By Dan Plouffe
Ottawa’s John Hastings sits just one place out of qualification for the final after the first heat of the men’s K-1 single kayak event at the canoe slalom world championships in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Hastings wound up 21st in the first of two heats out of over 100 racers with a time of 92.61 seconds, so he’ll have to improve on his time in the second run later this afternoon to advance in the top-20.
It was a rough day on the whitewater for fellow Ottawa River Runners athletes James and Adam Cutts as they competed in the C-2 canoe pair event. Penalty time for missed gates hampered their first run as they accumulated 52 seconds in penalties to finish 41st in the first heat, although they did improve to 38th place with a second heat time of 117.64.
Sarah Boudens was the top Canadian in the K-1, finishing 43rd, ahead of River Runners teammate Thea Froehlich in 48th of 70 competitors.
Around half of the Canadian team hails from the River Runners club, while the other half is from Alberta.
“We’ve got a good group,” says retired former Olympian James Cartwright, now a coach at the River Runners’ Pumphouse facility near the mouth of the Ottawa River. “It’s really nice to see.”
Other River Runners athletes competing later in the competition that wraps up Sunday include Cam Smedley and Julian Potvin-Bernal (men’s C-1), Alexandra McGee and Sindy Audet (women’s C-1).
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