Kayaking duo at ICF Flatwater Sprint World Championships
Local athletes Christopher Camilleri and Matthew Schembri recently returned from the ICF Flatwater Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary. As this was one of the qualifiers for the London Olympics, the bar was set high and the duo certainly had their work cut out for them however this only added to their drive and determination.
Matthew was the first of the duo on the start line for the Senior Men K1 500M heat. Although using a boat which was quite large for him, Matthew proved he would not let this slow him down as he was off to a good start, fighting for 6th position which would allow him to qualify for the semi-finals. Unfortunately this was not enough to keep Sri Lanka’s Levente Gannoruwa off his tail as Matthew was over taken in the final half of the sprint. Although disappointed with 7th place and a time of 2.14min, quite a bit off his personal best, he maintained a positive attitude in preparation for the K2 200m sprint the following day. The heat was won by Poland’s Marek Twardowski with a time of 1.47.141min who went on to win the Final A in 1.36.688min.
The next morning saw Chris take to the water for the K1 200m Sprint. Understandably frustrated that the boat given was too small for him, Chris tried to make the most of an uncomfortable situation. He gave it his all from start to finish however this was not enough to secure a place in the semi finals and he placed 7th with 42.62sec, also quite off his best time. The heat was won by Poland’s Piotr Siemionowski in 35.046sec who went on to become World Champion after winning the Final A with a time of 34.770 seconds.
The final race for the Maltese team was the K2 m. Team work and support boosted the duo’s morale as they set off on the water with their game plan in mind- to give it their all and push to the best of their ability. It seemed that they had put their disappointment behind them and were off to a good start, however at around the 100m mark they started to lose control of the boat as it had a tendency to zigzag as the speed picked up. This reduced their stability drastically and it was a case of paddle slower or swim as the team decided to lower their frequency in order to finish the race. They placed 7th with a time of 42.605min. When on land, the team discussed their issues with Coach Kata Pongracz and it turned out that besides the already acknowledged boat problems, Chris’ seat had broken off the railings and could have added to his stability issues. The heat was won by Belarusians’ Raman Piatrushenka and Vadzim Makehneu with a time of 32.597sec whilst France’s Arnaud Hypois and Sebastien Jouve were crowned World Champions after placing first in the Final A with a time of 31.940sec.
Despite their times not being what they had hoped for and quite off from what they are capable off, the team used the experience as a lesson for future competitions and there is no doubt they will achieve the results they hope for in the next event.