By Philip O’Connor
PARIS (Reuters) – Britain’s Joe Clarke and Camille Prigent of France were fastest in the time trials on Friday ahead of the much-anticipated debut of kayak cross at the Paris Games on Saturday.
With each canoeist taking to the water individually, Clarke sped through the course in a time of 66.08 seconds and Prigent made it down in a time of 70.33, marks that will have little relevance when the races, each featuring four athletes on the course at the same time, begin on Saturday.
With the four all entering the water via a 10-metre drop, the competition promises plenty of thrills and spills as they vie to be first through the gates and down to the finish line in what should be an exciting spectacle.
The time trial was used to decide the make-up of Saturday’s heats, with the first two from each one going through and the remainder going into the repechage.
While canoeists pick up a penalty for touching gates in regular slalom events, in the chaos of kayak cross it is almost unavoidable, and they also have to perform an “Eskimo roll” — a spin through 360 degrees, submerging their head in the water.
“Obviously hitting the poles is new, and also the roll — in slalom, we’re trying to do the exact opposite of that, absolutely. So you have to go against your instincts a little bit here, but yeah, it’s good fun,” Britain’s Adam Burgess, who won silver in Sunday’s canoe slalom event, told Reuters.
Burgess is something of a novice when it comes to kayak cross but he is looking forward to the challenge.
“I had my first experience of contact only yesterday with my teammate Kimberly Woods, and I couldn’t get near her — I mean, she is the world champion and world number one, but yeah, I dread to tell you how I’m going to go against the boys,” he continued.
“But it’s the same as in slalom, I’ve just got to keep my head up, keep my eyes open, and if I see an opportunity, then I’ve got to strike and take it.”
The unpredictable nature of kayak cross means that there could be some shocks and upsets to look forward to over the weekend ahead of Monday’s finals.
“I’ve watched enough kayak cross to know that it’s not over until you’ve all crossed the finish line, so we’ll see,” Burgess said.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
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