beautiful waterfalls nearby, and they’ll definitely visit their favourite restaurants, where they say they always enjoy amazing meals. They also aim to discover all the sights and spots they might come across during their time in Bosnia.
As to what they hope to achieve during the event, team captain, Lilla, says: “I expect all our members to perform according to their best knowledge and learn as much as possible from this competition. And, most importantly, everybody should enjoy every minute of the Championships, smile and be happy!”
We look forward to seeing those happy smiles!
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