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Canoe Slalom paddlers will start their competitions at the European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023 on Thursday and already on day one the first sets of medals will be awarded to the best teams in men’s and women’s kayak in Kolna Sports Centre.

The morning part of the first Canoe Slalom competition day at the European Games will be dedicated to individual heats in men’s and women’s kayak where athletes will fight for the places in the semifinal which will take place on Saturday. The fastest 20 kayakers in women’s category and 30 highest placed kayakers in men’s category will advance to the semifinal after the first heats run, while the remaining ten places in the semifinal in each of the events will be filled with the top ten athletes after the second heats run.

In the afternoon, the team events in men’s and women’s kayak are on the programme and are the first Canoe Slalom medal events of the European Games. The men’s competition will start at 14:35 and women’s at 15:30.

Last year, when the European Championships was held in Slovakia, men’s kayak team from Czechia with Jiri PRSKAVEC, Vit PRINDIS and Ondrej TUNKA won gold medal ahead of teams from Poland and Germany. PRSKAVEC and PRINDIS are integral part of the team this year as well and will be accompanied by young Jakub KREJCI. Also, Italian, French, Slovak, Spanish, British kayakers will be aiming for the podium positions.

In women’s kayak team event French paddlers Camille PRIGENT, Romane PRIGENT and Emma VUITTON took the gold medals, and stood on the winner’s podium with British and Polish representatives at last year’s European Championships. There is a change in the French team from last year, as Marjorie DELASSUS qualified for the team together with Camille PRIGENT and Emma VUITTON. There will be ten teams on the start line of the women’s kayak team event and every one of them has a chance to win a medal and it will all come down to the daily form.

The complete competition schedule and results can be found here.

European Games Krakow-Malopolska 2023 is the Europe’s biggest multidisciplinary sporting event in 2023. More than 7 thousand athletes are competing in 26 sports and 29 disciplines for 253 gold medals. More than that, European Games 2023 are part of the qualification process for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 in 19 sports. This great celebration of sports starts with opening ceremony in Krakow on 21st of June. The closing ceremony will take place on July 2nd.