in Graz, Austria standing waves
story & photos by Scott MacGregor Beneath the ringing bells of the many clock
towers that make Graz, Austria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 370 paddlers from 32 countries competed to be the whitewater freestyle world champion—a title the winner
will keep for two years. For six days at the end of May, DJs rocked the Mur
River and MCs went hoarse while paddlers threw them- selves into Terminator III 45 seconds at a time. Terminator III is a pourover hole that most competitors would paddle past on any normal day on the river. Paddling at the Worlds, however, is not a nor- mal day on the river. It is the one day athletes have been looking forward to and working toward for two years—both training and raising money to get there. A cou- ple of paddlers I met—one had taken a semester off high school to work part-time and train, another sold T-shirts and had bake sales to pay for her plane ticket. For others, winning or losing is the difference between another year of the “show”— care of corporate sponsorship—and hammering nails for Joe’s General Contracting in their home town.
On the sixth and final day of the event, I sat in the press gallery in front of a portable stage in Graz’s town square, 350 kilometres east of the cable car lifts of the Tirol ski region and 150 kilometres southeast of Beethoven’s home in Vienna. I watched the world’s best paddlers shuffle uncomfortably from foot to foot while their winning rides played on a huge video screen. They had their hands shaken and cheeks kissed while camera flashes sparkled and kayak-shaped medals where placed around the necks. National flags were raised and lowered, the marching band played, and the mayor thanked us all for coming to (and not trashing) his city.
the RODEO WORLDs
Holy giant cuckoo clocks. Jesse Murphy deep in the pit.
Munchy hole, but awesome venue.
Terminator III—Prepare to be Humbled Terminator III is located in Graz’s downtown core. Below one of the many bridges crossing the less- than-pristine River Mur, large limestone blocks have been placed to constrict the flow and create the nasti- est freestyle hole the Worlds has ever seen. Many paddlers were more nervous about going
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into the hole than about the competition itself. One junior paddler admitted to calling his sponsoring club to ask if he could go home. Pedro Baptista, Portugal’s only paddler, had his helmet ripped off his head—on both rides. Websites posted daily swim counts. These are the world’s best paddlers.
Athletes who prevailed were the ones able to maintain controlled chaos—ones able
to set up moves quickly from anywhere without a sec- ond’s thought. Terminator wasn’t the big-wave feature many had hoped would showcase modern freestyle, but as Canadian Team member and fifth-place finisher Billy Harris said, “it still profiles the best talent.”
OC1
cartwheels...cool.
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