The Slovenian home fans who took the afternoon off to watch their canoe slalom heroes in action were not left disappointed, after the host nation picked up a gold and two bronze medals in a thrilling afternoon of International Canoe Federation World Cup action in Tacen, Ljubljana.

Luka Bozic brought the crowd to its feet when he took the gold in the men’s C1, with teammate and Olympic gold medalist Benjamin Savsek taking the bronze. American Zachary Lokken split the pair to win his first ever world cup medal.

In the women’s C1 Germany’s former world champion Elena Lilik stormed to victory by more than three seconds over Ukraine’s Viktoriia Us, with local paddler Eva Alina Hocevar winning her first ever senior world cup medal in third.

The win for Bozic came after a disappointing start to the season for the five-time world cup gold medalist. He missed medals at both Augsburg and Prague, and was feeling the pressure going into Friday’s final.

“It’s always really nice to win at home. I’m happy because in the last two world cups I didn’t feel really good, so after today I think I’m going to be more calm and attaching for the next races,” Bozic said.

“Of course I was nervous. I was so nervous before the semi-final. Every time when we race here at home it is very special for us. I think I made a good run today, which is the most important thing for the future.”

Elena Lilik won K1 gold at the opening world cup of the season in Augsburg, and on Friday added a C1 gold to her collection. Her main rival, Australian Olympic champion Jessica Fox, had already posted a 50-second penalty for a missed gate, which ruled her out of a medal.

But Lilik said she was unaware of Fox’s mistake, and was just trying to replicate her fast run in the semi-final.

“I didn’t hear anything at the start line, I was just by myself and focussed,” Lilik said.

“It’s crazy, I saw the time and I wondered how I even went faster.

“Prague was perhaps a bit of a wake up call for me, that I needed to do something a little bit different. I was very hungry, and felt really excited at the start line.”

Lilik posted a winning time in the final of 101.97, with Us posting a time of 105.27, which included a two-second penalty. Hocevar’s maiden world cup medal came in a time of 108.00.

RESULTS

WOMEN’S C1

1. LILIK Elena                (GER) 101.97 (0 seconds penalties)
2. US Viktoriia              (UKR) 105.37 (2)
3. HOCEVAR Eva Alina (SLO) 108.00 (0)

MEN’S C1

1. BOZIC Luka           (SLO)  90.29 (0)
2. LOKKEN Zachary  (USA) 91.43 (0)
3. SAVSEK Benjamin (SLO) 93.14 (2)

Exclusive coverage of all the racing can be found on the ICF’s Recast platform.

Find out more about the venue here.

Explore Slovenia

Slovenski kanuist Luka Božič je zmagal na tekmi svetovnega pokala v slalomu na divjih vodah v Tacnu. Drugi slovenski predstavnik v finalni vožnji Benjamin Savšek je bil tretji, med dvojne slovenske stopničke se je vrinil Američan Zachary Lokken na drugem mestu.

Božič, ki si je v četrtkovih kvalifikacijah zagotovil današnji nastop z najhitrejšo vožnjo, je s progo opravil brez napake in časom 90,29 sekunde. Lokken je zaostal za 1,14 sekunde, Savšek pa za 2,85 sekunde.

Za Božiča je to prva zlata medalja v letošnji sezoni svetovnega pokala. “Težko sem čakal, da bom odpeljal tako vožnjo, kot sem jo danes. Tako v Augsburgu kot v Pragi mi to ni uspelo, zato sem še toliko bolj vesel, da mi je uspelo danes pred domačimi navijači,” je dejal.

Zmaga mu daje dodatno motivacijo za nadaljevanje sezone: “Mislim, da zdaj lahko grem z mirno glavo naprej, ker vem, česa sem zmožen.”

Medalje se je razveselil tudi Savšek, manj pa je zadovoljen s svojo vožnjo. “Rezultat je super, sem zadovoljen z rezultatom, s samo vožnjo pa niti ne najbolj,” se je spomnil na napako v zgornjem delu proge, ko se je dotaknil petih vratc. “Ni šlo povsem po planu, a sem kljub temu zadovoljen s tretjim mestom tukaj na domači progi,” je še dejal zmagovalec prejšnje tekme svetovnega pokala v Pragi.

Tretjemu slovenskem predstavniku v Tacnu Nejcu Polenčiču se ni uspelo prebiti v finale, tekmo je končal na 29. mestu.

Nemška kanuistka Elena Lilik je zmagovalka današnje tekme svetovnega pokala v slalomu na divjih vodah v Tacnu. Kot edina Slovenka je v finalu nastopila Eva Alina Hočevar, ki je s 6,03 sekunde zaostanka zasedla tretje mesto.

Eva Alina Hočevar, v četrtkovih kvalifikacijah deseta, se je med najboljših deset današnjega finala prebila s sedmim časom polfinalne vožnje, v finalu pa je kot ena izmed le štirih tekmovalk opravila s progo brez napak.

Da bo osvojila svojo prvo medaljo v svetovnem pokalu, še sama ni verjela: “Ko sem prišla v cilj, se mi je zdelo, da za peterico bo, za medaljo pa ne, ampak potem se je vse malo obrnilo in ja, prišla sem do svoje prve medalje, občutki so izjemni.”

Današnji dan je bil za 21-letnico naporen, že dopoldne je morala iti dvakrat na progo, da se je uvrstila v sobotni polfinale v kajaku. “Štiri vožnje v enem dnevu so kar naporen zalogaj, tudi mene je osebno malo skrbelo, če bo imela dovolj moči, ampak ja – celo zimo treniraš zato, da boš dobro pripravljen,” je dejala.

Dodatno energijo ji je dalo domače občinstvo ob Savi. “To vzdušje in še domača proga, domači navijači, se mi zdi, da ti dajo dodatno podporo in moč,” je dejala in se zahvalila vsem, ki so jo prišli spodbujat v Tacen.

Elena Lilik, petouvrščena na svetovni lestvici ICF, ima letos v svetovnem pokalu že bronasto medaljo iz Ausburga. Drugo mesto je s 3,30 sekunde zaostanka ob enih zgrešenih vratcih za zmagovalko zasedla Ukrajinka Viktoriia Us.

Izmed Slovenk se je v polfinale v četrtek med 36 tekmovalkami uspelo uvrstiti še Alji Kozorog in Lei Novak. Alja se je morala na koncu zadovoljiti z 19. mestom, Lea je tekmo končala dve mesti višje.