Sickline Worlds 2009 – Finals
3rd October 2009
Today saw the semifinal and finals of the adidas Sickline Extreme Kayaking World Championships. With the Wellerbrucke at optimum level participants congregated at the race site for an early 8.30am start.
Once again each participant that had qualified to race on the Wellerbrucke section, had to do a mandatory practice run.
The organistation was smooth and race ran like clock work. Practice runs were done and the semifinals began. The semifinals were a head to head format where the slowest paddlers got to meet the fastest paddlers in these heats. With the fastest paddler, then advancing to the next round.
The top twenty-four paddlers once again competed in this knock out format, leaving twelve paddlers and three lucky losers to battle it out for the final World Champion title.
A strong field of paddlers made it through in to the top fifteen with paddlers like Alexander Grimm the 2008 Beijing, Olympic slalom Champion and last years Sickline Champion, Thilo Schmidt.
In the end it was the Olympic Champion Alexander Grimm, who chose the Wave Sport Habitat 80 as weapon for the race, and pushed forward to take the winning time, showing that his training efforts had paid off.
Close behind Alexander Grimm was the New Zealand slalom paddler Mike Dawson and right on Mikes tail was German paddler and once again another slalom paddlerJacobs Stenglein from Germany.
All in all it’s been a really well run event, with some great displays of sportsmanship,athleticismand a very high standard of paddling over the past two days. All, that’s left now is the prize ceremony and a party!
Congratulations to all succussful riders and particularly top placed Wave Sport paddlers like
- Alex Grimm - Sickline World Champ 2009
- Thilo Schmitt – 6th
- Michele Ramazza – 8th
- Jakub Nemec – 12th
Words and photos: Deb Pinniger
Tags: championships · Extreme Race · finals · Ötz · Sickline
