Krejci Claims His First-Ever World Cup Victory on Home Course
Winner of the qualification, winner of the final. Kayaker Jakub Krejci celebrated his first-ever gold medal in the elite World Cup series in front of home crowd in Prague’s Troja venue. Jiří Prskavec also competed in the men's kayak final, but a 50-second penalty dropped him to 11th place. The only Czech woman in the final run, Amalie Hilgertova, also received a 50-second penalty and finished 10th. The women's category was dominated by Australia's Jessica Fox.
The opening day of the World Cup in Prague started with the women's and men's kayak qualifications, followed by medal fights in the afternoon. In front of an enthusiastic home crowd, Jakub Krejci paddled to the best World Cup result of his career.
“It’s the first Olympic discipline I’ve ever won in my career. It’s amazing, especially here at home in Troja. Even more fans came for the finals, and I felt a huge amount of energy coming from the banks,” praised the atmosphere the 24-year-old kayaker. “My time in the final was slightly slower, but I definitely had a better feeling from the second run. I’m still trying to fine-tune my form; we’re in the middle of full training.” And how does he plan to maintain or even improve that form? “Enjoy paddling and the sport you do. Have fun with it and love the training process,” added with a smile the athlete coached by Ondrej Tunka.
British kayaker Joseph Clarke took silver in Prague. “I love racing in Prague. The crowd here is fantastic, the best in the world. The course was very difficult, with lots of challenges, and I had to find solutions to deal with them,” admitted the second-fastest man of the day. “Kuba delivered a truly great performance today. He’s a great guy, a friend of mine, and it was wonderful to share the podium with him,” added the 2016 Olympic champion. Italy’s Xavier Ferrazzi completed the podium in third place.
After crossing the finish line, Jiri Prskavec was very satisfied with his run, but shortly afterward 52 penalty seconds were added to his result. “Honestly, it didn’t cross my mind during the run. I was happy at the finish line and really enjoyed the race. I felt that everything went exactly as I wanted, and the time seemed great. Then the penalty seconds gradually appeared. I’m disappointed,” Prskavec reflected sadly at the finish. Vit Prindis did not qualify for the final, placing 16th in the qualification round.
Amalie Hilgertova was the only Czech representative in the women's final and also received a 50-second penalty. “I decided to go all in on the run. I thought a healthy amount of risk would be appropriate, but in one section things got a bit too wild – I put my head in there but missed the gate. I’m disappointed, but I’d rather lose this way than paddle too cautiously,” said Hilgertova, who managed to return to the senior A-team after three years. Katerina Bekova missed the twelve-athlete final by two places, while Bara Galuskova finished 32nd.
Victory in the women’s category went to Australian star Jessica Fox, who returned to the World Cup series after a one-year break caused by serious health issues. 
“I’m really proud of how I managed today’s final, especially here in Prague where the races are always fantastic. The course was truly demanding, and I’m happy I made it into the final and improved so much on my qualification run,” said the Australian star, who got kayak silver medal at the last week’s World Cup in Tacen.
The World Cup programme in Prague’s Troja continues on Saturday with the women's and men's canoe event, while Sunday will be dedicated to kayak cross.
Photo: Jaroslav Svoboda, kanoe.cz