The apocalyptic conditions in Slovenia did not spare even the canoeing family. The rising Sava River, which at 10 a.m. had a flow of around 1,800 m3/s, destroyed everything in its path in the Kayak Centre Tacen.

The damage is already enormous and irreparable, as the green house next to the grandstand gave way under the pressure; later in the day also the grandstands could not hold the pressure anymore and were washed away. The containers where the Canoe Federation of Slovenia had offices, a warehouse with national team clothing, all the technical equipment etc., and the federal archive were also destroyed … The large LED screen from the island and the wooden bridge connecting the right bank of the wildwater course and the island, and the support structure for setting up the canoeing course were all also washed away.

The Slovenian canoeing will very likely be left without everything in these floods, as they only managed to save a few small things in the current conditions. The club house of the local Kayak Canoe Club Tacen is also under water. The water level raised so much in the morning hours that they closed the bridge over the channel with flat water, because the entire side where the wildwater channel is, was already completely flooded. During the afternoon hours the water level dropped a bit, but since the rain is forecasted for two more days, the danger still exists.

Of course, it will be necessary to wait for the final assessment of the damage, but the Canoe Federation of Slovenia fears that the damage will be around one Million Euros, since not only all the accompanying infrastructure, technical and national team equipment was destroyed, but the consequences will also be visible on the competition course itself, which was partially renovated not long ago.

Apokaliptične razmere po Sloveniji niso prizanesle niti kajakašem. Narasla Sava, ki je imela ob 10. uri okoli 1800 m3/s pretoka, je uničila vse, kar ji je prišlo na pot v kajakaškem centru Tacen.

Škoda je že sedaj izjemna, saj je pod pritiskom popustila hišica ob tribuni, razdejani so tudi kontejnerji, kjer je imela Kajakaška zveza Slovenije pisarne, skladišče z reprezentančno in tehnično opremo, pa zvezni arhiv … Odneslo je tudi veliki LED zaslon z otoka in most, ki je povezoval obe strani kajakaške proge, ter nosilno konstrukcijo za postavitev kajakaške proge.

Kajakaši bodo zelo verjetno v tokratni ujmi ostali brez vsega, saj so v trenutnih razmerah uspeli rešiti le nekaj malenkosti. Pod vodo je tudi hiša tacenskega kluba. Vodostaj je v dopoldanskih urah tako narasel, da so zaprli most preko kanala z mirno vodo, saj je celotna stran, kjer je divjevodaški poligon že poplavljena.

Na končno oceno škode bo seveda potrebno počakati, se pa bojijo, da bo škoda milijonska, saj ni uničilo samo vse spremljevalne infrastrukture, tehnične in reprezentančne opreme, temveč bodo posledice vidne tudi na sami tekmovalni progi, ki je bila delno renovirana nedolgo tega. 

World champions Joe Clarke of Great Britain and Veronika Vojtova of the Czech Republic showed they are still the athletes to catch after winning kayak cross gold on the final day of the International Canoe Federation world cup in Slovenia on Sunday.

Clarke is a two-time world champion, having won in Bratislava in 2021 and again in Augsburg last year. He showed his love for the new Olympic discipline with another strong performance on the Tacen Whitewater Course on Sunday.

“It was a really good day, tough in a couple of the rounds, it’s always tough, so to come out on top is really fantastic,” Clarke said.

“I wasn’t supposed to be doing this World Cup, I decided to do it last minute. It’s Father’s Day back in the UK, so I’m missing my wife and son terribly.

“This makes it all worthwhile, the last race before we depart from the international circuit for a little bit. I think that was a really good final to watch, kayak cross at its best.”

Clarke took the gold ahead of Frenchman Anatole Delassus, with Germany’s Stefan Hengst third. It was the exact same podium from last year’s world titles.

Covid and a lack of team opportunities has conspired to keep Czech Veronika Vojtova away from international competition since she became the women’s kayak cross world champion in 2019. On Sunday she showed she has lost none of her ability, or her tactical edge, to take another gold.

“It’s amazing because it’s a new change for me, I’m so happy that I can start in the world cups and the world championships,” Vojtova said.

“I like kayak cross, but it was hard after the canoe slalom because I don’t have any energy left. It’s especially hard for the final, because we don’t have a long break before the race.

Slovenia’s Eva Tercelj gave the big home crowd reasons to get excited by taking the silver medal, while reigning world champion Jessica Fox took the bronze.

The ICF World Cup season will take a break now, returning for world cup 4 in La Seu, Spain, at the end of August.

RESULTS

WOMEN’S KAYAK CROSS

1. VOJTOVA Veronika (CZE)
2. TERCELJ Eva (SLO)
3. FOX Jessica (AUS)

MEN’S KAYAK CROSS

1. CLARKE Joseph     (GBR)
2. DELASSUS Anatole (FRA)
3. HENGST Stefan (GER)