The Kiwi slalom team raced the ICF WR Slovak Open over the weekend which served as a pre world competition for the Olympic Qualifier 2011 in Bratislava ahead of slalom world championships in Slovenia
With 121 K1M lining up the competition was fierce with only the top 40 going through to the semifinals. Aaron Osborne was the best of the Kiwis from qualification leading into the K1M semi- finals. Mike DAWSON recovering from injury put down an excellent semi -final run which without an unfortunate touch would have seen him easily in the finals but with the 2s penalty pushed him from 4th to 12th overall 3.34s behind world cup medalist Grzegorz POLACZYK (POL) who put down a clean run . In 26th Aaron OSBORNE was 5.87s behind the winner POLACZYK.
Mike Dawson
Johann ROOZENBURG failed to make the cut leaving him in 58th position 107.52, 9.06 s off the qualification leader.
In C1 M Nicolas PESCHIER (FRA) 102.02s took out the qualification ahead of Matej BEŇUŠ (SVK) 103.86s. Young Kiwi Brent BASTIN the best of the NZL C1M put down a clean run 120.82s leaving him in 37th position and just out of the semi-finals. Other NZL athletes on the course were Shaun HIGGINS 46th 138.69s and Ben GIBB 48th 146.78s.
In K1 W Olympians Štepánka HILGERTOVÁ (CZE) took out the qualifications with a clean run 112.60s with Luuka Jones (NZL) 125.22s in 14th position securing her place in the semi-finals. The semis showed the technical difficulty of the course with Corinna KUHNLE (AUT) 101.93s taking out first spot in the finals ahead of fellow AUT Vio Oblinger. Luuka Jones (NZL) moved into 19th position after encountering some troubles and incurring three penalties on the course with a time of 135.65s
Luuka Jones
Following their recent training in Bratislava, many of the senior slalom team members have been training in Tacen, Ljubljana, on the course which will host the World Champs next month in Slovenia.
"We love Tacen" is the verdict of the Kiwis who have made the Slovenian capital home for the past eight weeks
The bad news on the slalom front is the withdrawal of Louise Jull from the Slovak Open through injury, the Kiwi contingency are hoping she will be back on track in time for the World Championships. Louise is the top NZL C1 W paddler, 2nd ranked NZL K1W and a key member of the NZL K1 W team for the world championship where performance goals had been looking promising .
NZL Results
K1M (121 competitors)
Michael Dawson 12th
Aaron Osborne 26th
Johann Roozenburg 58th
K1W (45 competitors)
Luuka Jones 19th
Louise Jull DNS injured
C1M (53 competitors)
Brent Bastin 37th
Shaun Higgins 46th
Ben Gibb 48th
The NZL team now travels to Ljubljana for their final preparation before the World Championships September 7-12th
With 121 K1M lining up the competition was fierce with only the top 40 going through to the semifinals. Aaron Osborne was the best of the Kiwis from qualification leading into the K1M semi- finals. Mike DAWSON recovering from injury put down an excellent semi -final run which without an unfortunate touch would have seen him easily in the finals but with the 2s penalty pushed him from 4th to 12th overall 3.34s behind world cup medalist Grzegorz POLACZYK (POL) who put down a clean run . In 26th Aaron OSBORNE was 5.87s behind the winner POLACZYK.
Mike DawsonJohann ROOZENBURG failed to make the cut leaving him in 58th position 107.52, 9.06 s off the qualification leader.
In C1 M Nicolas PESCHIER (FRA) 102.02s took out the qualification ahead of Matej BEŇUŠ (SVK) 103.86s. Young Kiwi Brent BASTIN the best of the NZL C1M put down a clean run 120.82s leaving him in 37th position and just out of the semi-finals. Other NZL athletes on the course were Shaun HIGGINS 46th 138.69s and Ben GIBB 48th 146.78s.
In K1 W Olympians Štepánka HILGERTOVÁ (CZE) took out the qualifications with a clean run 112.60s with Luuka Jones (NZL) 125.22s in 14th position securing her place in the semi-finals. The semis showed the technical difficulty of the course with Corinna KUHNLE (AUT) 101.93s taking out first spot in the finals ahead of fellow AUT Vio Oblinger. Luuka Jones (NZL) moved into 19th position after encountering some troubles and incurring three penalties on the course with a time of 135.65s
Luuka JonesFollowing their recent training in Bratislava, many of the senior slalom team members have been training in Tacen, Ljubljana, on the course which will host the World Champs next month in Slovenia.
"We love Tacen" is the verdict of the Kiwis who have made the Slovenian capital home for the past eight weeks
The bad news on the slalom front is the withdrawal of Louise Jull from the Slovak Open through injury, the Kiwi contingency are hoping she will be back on track in time for the World Championships. Louise is the top NZL C1 W paddler, 2nd ranked NZL K1W and a key member of the NZL K1 W team for the world championship where performance goals had been looking promising .
NZL Results
K1M (121 competitors)
Michael Dawson 12th
Aaron Osborne 26th
Johann Roozenburg 58th
K1W (45 competitors)
Luuka Jones 19th
Louise Jull DNS injured
C1M (53 competitors)
Brent Bastin 37th
Shaun Higgins 46th
Ben Gibb 48th
The NZL team now travels to Ljubljana for their final preparation before the World Championships September 7-12th
