The Czech Republic’s Vit Prindis made it two International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Slalom World Cup wins in a row with victory in Augsburg in Germany.
Prindis won last weekend’s season opener in Prague and was one of the few paddlers to master the Augsburg Eiskanal course in the men’s K1 today.
He finished ahead of Germany’s Hannes Aigner and fellow Czech Jiri Prskavec, who took third.
Prindis posted a time of 1 min 37.40sec, just 0.24sec head of Aigner with Prskavec 0.53 behind in third.
“I’m always happy that I am in the final, but I didn’t expect that I would win the first two World Cups,” Prindis said.
“I think that I have a good feeling from the water, I’ve got a good feeling from the paddling, and I hope I can do the same next week in Leipzig.”
Australia’s Jessica Fox , a triple world champion in the C1, bounced back from a disappointing weekend in Prague to easily win today’s final.
Australia’s Jessica Fox won the women's C1 event ©ICF
After failing to make it through to the final last week, she finished more than 10sec ahead of Great Britain’s Mallory Franklin, with Germany’s Lena Stoecklin taking third.
Fox was one of only two athletes to post a clean run in the final, helping her to a time of 1:56.86.
Franklin's time of 2:07.07 secured silver, with Stoecklin in third on 2:13.88.
“Last week was a bit disappointing, but I came her really motivated and pumped,” Fox said.
“My semi-final wasn’t perfect, but the final went to plan.
“I had a lot of energy and attacked it everywhere.”
Germany's Ricarda Funk delivered a sensational performance on home water in Augsburg to claim gold at the second International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Slalom World Cup of the season.
Even after incurring a two-second penalty for a gate touch, Funk was too quick for the rest of the field in the women's K1 competition at Augsburg Eiskanal.
Her time of 1min 47.67sec left her 0.95 seconds in front of Slovakia’s Jana Dukatova, with Slovenia’s Ursa Kragelj taking third on 1:49.23.
"I’m super happy, it was just awesome in front of all my friends and family," Funk said.
"After the touch I was worried if it would be enough, but I just told myself to go straight and fight.
"This result means so much for me, because last year I messed up the Olympic selections so I just want to show my experience."
German hopes for a double celebration were soon quashed by Slovakia's Matej Benus, one of only two athletes to post a clean run on his way to the gold medal in the men's C1.
He finished on 1:44.90 to consign German favourites Sideris Tasiadis and Franz Anton to the silver and bronze respectively.
Matej Benus won the men's C1 title ©ICF
Tasiadis, who won gold at last weekend's opening stage in Prague, posted a time of 1:46.29 while Anton crossed the line in 1:46.84.
"I think it’s my third consecutive medal in Augsburg, so I like this course," Benus, the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist, said.
"I didn’t take too many risks.
"I think I had a little bit of a slower start, because I had some little mistakes, but the rest was pretty good.
"It was pretty difficult for me to get back into paddling after the Olympics, because I had so much media work, and I didn’t have time to train a lot after the last World Cups.
"But I think in the winter, and the spring in Australia, it was pretty good for me."
The Canoe Slalom World Cup will resume on Friday (June 30) when the third event begins in Markleeberg in Germany.
