| U.S. Canoe Paddlers Fourth in World Team Competition |
|
| Friday, September 21, 2007 |
|
FOZ DO IGUACU, Brazil – United States slalom paddlers Benn Fraker (Peachtree City, Ga.), Jeff Larimer (Atlanta, Ga.) and Tad Dennis (Peachtree City, Ga.) combined for a fourth-place finish in the men’s single canoe team event on Friday at the 2007 ICF Slalom World Championships in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
The U.S. team combined for a two-run time of 230.97 seconds to finish first. In their first runs, the U.S. trio recorded a 114.60-second effort including three 2-second penalties. Their second runs of 116.37 seconds included three 2- second penalties. The U.S. finished 18.81 seconds behind the winners Tony Estanguet, Pierrre Labarelle and Nicolas Peschier of France. France’s time was 212.16 seconds. Germany was second in 214.40 seconds, followed by the Czech Republic in 217.87 seconds.
In other team action for U.S. slalom paddlers on Friday, Ashley Nee (Washington, D.C.), Zuzana Vanha (Charlotte, N.C.), and Caroline Queen (Washington, D.C.) finished 9th in the women’s single kayak. Their combined time of 290.70 was 51.94 seconds behind winners Jennifer Bongardt, Mandy Planert and Jasmin Schornberg of Germany. Germany’s winning time was 238.76 seconds. The Czech Republic was second in 240.49 seconds, followed by Great Britain in 241.42 seconds
In men’s single kayak action, Scott Parsons (Bethesda, Md.), Brett Heyl (Charlotte, N.C.)and James Wade (Boise, Idaho) combined for a 13th-place. The U.S. trio clocked a two-run time of 231.66 seconds to finish 26.70 seconds behind Germany, which won the event. Germany’s time was 204.96 seconds. France finished second in 205.28 seconds, followed by the Czech Republic.
In the men’s double canoe, the Czech Republic finished first, followed by France and Slovakia. The U.S. was not entered in the event.
The U.S. is entered in men’s and women’s single kayak and men’s single and doubles canoe events. The 250-meter competition course is set within the 400-meter-long, 12-meter-wide Itaipu White Water Canal. The canal has a total drop of 8.20 meters and steady flow of 12 cubic meters per second.
The World Championships continue with Saturday and Sunday with semifinals and finals.
Complete results are available at http://cbca.org.br/foz2007/english/index.php
|
|
About Slalom Canoe/Kayak
In slalom canoe/kayak racing, paddlers navigate through pairs of poles called "gates" through a course of approximately 300-meters, set-up over challenging rapids, waves, eddies and currents. If the paddler touches one of the poles or misses a gate altogether, penalty times are added to the time achieved on the run.
# # # |
|
|
|