:00:44. > :00:54.Here cams Kelly Holmes. The crowd Great Britain get the gold medal.
:00:54. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:11.Kelly Holmes for Great Britain. Welcome to Bratislava, host of the
:01:11. > :01:18.2011 canoe 12 slalom championships. Slovakia is a powerhouse of this
:01:18. > :01:23.fast and furious sport. In the middle of the River Danube, it is
:01:23. > :01:33.considered to be the world's best. That is where they are willing to
:01:33. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :01:55.do battle to become kings and In the women's K-1, Fiona Pennie
:01:55. > :02:05.looks to regain the form that saw her win world soon -- silver in
:02:05. > :02:14.
:02:14. > :02:24.2006. In case your knowledge is a bladed paddle pulls up in kayak,
:02:24. > :02:25.
:02:25. > :02:32.they use a double blade. Canoe slalom is a minute and a half, high
:02:32. > :02:40.octane, Whitewater may hem. It takes a quick reactions, physical
:02:41. > :02:45.strength and mental toughness to be fast. It helps to be a bit of a
:02:45. > :02:51.nutter. You need a long reach, a strong grip on the water and good
:02:51. > :02:57.upper-body strength to power yourself down the cause. Being in
:02:57. > :03:07.the water is one thing but handling technique around the gates is quite
:03:07. > :03:10.
:03:10. > :03:19.another. In competition you have to negotiate the course. Read gates up
:03:19. > :03:26.a bit tricky. -- red. You have to paddle against the flow. The best
:03:26. > :03:33.way to do a red gate is to control the speed on the approach, go hard
:03:33. > :03:41.up to the gate and get back into the flow as quickly as possible.
:03:41. > :03:49.Missed a gate is a 52nd penalty and your race is over. You are up the
:03:49. > :03:56.creek without a paddle. We have made our way to this year's course.
:03:56. > :04:01.The 2011 championships are the main qualification event for London 2012.
:04:01. > :04:06.Joining me to discuss how the Brits could do his former world champion,
:04:06. > :04:11.Richard Fox. As hosts, Great Britain get the boat in each of
:04:11. > :04:17.those events. They want to come here and earned them properly. How
:04:17. > :04:24.well do they have to perform? want to show they can earn them by
:04:24. > :04:32.right. In the men's and women's kayak, it is the top nations. In
:04:32. > :04:38.the men's C-1, it is the top 10 and the men's C-2, it is eight.
:04:38. > :04:43.tough is it? This is one of the greatest courses in the world. It
:04:43. > :04:52.was built in 1996 was a big blows of the great Danube river. It is
:04:52. > :04:58.probably the steepest course. -- in 1996. It flows off the Great River
:04:58. > :05:05.Danube. The athletes like it. It is very challenging, as we saw this
:05:05. > :05:12.morning in the semi-finals. Britain have already got two boats in the
:05:12. > :05:17.C-2 men's final and Fiona Pennie in the women's C-2 final. It is wide
:05:17. > :05:22.open. The Olympic champion has qualified for the women's final in
:05:22. > :05:28.10th place. I would expect her to put down a big round. It is well
:05:28. > :05:36.within the reach of Fiona Pennie. It is a tough course. It has been
:05:36. > :05:46.modified from the heats. In the C-2, having two boats, you have two
:05:46. > :05:46.
:05:46. > :05:51.shots at the podium. Tim Baillie has done very well to reach the
:05:51. > :05:56.final. They will be satisfied. There will be a fierce fight next
:05:56. > :06:01.year for the Olympic spot. The podium is within reach. Our first
:06:01. > :06:11.final is the C-2. After taking silver in Beijing in a individual
:06:11. > :06:14.
:06:14. > :06:20.can move, David Florence and Richard Hounslow are teaming up.
:06:20. > :06:27.is absolutely flying. This is a tremendous time. After Beijing, I
:06:27. > :06:33.won an Olympic medal. I focused on that for so long. I did not want --
:06:33. > :06:38.I did not know what to do next. was so close to retiring. I was
:06:38. > :06:43.accepted into Sandhurst. I was going to go into the Army.
:06:43. > :06:48.decided I wanted a new challenge. I thought about taking up another
:06:48. > :06:55.category. No one else really did it in canoeing slalom at the time.
:06:55. > :07:03.Chris Hoy inspired me to do something different. I told him my
:07:03. > :07:07.ideas. He laughed at me. As soon as we started doing that, I realised I
:07:07. > :07:17.had another Olympics in May. I still had the drive and the hunger
:07:17. > :07:18.
:07:18. > :07:24.for it. I thought I should give it another go. Paddling in C-2,
:07:24. > :07:31.technically it is very different from the C-1 class. We had a lot of
:07:31. > :07:36.techniques to learn. You have your legs in front of you in C-1. In C-2,
:07:36. > :07:41.who kneel down. I find it hard. Specific techniques around the
:07:41. > :07:48.gates are much more difficult. can probably last about 20 minutes
:07:48. > :07:52.until it gets painful. You won the bronze last year. The you are
:07:52. > :07:57.always pushing for the medals. We're looking to push on into
:07:57. > :08:07.silver and gold, to be honest. We are up against some tough
:08:07. > :08:12.competition. In the C-2 category, you have the two best crews in the
:08:12. > :08:17.world. They are hard to beat. They were beaten at the World Cup in
:08:17. > :08:27.Prague. It will be their home water in Bratislava. Hopefully we can
:08:27. > :08:33.
:08:33. > :08:43.turn them over. There is the line- up for the men's C-2 final.
:08:43. > :08:43.
:08:43. > :08:52.Ladislav and Peter Skantar lead off. They are up against Pavol and Peter
:08:52. > :08:58.Hochshorner. Listen to the raw. Two slacking crews in the final.
:08:58. > :09:07.Ladislav and Peter Skantar, they have won gold before and been
:09:07. > :09:11.bronze medallists before. They have got themselves off to a nice start.
:09:11. > :09:17.They need to make sure they set their boat up nicely through the
:09:17. > :09:22.messy bits of water. Driving around the upstream gate, and again the
:09:22. > :09:29.roars and the sirens Of going around the course. There is a
:09:29. > :09:33.fantastic atmosphere. Just finding a bit of difficulty. This is a
:09:33. > :09:39.tight stagger. It is about keeping their boat tracking downstream as
:09:39. > :09:45.much as they can. They had two seconds of penalties already higher
:09:45. > :09:50.up the course as they negotiate that upstream gate. Into the fast,
:09:50. > :09:57.rushing water. They have not touched the poll yet. That was the
:09:57. > :10:02.wind and breeze blowing it. No penalties yet. They managed to
:10:02. > :10:08.negotiate that very well and take the boat running. It comes off the
:10:08. > :10:13.wall and they are going to align themselves up for the stagger
:10:13. > :10:18.sequence. They are pulling it back around. It is about making sure the
:10:18. > :10:21.boat is running smoothly through the white water. These cousins know
:10:22. > :10:30.each other's strengths and weaknesses as they head towards the
:10:30. > :10:34.end. Just a few gates to go. This is where it gets tiring. Still just
:10:34. > :10:41.two seconds of penalties. They are going to set a fast time. This is
:10:41. > :10:47.going to be tough to beat. 109.86 is the total and that puts them
:10:47. > :10:55.into first place. That was a really good ran from Ladislav and Peter
:10:55. > :11:00.Skantar. They have put in a good run. They have set a high standard.
:11:00. > :11:05.Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott for Britain start their campaign.
:11:05. > :11:09.They've finished 4th in 2009. They have been prominent over the last
:11:09. > :11:14.few years on the international circuit. They know each other so
:11:14. > :11:19.well. They look as though they are off to a pretty good start. They
:11:19. > :11:23.have negotiated the upstream gate three well. They have got their
:11:23. > :11:27.boat tracking nicely downstream. They have had a number of injuries
:11:27. > :11:33.during the winter. They have managed to get back on track and
:11:33. > :11:40.are fighting hard. We have another British pair in David Florence and
:11:40. > :11:46.Richard Hounslow to go. They will have one eye on the Olympic
:11:46. > :11:52.selection. No penalties so far for Great Britain. They made their way
:11:52. > :11:56.through that tricky stagger sequence. They are going to break
:11:56. > :12:02.out into the upstream. They will spend a bit of time setting their
:12:02. > :12:08.boat up to make sure they can stay on the inside poll as much as
:12:08. > :12:15.possible. No penalties so far. They have picked one up there. That
:12:15. > :12:22.could make a difference. It will be interesting to see at the next so -
:12:22. > :12:29.- check, how they compare. They had a little way to go. They had gone
:12:29. > :12:32.through that won nicely. They can see the finish from where they are.
:12:32. > :12:39.-- one. They need to align themselves up for the next
:12:39. > :12:45.downstream gate. They need to stay as tight as possible. They are a
:12:45. > :12:53.bit low. They push into the flow on the last bit of the course. They
:12:54. > :13:00.are trying to get back into clean water. They're coming towards the
:13:00. > :13:04.finish. Great Britain are in second place. A solid performance for the
:13:04. > :13:09.first major Championship of the year after having major injuries.
:13:09. > :13:14.No change in the board here. Ladislav and Peter Skantar still in
:13:14. > :13:18.first place. Now it is the turn of Florence and Hounslow. It is the
:13:18. > :13:23.second British boat. The competition between the two British
:13:23. > :13:28.boats will do the power of good for competition in Great Britain.
:13:28. > :13:34.Absolutely. They have been pushing each other on. There will be tough
:13:34. > :13:39.competition for the Olympics spot. An individual silver medallist in
:13:39. > :13:43.Beijing in 2008. That was a cracking competition. Since then he
:13:43. > :13:48.has been keen to make sure the C-2 category is something great Britain
:13:48. > :13:55.should do well at international level. They are doing pretty well
:13:55. > :13:59.so far. No penalties at the moment. They are lining it up for the
:13:59. > :14:08.Stagger sequence. The course is very tight. We can see them pushing
:14:08. > :14:14.on down. They have dropped a little bit low. They have pushed their
:14:14. > :14:22.boat back up. We can see Richard Hanslope swapping sides to try to
:14:22. > :14:26.stay on the inside of that poll. -- Richard Hounslow. They know their
:14:26. > :14:31.way around the international arena and in terms of pressure and
:14:31. > :14:37.performance. This man-made course is really testing them. Still no
:14:37. > :14:43.penalties, still looking good for us DUP still chasing the lead that
:14:43. > :14:47.is held by Ladislav and Peter Skantar. The Slovakians are
:14:47. > :14:53.delighted. We had Denis Gargaud Chanut and Fabien Lefevre to come.
:14:53. > :15:00.A nice jump in net into the upstream. They are having to drive
:15:01. > :15:10.out into the float and negotiate 21 and 22 as fast as they can. It is
:15:10. > :15:20.quick. They are clear in terms of penalties. One had and 10.33. --
:15:20. > :15:26.
:15:26. > :15:29.last gate to keep their boat as dry as possible. These two guys are
:15:29. > :15:34.almost Gods in Slovakia, the Hochschorner twins. They have been
:15:34. > :15:38.absolutely brilliant over the years - three times Olympic champions.
:15:38. > :15:42.They're going for their fourth victory in the World Championships
:15:42. > :15:47.in a row in C-2 canoeing, and I guess they have set themselves up
:15:47. > :15:51.as the pre-event favourites, but they've got to deliver, and a
:15:51. > :15:54.really high standard has been set already by their team-mates,
:15:54. > :15:59.Ladislav Skantar and Peter Skantar. But the Hochschorners, well, you've
:15:59. > :16:02.got to say they're going well, aren't they? They certainly are,
:16:02. > :16:06.and they're looking very smooth as they work together to power their
:16:06. > :16:10.boat through the course, sometimes a bit of a joke of how they
:16:10. > :16:13.actually don't look like they're trying that hard, but that's the
:16:13. > :16:18.key to what makes them so fast. They're going for their own little
:16:18. > :16:21.bit of history. They have already won this C-2 category four times in
:16:21. > :16:29.the past, but there was a gap of a year between those victories, so
:16:29. > :16:31.they've won it three times in a row, and nobody in the history of
:16:31. > :16:35.canoeing or kayaking has ever won four gold medals in a row. These
:16:35. > :16:41.guys can do it. They have kept a clean sheet so far - around about
:16:41. > :16:46.halfway - just over halfway down the course at the minute, and
:16:46. > :16:51.technically superb. Executing the upstream gates really well, which
:16:51. > :16:55.is why we see it lost, sliding into the upstream gate, push out across
:16:55. > :16:59.the course, a quick spin, get the boat tracking back downstream again.
:16:59. > :17:06.Let's not forget of course if anybody goes into first place here,
:17:06. > :17:10.that means that Britain move down the table. And this is looking very
:17:10. > :17:13.quick. It's just all about whether they can get in and out of this
:17:13. > :17:16.last upstream now. They have executed that very well. They're
:17:16. > :17:20.driving their boat now all the way to the finish line. It's going to
:17:20. > :17:27.be close. It's just over a hundred. Look for the number one appearing
:17:27. > :17:32.on the caption - it could be, yes, it is, 106.76, the Hochschorners in
:17:32. > :17:35.the lead, the former world champions in France yet to go.
:17:35. > :17:39.excellent run from the Hochschorner brothers. You see them there
:17:39. > :17:43.sliding into the last upstream gate, gate 20, as they pull themselves
:17:43. > :17:46.out to make it a quick run. There is only the French left, and so
:17:46. > :17:51.they can challenge the Hochschorners, of course, but if
:17:51. > :17:54.they do, if they go into the lead or get one of the top three places,
:17:54. > :17:58.that really does mean that David Florence and Richard Hounslow could
:17:58. > :18:02.be out of the medals. I've got mixed feelings with this one, Helen,
:18:02. > :18:10.but certainly Fabien Lefevre at the front there, he is one of the all-
:18:10. > :18:13.time greats in - just on the water in any sort of canoe. Yeah, he now
:18:13. > :18:17.paddles kayak in the C-2. They're off to an excellent start. They're
:18:17. > :18:21.nice and tight around the upstream gate they're going to look to now
:18:21. > :18:24.really set themselves up for this next stagger sequence which is
:18:24. > :18:29.really tight. We have seen them spin in gate nine. I wonder what
:18:29. > :18:34.they're going to do. Certainly none to the big crews have messed up so
:18:34. > :18:37.far. The most number of penalties we have seen are two seconds for
:18:37. > :18:41.one touch, such has been the precision of their paddling at the
:18:41. > :18:45.moment, and the banks on both sides of this course absolutely packed to
:18:45. > :18:48.the Rafters, and wouldn't they like to see a home victory? At the
:18:48. > :18:52.moment the Hochschorners are leading. The Skantar cousins are
:18:52. > :18:56.still in with a shout of a medal as well, but can the French upset
:18:56. > :19:00.them? The French pair are looking superb. They're work, so well
:19:01. > :19:04.together. It's all about whether they can keep themselves composed
:19:04. > :19:08.in this last section of the course. It's tricky, this last stagger
:19:08. > :19:11.sequence. They push out. They go forward. We have seen a number of
:19:11. > :19:15.crews spin that. I wonder what they'll do at 17. They're pushing
:19:15. > :19:19.backwards to get their boat across the river. They're slightly a head
:19:19. > :19:24.of the Hochschorners by just over a second, so this is looking good for
:19:24. > :19:28.France at the moment. It's a lot of time to be won and lost on gate 20.
:19:28. > :19:32.Here we saw them lean a little bit heavy on their blades. Again, watch
:19:32. > :19:36.the clock. We're just over a hundred now. They've struggled a
:19:36. > :19:41.little bit over the last couple of gates. It's going to be close. The
:19:41. > :19:46.Hochschorners have got it. Slovakca have won the gold in C-2, and it's
:19:46. > :19:49.France who in the end just ran out of steam, and they pick up a silver
:19:49. > :19:54.medal, but Florence and Hounslow disappointing for them - they're
:19:54. > :19:58.down in fourth place. A tight race there from the C-2
:19:58. > :20:04.final to see the Hochschorners take the gold once again. There is the
:20:04. > :20:07.result, a historic one for the mighty twin at the top of the table.
:20:07. > :20:12.Slovakia third, but a good performance in fourth place, and
:20:12. > :20:16.Britain also picking up sixth. it must be gutting to lose a medal
:20:16. > :20:19.place in the final run. Yeah, it's always tough to be so close to a
:20:19. > :20:22.medal. I think it was just under a half second behind, but at the end
:20:22. > :20:27.of the day, I think we had a pretty good run. We probably paddled
:20:27. > :20:31.better this year than last, and we got a medal, so you know, that's
:20:31. > :20:35.good. Got another year now until the Olympics, so we've just got to
:20:35. > :20:40.work hard over the winter and hopefully put ourselves up on the
:20:40. > :20:44.podium. That's the thing with this sport, it's so unpredictable. What
:20:44. > :20:48.were your nerves like during the race? I think I was more nervous
:20:48. > :20:51.watching those last few guys come down and see how close we are. Like
:20:51. > :20:55.he said, it's about going out there and putting in a good performance
:20:55. > :20:58.yourself. We had a good run. Obviously wasn't quite good enough
:20:58. > :21:03.today, but it was still good. We're making progress - in fourth,
:21:03. > :21:06.although it's outside the medals, it's a good result. After so much
:21:06. > :21:09.of the season out, you guys must have been so pleased to be in the
:21:09. > :21:13.final. Yeah, when we were coming here, we said that was probably a
:21:13. > :21:16.very satisfactory outcome for the weekend and something we'd be
:21:16. > :21:22.really happy with, and you know, we've struggled. We haven't got the
:21:22. > :21:25.training base behind us. Our form through the racing stages has been
:21:25. > :21:30.mixed. The build-up to this race, we have tried to do everything
:21:30. > :21:34.right. We made as many right decisions as we could. We nursed
:21:34. > :21:37.ourselves. We done everything right, and to get this placing is our
:21:37. > :21:42.second best result, and after all of this, we couldn't be
:21:42. > :21:46.disappointed. So no medals, but solid runs from Partita for Solo
:21:46. > :21:49.Violin No 2 crews that are still in the running to be part of Team GB
:21:50. > :21:54.in 2012. When it comes to women, there is only one Olympic spot
:21:54. > :21:58.available, but with more than one world-class paddler in the canoe
:21:58. > :22:02.class squad, competition for it is. By being the only Brit to make the
:22:02. > :22:10.women's K-1 final here at the Championships, Fiona Pennie has
:22:10. > :22:13.made sure she's got the edge. Fiona Pennie, Lizzie Neave, Laura
:22:13. > :22:18.Blakeman and Louise Donington have all proven themselves at world
:22:18. > :22:22.level, but Great Britain only has one women's canoe slalom spot at
:22:22. > :22:25.the Olympics. We all get on really well still. I mean, you've just got
:22:25. > :22:29.to accept that only one person is going to go, and at the moment,
:22:29. > :22:34.there is three girls on the team, but even out with those three girls,
:22:34. > :22:37.there's other girls wanting to get that spot as well. It's not just
:22:37. > :22:41.three. It's four, maybe six people going for this spot. So it's - we
:22:41. > :22:46.get on, and you just have to do what you can, and we all know that
:22:46. > :22:50.only one is going to get it. Do you talk about it much? Not really
:22:50. > :22:54.between us, no. I think we all know what each other is thinking, and we
:22:54. > :22:58.just get on with the game that we've got to do. How desperate are
:22:58. > :23:02.you to make sure you're at the Olympics? It would be really
:23:02. > :23:06.fantastic to do it again, you know. Obviously I went to Beijing, and
:23:06. > :23:10.I've got some things to improve on from the Beijing result that I had,
:23:10. > :23:14.which I wasn't very pleased with. I would definitely like to go again
:23:14. > :23:18.and try and do better, and yeah, it's going to be hard - four girls
:23:19. > :23:25.going to be one spot, but I'll do everything I can to make that spot.
:23:25. > :23:28.How are you feeling about your form going into the World Championships?
:23:28. > :23:35.It's improving. I am definitely feeling a lot stronger and fresher
:23:35. > :23:40.as it were going into the race now. I am improving technically. There
:23:40. > :23:43.is a big drop at the bottom which you really have to store up your
:23:43. > :23:46.energy to make it to the bottom of the course, so yeah, it's steadily
:23:46. > :23:56.improving, so I am really positive. Who are the ones to watch out
:23:56. > :23:58.
:23:58. > :24:08.there? Well, the Slovak girls - Elena Kaliska, then the current
:24:08. > :24:14.world champion, Katerina Hoskova. Anyone can win it.
:24:14. > :24:20.To get us under way, one of the all-time greats in women's K-1
:24:20. > :24:25.paddling, Elena Kaliska, 39 years old now and certainly a favourite
:24:25. > :24:29.in her hometown of Slovakia, the former Olympic champion and of
:24:29. > :24:32.course a former world champion too. How long can this woman keep going?
:24:32. > :24:37.She's nearly 40 years old now, but she's better than ever. Absolutely.
:24:37. > :24:42.I think the experience plays a big part in this canoe slalom. It
:24:42. > :24:46.really helps to know how to control your emotions and the pressure, and
:24:46. > :24:50.she's certainly proven she can do that before. She's a real
:24:50. > :24:54.technician, so, so strong as well,ed a certainly her strength
:24:54. > :24:57.and enthusiasm for the sport hasn't diminished over the years. She
:24:57. > :25:03.could well be one of the athletes to beat here. Because I am assuming
:25:03. > :25:06.she must know this course so well. Absolutely. She was trained here,
:25:06. > :25:10.practised all the moves she could possibly do time and time again.
:25:10. > :25:15.And that plays a really big part, to know what you're coming up
:25:15. > :25:20.against. She looks like she's on a solid run - dropping a little bit
:25:20. > :25:25.low into that gate. She needs to push out into the flow. It's all
:25:25. > :25:29.about gate 12. She's sliding out a little bit and losing precious time.
:25:29. > :25:32.She seems to be puffing and blowing a little bit, made a bit of as me
:25:33. > :25:37.of that one, losing momentum coming out of the gate. That is so
:25:37. > :25:40.important, but you can never discount her. She has been around
:25:40. > :25:45.for so, so long and still is a threat to everybody, no matter
:25:45. > :25:48.which competition she's into. Of course, the crowd here love her.
:25:48. > :25:53.Absolutely, two-time Olympic champion. They all know exactly
:25:53. > :25:57.what to be shouting for here today. She looks like she's pulling her
:25:57. > :26:01.boat around, now pushing herself into the final drop, need to keep
:26:01. > :26:05.the bow as dry as possible. Oh, she gets caught on the eddie line,
:26:05. > :26:10.fighting to get into the back of it to finish off this course. She's
:26:10. > :26:13.got to come out tight around that pole, so she wasted a lot of time
:26:13. > :26:18.there. This actually looks as though it could be quite a slow
:26:18. > :26:24.time for Elena Kaliska, but she's in the lead at the moment, 114.17.
:26:24. > :26:28.She lays down a marker, and that's what everybody else has to beat.
:26:28. > :26:33.Well, Fiona Pennie of Great Britain - she's done very, very well to
:26:33. > :26:37.make? Final. She has been a British international since 1997 and
:26:37. > :26:42.actually won a silver medal in K-1 paddling way back in 2006, but she
:26:42. > :26:46.did have a tough time in Beijing, didn't she? She certainly did. She
:26:46. > :26:51.fell out at the qualification stage. She'll certainly be look to make
:26:51. > :26:57.amends hopefully next year in London. So Fiona Pennie gets things
:26:57. > :27:02.under way, looking comfortable, looking relaxed. As you saw before
:27:02. > :27:06.Elena Kaliska has laid down a marker of 114. That's the target,
:27:06. > :27:09.certainly taking plenty of time to go around that pole. She's got to
:27:09. > :27:13.keep the momentum going. We have been saying that all along, coming
:27:13. > :27:17.out of the gate into fast-moving water or in a straight line. The
:27:17. > :27:22.lines are so important. Executing that downstream gate very well. We
:27:22. > :27:26.saw a number of boats spin in the C-2 category, but she took it
:27:26. > :27:29.onboard and executed it well, pushing down hard. It's a very
:27:29. > :27:33.physical course here, and she's a strong athlete. We'll see her
:27:34. > :27:38.really put the grit in and push all the way down. She now needs to line
:27:38. > :27:42.the boat up and hang on into that inside pole. We'll see in a little
:27:42. > :27:46.while how she compares with the former Olympic champion Elena
:27:46. > :27:51.Kaliska. Just going backwards through that one, but turns out of
:27:51. > :27:55.it well. She'll now need to line her boat up as she enters the next
:27:55. > :27:59.upstream gate before this tricky stagger sequence. She's fighting to
:27:59. > :28:04.beat the pace of the water coming out of that one, and there is Elena
:28:04. > :28:09.Kaliska's split time at the moment, 85.6, and she's just outside it.
:28:09. > :28:14.She's really taking this course on. You can see her - focused, very
:28:14. > :28:18.positive paddling. She needs to lift her bow as she enters gate 20,
:28:18. > :28:22.getting a little bit stuck on the eddie line. It's tough upstream for
:28:22. > :28:27.a lot of these ladies. You need a lot of power. She composed herself
:28:27. > :28:30.well there, came out of that one quickly, so she has got a shout at
:28:30. > :28:33.taking the lead. Fiona Pennie for Great Britain, it's going to be
:28:33. > :28:36.close, and she's got it. She goes into the lead in the women's K-1
:28:36. > :28:39.final. Superb. APPLAUSE
:28:39. > :28:49.A display of extremely positive paddling from Fiona Pennie as she
:28:49. > :28:58.
:28:58. > :29:03.took on that course. We saw her Kunler. She is the defending
:29:03. > :29:07.champion. She has a lot of pride at stake here. The marker has been set
:29:07. > :29:11.superbly by Fiona Pennie. Of course, anybody who beats Elena Kaliska on
:29:11. > :29:14.a World Championship course, they can be very proud of that - that's
:29:14. > :29:18.for sure. Absolutely, and she's made a good start. She's got to
:29:18. > :29:23.push in nice and tight. That's excellent. She now needs to pull
:29:23. > :29:26.out tightly as she lines her boat up for the next downstream stagger
:29:26. > :29:31.sequence. We saw Fiona Pennie take this on very direct. I wonder what
:29:31. > :29:38.she's going to do here. She looks pretty quick, but she's got a two-
:29:38. > :29:42.second time penalty, driving out. It really is a vicious part of the
:29:42. > :29:47.course there, but now she's picking up speed. She's gaining momentum.
:29:47. > :29:51.No more mistakes at the moment for the Austrian. She was quick in and
:29:51. > :29:55.out of that gate 11. Now is all about setting the boat up nicely
:29:55. > :30:01.around that inside pole. That was excellent. She pushes out hard
:30:01. > :30:07.across the river. She'll line her boat up for the eddie, which is a
:30:07. > :30:12.bit slack and goes out on itself. We're getting to the point where we
:30:12. > :30:15.can see her split time. We'll see how far she is up on it. I think
:30:15. > :30:20.she'll have at least a couple of seconds. She'll be going
:30:20. > :30:25.brilliantly. Certainly that early mistake, but none since. Look at
:30:25. > :30:30.that. She's almost 1.5 seconds up on Fiona Pennie. It's all about
:30:30. > :30:34.keeping supposed as she enters this gate and keeping the boat dry. Wow.
:30:34. > :30:38.That was quicker than we have seen previously. She almost used the
:30:38. > :30:42.wall as a stopper. That helped her a lot. Driving for the line now.
:30:42. > :30:49.This is going to be a very good time for the Austrian, and goes
:30:49. > :30:59.into the lead by some way. Fiona Pennie is now in second place.
:30:59. > :31:12.
:31:12. > :31:19.Inessa K-1 final, Maialen Chourraut. -- in this K-1 final. She is one of
:31:19. > :31:26.the smallest athletes on the circuit. She weighs in 10 kilos
:31:26. > :31:33.lighter. Sheikh is getting a bit Court. She needs to compose herself
:31:33. > :31:41.and set herself up nicely for the downstream sequence. It is looking
:31:41. > :31:46.pretty tidy. She is going well. Corinna Kuhnle set a fantastic
:31:46. > :31:52.standard. She was last to go. The Austrian still leads but the
:31:52. > :31:57.Spaniard is going superbly. needs to keep herself nice and
:31:57. > :32:02.composed. Push across the river. It is all about the set-up of the
:32:02. > :32:08.second upstream gate. The Water wants to pursue it out. You have to
:32:08. > :32:14.be careful not to pick up a two second penalty. You know where the
:32:14. > :32:23.fast parts of the course are. is the key. You need to preserve as
:32:23. > :32:28.much energy as you can. You need a lot of power. There is the split
:32:28. > :32:33.for Corinna Kuhnle. Has the Spaniard lost some time? Yes, she
:32:33. > :32:40.has. She is three seconds adrift. That is where the Austrian was so
:32:40. > :32:46.good. It she needs to nail this entry gate. It is about pushing
:32:46. > :32:56.back into the flow. She needs to make no more mistakes. You saw the
:32:56. > :32:58.
:32:58. > :33:06.standard that had been set by Corinna Kuhnle. The Spaniard now,
:33:06. > :33:15.113.58. She goes into second place. Away we go with Jana Dukatova. One
:33:15. > :33:24.of the few people to be crowned champion in K-1 and C-1. Two
:33:24. > :33:29.different sports. It is still Corinna Kuhnle, who is in the lead.
:33:29. > :33:39.Jana Dukatova reaches very far forward. She won no doubt be
:33:39. > :33:46.desperate for the gold medal on home ground. -- she will no doubt.
:33:46. > :33:52.Corinna Kuhnle came down 25 minutes ago but she is sitting Supreme. The
:33:52. > :33:58.second third of the cause is where the Austrian won it. She was so
:33:58. > :34:06.strong. Already Jana Dukatova is looking jaded. She is going to use
:34:06. > :34:11.the momentum she has gained. It is a tough course. You must stay
:34:11. > :34:19.focused. With the home crowd, I am sure she will be staying positive.
:34:19. > :34:27.Getting a bit stuck. Her team-mate his way out of the medals. No
:34:27. > :34:33.return to form after injury. The host nation is hoping desperately
:34:33. > :34:40.that Jana Dukatova can do something. This is the last split time.
:34:40. > :34:45.Already she is some way out of that. She turned a bit early and is
:34:45. > :34:53.losing time all the time. Getting a bit stuck. She is having to be
:34:53. > :34:57.patient to make sure the boat is coming back buoyant. She needs to
:34:57. > :35:07.concentrate. Head down and arms driving for the line. She could be
:35:07. > :35:14.in with a chance of a medal. 113.33. Corinna Kuhnle is the champion and
:35:14. > :35:23.she gets a silver medal. Good performance by Corinna Kuhnle and a
:35:23. > :35:28.good performance by Jana Dukatova. Fiona Pennie finishes down in 5th
:35:28. > :35:35.place. You finished in 5th, how plays are you? I am reasonably
:35:35. > :35:43.pleased to get into the finals. I thought I might be in for a medal
:35:43. > :35:52.at one. But and lost a bitter time on the bottom drop. That was enough.
:35:52. > :35:56.-- I lost a bit of time. How hard is that? You have to watch and hope.
:35:56. > :36:02.At the end of the day, the others paddled a better race than I did
:36:02. > :36:07.and you get what you deserve, I suppose. Today was really tough.
:36:07. > :36:13.The qualification course was easier. This morning there were some tight
:36:13. > :36:18.bits but I went for it and was quite pleased with how it came off.
:36:18. > :36:26.You had qualified the boat for the Olympics. You are in pole position.
:36:26. > :36:30.You have performed well and given the strongest performance. There is
:36:30. > :36:35.a selection series at Easter time next year to look forward to. It is
:36:35. > :36:43.not certain I am in that boat yet. There is a lot of work to do over
:36:43. > :36:49.the winter. Campbell Walsh joins me. Fiona Pennie came 5th in her final.
:36:49. > :36:55.We had Richard Hounslow and David Florence just out of medal position
:36:55. > :36:59.in force Macro -- in force. Having come force at the worlds and 4th at
:36:59. > :37:04.the Olympics, I know how they're feeling. I think they stand up
:37:04. > :37:12.pretty well in a strong and competitive final. It does set them
:37:12. > :37:22.up well for next year to go one better or two better on the home
:37:22. > :37:23.
:37:24. > :37:28.course. The Pavol and Peter Hochshorner brothers were great. No
:37:28. > :37:33.surprises about Jana Dukatova in second. It is her home course and
:37:33. > :37:38.she measured the run very well. Looking at how the Slovakians go on
:37:38. > :37:45.her home course, now it is our turn. You are watching your team mates
:37:45. > :37:54.from the stands, what you make of their performances? It was a good
:37:54. > :38:02.performance yesterday. Tim had a long-term elbow problem which they
:38:02. > :38:06.operated on. Both of them have been out of the boat for a long time.
:38:06. > :38:13.After two months of training, it is really good. I think they were
:38:13. > :38:18.happy with that. David and Richard, I think Forth is a good result.
:38:18. > :38:24.They have been consistently hitting that. On a slightly better day they
:38:24. > :38:29.get into the medals. They raced well and they know they did. Fiona,
:38:29. > :38:34.she is capable of getting into the medals. I know she was disappointed.
:38:34. > :38:38.I thought she paddled well and attacked the course. The two
:38:38. > :38:44.downstream sequences they did direct without spinning. I think
:38:44. > :38:52.she was the only girl in the final to do that. We were hoping to see
:38:52. > :38:59.you in the K-1 men's semi-final which is coming up. You must be
:38:59. > :39:05.gutted. I was such a long way off. I was not fast enough and I hit two
:39:05. > :39:10.gates. It was not frustrating in that I was close, I made so many
:39:10. > :39:16.mistakes. No regrets in the plant and the approach. I felt good at
:39:16. > :39:21.the start. I would try to do the same again and execute it better.
:39:21. > :39:28.You are a five-time world champion in the K-1. Another year with no
:39:28. > :39:38.Brits in the K-1 final. Is it really tough competition? No doubt.
:39:38. > :39:38.
:39:39. > :39:43.We have some young guns to liven it up a bit more. The top end, Peter
:39:43. > :39:49.Kauzer, he has taken it up a level. Everyone is scrambling to keep up
:39:49. > :39:56.with the top guys. Things will stabilise in the Olympic year. The
:39:56. > :40:02.race is wide open. With one boat pan-Asian, it is different
:40:02. > :40:07.altogether. The race is tight. -- per nation. In my day we raced
:40:07. > :40:16.twice as far and built the run back to go if we made early errors. As
:40:16. > :40:26.Campbell said, it does not always go your way. Let's see who won the
:40:26. > :40:33.
:40:33. > :40:43.medals in the men's K-1 final. is the line-up. K two men's bronze
:40:43. > :40:54.
:40:54. > :40:59.Championship aspirations. He has been champion in this event twice
:40:59. > :41:04.before but never managed to repeat his performances. He will be
:41:04. > :41:13.looking today to absolutely no other course. He is a leader in
:41:13. > :41:23.terms of technique. In 2002, 2003, everyone was trying to copy his
:41:23. > :41:23.
:41:23. > :41:29.style. As for Britain, in this event, we had Huw Swetnam. Richard
:41:29. > :41:37.Hounslow was also in the event and he finished in 27th. Where event
:41:37. > :41:47.find our next champion? It could be this man. -- where are we going to
:41:47. > :41:58.
:41:58. > :42:04.at the moment. Precision all the way down. Huge awareness on this
:42:04. > :42:10.very fast-moving course. He is nipping around each of those gates,
:42:10. > :42:17.getting has -- getting as close as he can. That could be very costly
:42:17. > :42:24.to him. You are right. That could be a difference between a gold and
:42:24. > :42:31.nothing. We will have to wait and see. 98.89. He bangs the water with
:42:31. > :42:36.his fist. He knew he made a mistake. He went in too early. He will be
:42:36. > :42:43.very angry with himself about that one. Here goes the defending
:42:43. > :42:48.champion. He has worn No. One on his best with pride. They say it is
:42:48. > :42:58.harder to defend the title than it is to win it. Kate to men's 2010
:42:58. > :43:00.
:43:00. > :43:06.Macro means business. -- Daniele Molmenti. He has got off to an
:43:06. > :43:12.aggressive start. He whips his boat round and he is back out. He is
:43:12. > :43:20.driving himself through this sequence. He is just outside of the
:43:20. > :43:27.time set by the Frenchman. Well over a second. He needs to tidy it
:43:27. > :43:33.up and make sure he does not get any more faults. Two seconds so far
:43:33. > :43:40.and that could be costly. He spent a lot of time with his bow facing
:43:40. > :43:45.across the river. He is pushing out. A quick turn. Driving on through
:43:45. > :43:48.the next part of the course. Certainly in the previous
:43:48. > :43:55.competitions, we have seen this middle part of the course really
:43:55. > :44:02.taxing everyone in terms of technique, strength and momentum.
:44:02. > :44:08.Almost a mistake. Still in second place. He needs to pick up speed.
:44:08. > :44:14.He has been pushed a bit all over the place. He got very wet going
:44:15. > :44:24.down into gate 20. This is better. He has gone extremely well. What
:44:25. > :44:33.
:44:33. > :44:39.has he got in terms of time? 99.623. Down that middle and last part he
:44:39. > :44:49.seemed to lose time as he got a bit caught up in the white water.
:44:49. > :44:50.
:44:50. > :44:56.we go with Matej Benus -- Polaczyk from pollend. For these guys, it's
:44:56. > :45:01.everything to go for. For Polaczyk, the only medal he has had has been
:45:01. > :45:04.in the team event in 2006. He has a bit prove. Looking smooth as he
:45:05. > :45:09.glides his boat over the top of the white water. We want to see the bow
:45:09. > :45:13.as dry as possible. Every time it has water on top, it is slowing the
:45:13. > :45:18.momentum down. Molmenti, he certainly finished his run - must
:45:18. > :45:22.be desperately disappointed. He's coming on to the part of the course
:45:22. > :45:27.really where Molmenti lost it. He made one or two fundamental errors,
:45:27. > :45:30.and you really have got to keep it together here. There's all sorts of
:45:30. > :45:36.difficulties, all sorts of very difficult gates, like that one, but
:45:36. > :45:40.he's come out of it well, so Polaczyk at the moment still OK.
:45:40. > :45:44.He's whipping his boat around the upstream gate nice and tight as he
:45:44. > :45:49.pushes across the gate and down through that downstream gate in the
:45:49. > :45:55.eddy. He now has to make sure he gets a nice entry into gate 15.
:45:55. > :46:00.Keeping one eye on the leader board at the moment, Fabien Lefevre of
:46:00. > :46:04.France, just over 98.5, his time, certainly possible, although this
:46:04. > :46:09.fellow is still .75 of a second outside of that lead, so he's
:46:09. > :46:12.really got to pick it up now. whips his boat over the eddy line
:46:12. > :46:17.there, very quick, in and out of gate 20. It's now all about keeping
:46:17. > :46:22.the drive on all the way to the finish line. It's going to be very
:46:22. > :46:26.close indeed. He could push Fabien Lefevre down the leader board. Yes,
:46:26. > :46:31.he can, 97.22, and we have a new leader, and that almost guarantees
:46:31. > :46:36.him a medal as well! That was a superb run there. He kept his boat
:46:36. > :46:43.nice and dry. He kept it lively as he whipped himself around all the
:46:43. > :46:50.tricky stagger sequences. He'll be very happy with that one. It's all
:46:50. > :46:54.down to this man, Peter Kauzer of Slovenia to decide where this
:46:54. > :46:58.Championship will do. It is still Polaczyk in the lead with Fabien
:46:58. > :47:03.Lefevre in third place, Molmenti, the defending champion, is still on
:47:03. > :47:07.the medal rostrum at the moment, but this guy is a former world
:47:07. > :47:13.champion himself. He's no mug. He knows this course well. He's
:47:13. > :47:17.absolutely flying at the moment. really is tight that gate. He pulls
:47:17. > :47:22.himself up and arounden back into the flow. He's really leaning
:47:22. > :47:28.forward, taking control. We have seen very few penaltys in this
:47:28. > :47:32.men's K-1 final, very tidy runs by the top ten. Driving on, certainly
:47:32. > :47:37.seems as though he's got plenty left in reserve, plenty in the tank,
:47:37. > :47:40.as it were. But he's going to need it. He's still in with a chance
:47:40. > :47:46.here. Nice and tight around 11. He's keeping the inside pole on
:47:46. > :47:50.gate 12. He now drives across the river and makes sure he keeps his
:47:51. > :47:55.boat running in the downstream eddy. He has to keep his boat nice and
:47:55. > :47:59.tight in gate 15 before he enters the tricky stagger sequence. Came
:47:59. > :48:02.out of that well, looking for the fast water to take him on to the
:48:02. > :48:06.next gate. He knows this course well. He won the European
:48:06. > :48:10.Championships earlier on in the year. He's in the lead by well over
:48:10. > :48:14.a second! Just the last part of the course to come, and he might have
:48:14. > :48:17.got it, you know? Awesome. He just whips his head around that upstream
:48:17. > :48:21.gate, drives it back out. I think we could really be on for a fight
:48:21. > :48:26.for the lead now. Well, if it goes according to the form book,
:48:26. > :48:33.Molmenti, the defending champion, could be out of medals altogether,
:48:33. > :48:37.and Peter Kauser crosses the line with the fastest time, 96.01. He's
:48:37. > :48:43.the new champion. That was a display of technical brilliance. He
:48:43. > :48:48.made sure he got himself in and out of pole as quickly as he could.
:48:48. > :48:58.certainly left his best until the very last competitor came down the
:48:58. > :49:06.
:49:06. > :49:10.course. It's gold that goes to the opportunity to get to know this
:49:10. > :49:14.course better than anyone else before these World Championships.
:49:14. > :49:18.It's of course an advantage that Britain's paddlers will have ahead
:49:19. > :49:28.of next year's Olympic games. Most of the squad have moved south to be
:49:29. > :49:35.
:49:35. > :49:38.closer to Lee Valley, the canoe really good here. We also do our
:49:38. > :49:41.land training at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, which is a
:49:41. > :49:45.great facility. Moving house I found pretty interesting, exciting.
:49:45. > :49:49.I had been living in the one place for 15 years. I really enjoyed
:49:49. > :49:52.moving down here. We have a fantastic course to train on. It's
:49:53. > :49:56.so much better than where we used to train. It's fantastic to be here,
:49:56. > :50:01.to have a world-class venue so close to home. I live just around
:50:01. > :50:05.the corner now. It's so great to be able to train here day in, day out.
:50:05. > :50:09.You have to make some sacrifices. Really, if I wanted to progress, I
:50:09. > :50:14.had to make the move, but that's what you have to do to get to the
:50:14. > :50:17.top of your game. The course itself is a demanding one. It's a
:50:17. > :50:22.difficult course, without a doubt. It's step, powerful water and
:50:22. > :50:26.deceptively much harder than it looks from the river bank. Some of
:50:26. > :50:30.the foreign paddlers that have been over here training, they think it
:50:30. > :50:33.looks not bad, then they agree, it's tough. It was hard, really
:50:34. > :50:38.hard to get used to at the start. Now we're getting more used to it,
:50:38. > :50:42.knowing where to put the strokes in to do what we want to do. It's
:50:42. > :50:46.always an advantage to train on the site you're going to be racing on.
:50:46. > :50:48.Obviously, all the other guys are going to be over here a lot in the
:50:49. > :50:51.build-up to the Olympics as well, but if we could be training
:50:51. > :50:56.anywhere in the world, it would certainly be here. Home advantage
:50:56. > :51:03.didn't help too much at the Olympic test event in July, with no medals
:51:03. > :51:10.for the British team. The media made a bit of it that we didn't win
:51:10. > :51:14.a medal, but we had placings. That was not to be sniffed at. We had
:51:14. > :51:18.three Italians, three Slovenians, three French guys. You start
:51:18. > :51:23.knocking out the people who won't even be at the Olympics and GB will
:51:23. > :51:27.get a lot higher of a place. We had the commentary and a big race on
:51:27. > :51:30.this venue. It gave us a taster. Next year when you have all the
:51:30. > :51:34.spectators, it's really going to add something. To keep up to date
:51:34. > :51:40.with the progress of Britain's canoeists and other 2012 hopefuls,
:51:40. > :51:46.head over to our website. Now on to the individual events in
:51:46. > :51:48.the canoe. Women now compete in the C-1, but not at the Olympics. 17-
:51:48. > :51:56.year-old Brit Mallory Franklin paddled very well to get into the
:51:56. > :52:03.final. Well, she had started well, but
:52:03. > :52:10.like many, she came a croper at the big drop at the end of the course.
:52:10. > :52:12.This capsize scuppering her medal chances. Katrina Katerina Hoskova
:52:12. > :52:16.of the Czech Republic eventually took gold.
:52:16. > :52:21.It's good to fine I have finaled in every race I have done this year,
:52:21. > :52:25.so in that way, it's good, and top five in a couple, so my results are
:52:25. > :52:31.getting better gradually, so yeah, it's good. John to the men's C-1
:52:31. > :52:35.final, which unfortunately doesn't feature David Florence, Britain's
:52:35. > :52:45.only canoe slalom medallist from the Beijing Olympics. Let's see who
:52:45. > :53:02.
:53:02. > :53:08.will be world champion going into Chanut. He's already won a silver
:53:08. > :53:13.medal in the C-2 category. And won the gold in the team event back in
:53:14. > :53:17.2010, so certainly a very good competitor in his own right. Using
:53:17. > :53:21.both sides of the boat with that paddle, and these guys are
:53:21. > :53:24.incredibly strong, aren't they? Yeah, they make sure they keep
:53:24. > :53:29.their blade in the water as much as they can. They drive it around and
:53:29. > :53:34.pull their boats all the way through the course. Here we go,
:53:34. > :53:37.28.01, the fastest time so far that has been set down that first part
:53:37. > :53:45.of the course, second part of the course probably technically the
:53:45. > :53:49.most difficult, and certainly the designers of this course have done
:53:49. > :53:52.an absolutely brilliant job, but that depends whether you're a
:53:52. > :53:56.spectator or competitor. Comes around that gate, whips himself
:53:56. > :54:00.around so quickly, then, of course, the next problem is another
:54:00. > :54:05.upstream gate but so far, so good for the Frenchman. He looks like
:54:05. > :54:09.he's on great form, keeping his bow nice and dry and driving the boat
:54:09. > :54:14.through the tricky bits of water. He's going to come in tight into
:54:14. > :54:17.gate 15 as he pushes the bow out. It's an interesting stagger
:54:17. > :54:21.sequence. It will be interesting to see what he does. He's certainly
:54:21. > :54:28.going well. The French team have got a real star in this man -
:54:28. > :54:32.that's for sure, certainly, the whole body works hard, and you see
:54:32. > :54:37.one category canoes - certainly, they're incredibly strong in the
:54:37. > :54:41.abdominal area - pushes himself off the wall and heads towards the
:54:41. > :54:47.finish looking good. He certainly is. He is nice and clean. Going for
:54:47. > :54:54.the finish, 101.14, and he is in the lead - a great performance from
:54:54. > :55:04.the Frenchman. Well, here we go with Nico Bettge - a gold medallist
:55:04. > :55:04.
:55:04. > :55:09.in the past. He was part of the German team. -- back in 2006 that
:55:09. > :55:14.got gold. His claim to fame is he has been on the rostrum four times
:55:14. > :55:18.altogether, but they've always been in team events, but like all
:55:18. > :55:21.Germans, technically very proficient, and like all Germans
:55:21. > :55:26.too, incredibly fit and strong. He's putting in a solid run so far
:55:26. > :55:30.as he gets in nice and tight around the upstream gate left. He's going
:55:30. > :55:34.to drive his boat into the stagger sequence where we have seen a
:55:34. > :55:37.number of options happen today. We see him whip his tail under the
:55:37. > :55:44.water and his bow around to keep him tracking downstream. Certainly
:55:44. > :55:49.no lack of commitment, but you saw on that first split he was well
:55:49. > :55:52.over a second behind the French competitor, who has finished and
:55:52. > :55:58.waiting at the bottom to see if anybody can challenge the time he
:55:58. > :56:05.has laid down. It really was a magnificent time, but here he keeps
:56:06. > :56:08.driving on, and no mistakes so far. upstream gates, which I think might
:56:08. > :56:12.be a tiny bit costly to him, but there is a lot of time to be won or
:56:12. > :56:16.lost in the last section of the course as he comes out. He does a
:56:16. > :56:23.quick spin to get his bow facing the right way of the river to face
:56:23. > :56:26.the next part of the stagger sequence. He's lost more time. The
:56:26. > :56:31.Frenchman sitting at the top of the table. Drops down there,
:56:31. > :56:35.accelerates into that upstream gate. That was pretty tidy. An excellent
:56:35. > :56:41.upstream gate as he pushes his boat into the eddy line, now back into
:56:41. > :56:47.the flow and really pushing hard towards the finishline. So Nico
:56:47. > :56:57.Bettge outside the time set earlier, but he's in second place. Well, the
:56:57. > :56:59.
:56:59. > :57:05.home crowd waiting for this man, Michaela Grimm -- Mikhail Marticam.
:57:05. > :57:10.He has been the man to beat for a long time. But without Tony in this
:57:10. > :57:17.final, we're going to see if it will be his day. To remind you,
:57:17. > :57:21.it's France who lead at the moment, 101.14. If any man is up for the
:57:21. > :57:27.task you have to say it's this man. He was very close to the pole on
:57:27. > :57:30.that upstream gate. And let's not forget, he's won eight World
:57:30. > :57:33.Championship gold medals in the past, I think three or four for
:57:33. > :57:39.individual events and the rest in team event, but he's so popular in
:57:39. > :57:42.this part of the world, and the whole of Slovakia wishing him well.
:57:42. > :57:46.He's generally very consistent. He looks like he's on a solid run at
:57:46. > :57:51.the moment as he gets in nice and tight. He's now setting himself up
:57:51. > :57:55.nicely for the upstream gate as he swings the boat out into the flow
:57:55. > :57:59.to cut across, getting a bit stuck - my goodness, he's gone past the
:57:59. > :58:04.gate, gone back around - this is losing seconds as we speak.
:58:04. > :58:08.could have blown his chances of taking any sort of medal with that
:58:08. > :58:12.manoeuvre. He's managed to retain his composure. Just dipped
:58:12. > :58:15.underneath that one. That was OK, but there is the split. He's way
:58:15. > :58:18.outside of it, way outside, and in fact, he's way down on everybody at
:58:18. > :58:24.the moment. He's going to have to do something remarkable to get a
:58:24. > :58:29.medal. It looked like he might have picked up a penalty as well on one
:58:29. > :58:33.of those stagger sequences, and he has, a two-second penalty. I really
:58:34. > :58:39.think this could be it for him. It's not going to be his day today.
:58:39. > :58:48.Are we seeing the end of an era? He's way outside the time set by
:58:48. > :58:53.the Frenchman. He's down in fifth. So no medal for Martikan of
:58:53. > :58:57.Slovakia. The crowd goes silent. One of the last guys in this
:58:57. > :59:04.competition, another Slovakian who has the hopes of the nation behind
:59:04. > :59:08.him. He'll have seen what the last competitor did, so Slovakia's hopes
:59:08. > :59:12.of getting on the rostrum in the C- 1 rest with this guy. A good start,
:59:12. > :59:18.tight into gate three and out. We really want to see these athletes
:59:18. > :59:22.get in tight in and out of the poles. A lot of time can be lost.
:59:22. > :59:28.It's about making sure you spend as much time in the downstream. Look
:59:29. > :59:33.at that - he's already a second down on the French competitor. So
:59:33. > :59:38.again, another guy who is under a little bit of pressure here. Does
:59:38. > :59:42.he go for gold or just settle for a medal? An extremely tough course.
:59:42. > :59:48.They need to reserve energy for the bottom section and the large drop.
:59:48. > :59:52.He's currently nice and tight around the upstream and staying on
:59:52. > :59:58.the upside pole. That was good. He wants to get back into the moving
:59:58. > :00:03.water to make sure he's keeping his boat moving as fast as possible.
:00:03. > :00:08.certainly has tasted success in the past. He's won two team gold medals
:00:08. > :00:12.in previous years - in 2009 and 2010, so he knows what success is
:00:12. > :00:18.like. He's going to have to keep it together, but he's fallen even
:00:18. > :00:21.further behind the Frenchman, so it looks as though France are going to
:00:21. > :00:28.take gold in this particular event here, but can this guy now get on
:00:28. > :00:34.the rostrum? He executed gate 20 very well, so I think he's making
:00:34. > :00:40.the most of what he can of this bottom part of the course. So he
:00:40. > :00:50.crosses the line in third place, 103.91. Gold for France, silver for
:00:50. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :00:58.Germany, and Slovakia, the host No individual medals for Great
:00:58. > :01:08.Britain at the World Championships but they have the good reputation
:01:08. > :01:13.
:01:13. > :01:21.exciting. We have David Florence and Richard Hounslow, Tim Baillie
:01:21. > :01:26.and Etienne Stott and then the youngsters. The team event is when
:01:26. > :01:32.you have three boats having to work as tightly together as they can.
:01:32. > :01:36.When we come into the upstream gates, it is tricky that they do
:01:36. > :01:43.not overlap and they're in and add around each other as quickly as
:01:44. > :01:47.they can. They have to finish within a certain time of each other.
:01:47. > :01:55.You need to make sure the three boats cross the finishing line
:01:55. > :02:00.within a few seconds of each other. This is precision C-2 clearing. We
:02:00. > :02:06.have won medals in the past. David Florence and Richard Hounslow were
:02:06. > :02:16.so close to a medal in the individual event when they finished
:02:16. > :02:20.
:02:20. > :02:30.four. Look at the superb teamwork! Matt and reset Davies adding a
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:31. > :02:36.great job in the back. No penalties at all. That will be difficult to
:02:36. > :02:40.beat. Spinning away into the fast moving water, that water is
:02:40. > :02:48.streaming down the course at the moment. A very good performance so
:02:48. > :02:56.far up by Great Britain. The third crew must push their way to the
:02:56. > :03:01.finishing line. We had beaten that by a comfortable margin. Great
:03:01. > :03:08.Britain is in the lead. In the end they were overtaken by the French
:03:08. > :03:12.and the Slovaks but still went home with the bronze. In the women's
:03:12. > :03:22.team, Slovakia won and Great Britain came second from last. In
:03:22. > :03:32.the men's team K-1, the Britons finished 6th. There was no British
:03:32. > :03:36.
:03:36. > :03:44.entry in the women's team C-1. Australia grab to gold. No medal
:03:44. > :03:50.for Britain, who were down in 9th. Congratulations on your bronze in a
:03:50. > :03:53.C-2 team event. It was a really good result for us. We're not
:03:54. > :04:00.ranked the highest three boats. There are teams that are stronger
:04:00. > :04:07.than asked the Stock we had a great run. It was a good way to finish
:04:07. > :04:15.off the World Championships. -- than us. It is the only medal that
:04:15. > :04:24.Great Britain won which is a bit unfortunate. How disappointed is
:04:24. > :04:29.the team? There were some good results out there. Every individual
:04:29. > :04:34.will be disappointed on have their performances went at different
:04:34. > :04:40.levels within the team. Our head coach will be disappointed. There
:04:40. > :04:46.will be a lot of performances he is really pleased with as well. If you
:04:46. > :04:51.look at the medal table, Slovakia up on top. Home advantage is
:04:51. > :04:58.obviously paying off. Great Britain will hope the London Olympics
:04:58. > :05:03.provide a similar boost for them. They are down in 10th place. Great
:05:03. > :05:09.Britain would have expected to have come away with more than one team
:05:09. > :05:14.event medal a year before their home Olympics. I am sure they would.
:05:14. > :05:18.The focus will be on London. After a short break, everyone will be
:05:18. > :05:23.back on the water. There is a lot of work to do to get selected to
:05:23. > :05:31.the team to represent the country at the Olympics and get ready for a
:05:31. > :05:36.big event. We have already seen what it is like to race in a big
:05:36. > :05:44.competition. There was a noisy crowd and a great atmosphere. High-
:05:44. > :05:54.level competition. Just wrap it up a notch and to have the Olympics. -
:05:54. > :05:59.- ramp. The British have qualified a boat in each of the four Olympic
:05:59. > :06:07.classes. When we look at the Olympics and how it runs, there is
:06:07. > :06:12.a one boat pan-Asian. The podium is wide open. -- per nation. Is it
:06:12. > :06:18.easier to get on the podium at the Olympics? I would not say easier
:06:18. > :06:27.but when you look at the field in the World Championships, they had a
:06:27. > :06:33.really strong field. The Slovakians stacked the C-2s. Every man and
:06:33. > :06:40.woman for themselves in that cauldron. It is a different game. I
:06:40. > :06:46.would say it is more wide open. mention the lively home crowd. It
:06:46. > :06:52.was deafening when there was a Slovak coming down the course.
:06:52. > :06:58.the athletes at the 2012 Games, I remember Sydney in 2000, just when
:06:58. > :07:03.they read the names out. They are there for the bid time. The
:07:03. > :07:09.athletes that can use it will get a real boost but it may be the
:07:09. > :07:14.downfall for others. We're looking forward to it, whatever the case.
:07:14. > :07:19.Following as on BBC Two, the show jumping European team championships.
:07:19. > :07:28.Our coverage of the world road cycling championships starts on
:07:28. > :07:34.Tuesday at 1pm. If you are an early bird, we will have the Berlin
:07:34. > :07:42.marathon at 7:45am next Sunday here on BBC Two. That is it. No medals