standing waves
Canadian Team With 29 competitors, Canada had the third largest team, next only to the U.S. team’s 44 athletes and Great Britain’s 31. Brendan Mark was the only paddler to raise the Maple Leaf to the top of the golden flagpole with his win in K1 squirt mens. Women’s squirt drew only five competitors, pro- viding Valerie Bertrand a great shot at a medal. She took home a bronze kayak to hang on her mantle.
Canadian rodeo paddlers were well represented late into the finals. Billy Harris placed fifth, marking the first time a Canadian has made finals since Ken Whiting’s win in 1997. Tyler Curtis and Brendan Mark placed a decent 10th and 11th. Junior paddler Chris Gragttmans placed seventh in K1 junior mens and Julie Dion topped Canadian K1 women with a 15th place finish.
Fearsome mob of flag-waving Canucks.
Streets of Graz Although the Terminator might have scared a few paddlers, the streets of Graz did not. Lush green spaces between red rooftops and high stone arches provide the “European” city feel I had only seen in movies. Every window in the city is open, and most have old women leaning out watching the goings-on below. Bicycles are everywhere. Beer is served any time of day—I wandered in for breakfast one morn- ing at 9 a.m. and two fellows at the bar were already ordering their second pint. The cars are tiny and most are diesel. Many paddlers hooked themselves up with scoot- ers (the kind popular with kids a Christmas or two ago) as their primary means of transport—perfect for the cobble bike paths dominating the downtown.
Cruising storybook streets. C1 Goddess of Love.
200 metres downstream, losers looped for giggles not glory.
K1 Goddess of Love.
Backstage at the Worlds Down at water level, beyond the security barriers and below the city’s bridges with trams and thousands of spectators, things were quieter. Hundreds of boats from around the world lined the riverbank waiting for their 45 seconds of glory. Meanwhile, 200 metres downstream and out of earshot of the official rodeo song, losers looped for giggles not glory. I asked K1 women gold medallist Brooke Winger about the World Championships. “The judging was spot-on and there were even wireless web kiosks for the competitors to keep in touch with sponsors and the media to post their footage,” she said. “The event was immaculately run. Do I think this is the future of freestyle kayaking? I sure hope so!” And what’s the point of it all? “To continue the greatness and spread of our favourite sport and to share it with friends from the world over.”
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