Canoe slalom athlete Hannes Aigner
Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
The German kayak men missed a golden start at the Canoe Slalom World Championships in Bratislava - because the wind was against them.
The team with Stefan Hengst as well as Noah Hegge and Olympic bronze medalist Hannes Aigner was on the gold course in the team competition at the Cunovo Water Sports Center before a gust of wind thwarted the trio's plans.
At the start of the title fights, instead of the gold medal, only 16th place remained. After the driving error, the team was given 50 penalty seconds, which meant that the trio fell far behind.
“I was aiming for victory.
Without the wind it would have worked, ”Hengst was sure.
Gate was pushed down
The French secured victory in Slovakia ahead of the hosts and Slovenia.
“Yes, that's the way it is sometimes in life.
Everything went well up to gate 16.
Then the gust of wind came, the gate was pushed down, and then the joy at the finish was relatively short, «said kayak national coach Thomas Apel.
In the other three disciplines, the German Canoe Association (DKV) did not have a team at the start.
aha / dpa / sid
