PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (June 18, 2017) – Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) placed 28th in the men’s C1 event at the opening round of this season’s World Cup. A very challenging course designed by Mark Delaney (GBR) and Jiri Prskavec (CZE) proved to push even the world’s best whitewater paddlers. Only 4 of the 30 semi-finalists produced penalty-free runs. Smedley’s pace was on track to reach the finals, but he incurred multiple penalties on the winding race course which knocked him out of contention. Germany’s Sideris Tasiadis claimed the victory while Matej Benus (SVK) and Raffaello Ivaldi (ITA) placed 2nd and 3rd respectively.
“It was great to get back into the racing season and to race the top international athletes here in Prague,” said Smedley. “I cut the line too short at the top of the course which resulted in some penalties and losing a bit of time. I’m happy with my speed and I’m looking forward to getting back on the start in Augsburg (GER) for the next World Cup. I want to build on this result and deliver clean runs next weekend.”
In Saturday’s racing, Florence Maheu placed 7th and Haley Daniels placed 9th overall in the Extreme Slalom cross event. It is a head to head format where four athletes launch into the river from a platform and race down the whitewater while negotiating a series of obstacles. The paddlers also go through a roll zone where they must perform a roll. Amelia Hilgertova (CZE) claimed top honors winning the extreme slalom title, while Camille Prigent (FRA) won silver, and Tereza Fiserova (CZE) bronze.
Keenan Simpson (Ottawa, ON) placed 14th overall in the men’s extreme slalom event. New Zealand’s Mike Dawson claimed first place ahead of local favourites Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE) and Ondrej Tunka (CZE).
Sunday’s finals will be webcast starting at 1:30 pm on CBC’s digital platforms including the CBC Sports app and cbcsports.ca. CBC Sports is the Official Broadcast Partner of Canoe Kayak Canada.
| Athlete | Event | Result |
| Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QB) | Women’s K1 Extreme Slalom | 7th |
| Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) | Women’s K1 Extreme Slalom | 9th |
| Keenan Simpson (Ottawa, ON) | Men’s K1 Extreme Slalom | 14th |
| Cameron Smedley (Dunrobin, ON) | Men’s C1 Slalom | 28th |
| Spencer Pomeroy (Ottawa, ON) | Men’s C1 Slalom | 43rd |
| Yannick Laviolette (St-Louis-de-Gonzague, QC) | Men’s C1 Slalom | 58th |
| Lois Betteridge (Ottawa, ON) | Women’s C1 Slalom | 36th |
| Haley Daniels (Calgary, AB) | Women’s C1 Slalom | 42nd |
| Keenan Simpson (Ottawa, ON) | Men’s K1 Slalom | 69th |
| Andrew Musgrave (Ottawa, ON) | Men’s K1 Slalom | 72nd |
| Jessica Groeneveld (Innisfail, AB) | Women’s K1 Slalom | 43rd |
| Florence Maheu (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, QB) | Women’s K1 Slalom | 44th |
| Lois Betteridge (Ottawa, ON) | Women’s K1 Slalom | 65th |
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships. Follow Canoe Kayak Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.