The Ādaži Canoe Slalom Championship 2024 brings excitement and dynamism.

The format of the Ādaži Championship includes two qualification runs in the classic slalom disciplines and the well-known Ādaži Sprint King’s Cup competition across all boat classes. In the classic slalom, rankings are determined by the fastest of the two runs. Athletes gave it their all from the first meters on the course, even before and after the start and finish photo gates, as the weather conditions at Mazais Baltezers—such as wind, waves, and water levels—tend to add their own challenges. Those aiming for the top spots relied solely on their best performance in each of the two runs.

Summing it up, youth and speed outpaced experience and strength. Another notable aspect was that the white water specialists were given a lesson by the masters of flat water boats, despite the presence of Gauja’s water and the slight current flow at the home course of the Ādaži Paddling Club.

In the C1 boat class for women, Dinija Ozola surprised even herself by narrowly beating her strong competitor and friend from Liepāja, Elizabete Kurvina, by just 109 hundreds of second. However, Elizabete didn’t let it go unanswered and made a strong comeback in the K1 boat class, finishing 8 seconds ahead of both Dinija and her clubmate Laura Žodziņa. Elizabete celebrated this victory in style!

In the men’s C1 boat class, experience gave way to youth, as Vincents Saulītis outpaced both Aivars Eiduks, who recently claimed victory spots at the World Masters Championship, and the season leader Krišs Ozols. Youth is truly showing its potential!

As usual, the most intense competition took place in the men’s K1 boat class. Any one of the top six could have claimed victory, but on this day, it was SK Atvars’ athlete Klāvs Auznieks who delivered a solid performance, leaving Ozolnieki’s representative, Leonards Pāvilsons, and MC1 boat class surprise contender, Vincents Saulītis from RAK, on the podium behind him. This also highlights the dominance of the flat water specialists—truly a skill to master. Congratulations!

In the XC2 boat class, the battle was between three crews, signaling that the race for season ranking points in the LKA team competition promises to be intense until the final run. The fastest were Elizabete and Klāvs from Liepāja, outpacing the C2 crews from Valmiera and their own clubmates.

The Ādaži SPRINT KING’S Cup was something special—dynamic, explosive, full of excitement, fast slalom, and the cheering voices of supporters. This is what defines this race discipline.

 In all boat classes, the competition came down to mere hundredths of a second!

In the WC1 boat class, the winner and crowned Ādaži Sprint Queen was Elizabete Kurvina, with a 0.66-second lead over second-place finisher Dinija Ozola. 

In the WK1 boat class, once again, Elizabete Kurvina claimed victory, but with only a 0.08-second margin over her teammate Laura Žodziņa. Elizabete earned her second cup and a double crown! 

In the MC1 boat class, the showman and unbreakable Aivars Eiduks secured the title of Ādaži Sprint King 2024, finishing 0.85 seconds ahead of Vincents Saulītis and Krišs Ozols. 

In the MK1 boat class, Klāvs Auznieks added to the trophies won by the Liepāja team at the Ādaži Championship, beating Leonards Pāvilsons by 0.88 seconds and the French slalom school’s Corentin Georgeon (now both representing Ozolnieki).

With the Ādaži Championship, the 2024 season is heading into the final stretch. The LKA calendar still includes the NordicCup stages in Sweden and the season’s closing competitions, where we’ll be able to draw conclusions for the season and, with the help of the LKA ranking, determine the fastest, strongest, most active, and overall best in the canoe slalom community this year.

See you on the water!

Here are the results for the Ādaži Championship 2024: 

Link to the results of the canoe slalom is available here

Here are the results for the Ādaži Sprint King’s Cup 2024: 

Link to the sprint is available here