Latvian rowing slalom competitors return with awards from the European Veterans Championship in Austria

The championship brought together more than 150 athletes from at least 15 countries. The competition took place on a natural river course in the Mūra Valley, the complexity of which corresponded to the second and third whitewater categories. In the individual competitions, each athlete had two runs, but the best of them was counted as the result.

The greatest success of the Latvian delegation was achieved in the C-1 canoe team competition, where Aivars Eiduks competed in the combined Italian, Latvian and German team together with Gianni Campana and Oliver Veist. The trio covered the distance in 126.08 seconds and won 1st place, ahead of their closest competitors from France by 1.57 seconds.

In the individual C-1 competition in the 55–59 age group, Aivars Eiduks won 3rd place. His best run result was 117.59 seconds without penalty seconds. The Latvian athlete was separated from the winner Oliver Veist by 11.70 seconds.

Latvian athletes also competed successfully in the K-1 kayak class. Atis Bērziņš completed the course in the second race in the 45–49 age group without any penalty seconds and took 6th place with a result of 111.03 seconds. He was separated from the winner by only 10.58 seconds. Meanwhile, Mārtiņš Onskulis took 9th place in the K-1 55–59 age group with a result of 117.05 seconds.

All three Latvian representatives also united for the K-1 team race. The Latvian team – Atis Bērziņš, Mārtiņš Onskulis and Aivars Eiduks – completed the difficult team distance without any penalty seconds, achieving a result of 128.41 seconds and taking 9th place in the competition of 13 teams.

The competition was given a special atmosphere by the undeservedly forgotten C-2 double canoe class, which is surprisingly well represented in Austria. A total of about 25 boat crews competed in the individual competitions in the men’s, women’s and mixed crew groups. The C-2 competition featured athletes aged from 35 to over 70, but the program also included C-2 team races. A special historical event was the inclusion of the women’s C-2 competition in the veteran championship program.

The European Veterans Championship once again confirmed that rowing slalom does not end with the career of an elite athlete. Both former Olympians and world champions and long-time club athletes competed in various age groups. The oldest competitor was 84-year-old Wolfgang Ernst, who competed in both the K-1 and C-1 disciplines.

The start of the athletes of the club “Brīvie ūdeni” in Austria can be assessed as very successful – a victory in the European Championship team competition, an individual 3rd place and competitive results in K-1 disciplines. The Latvian representatives showed that even a small team can be noticeable in a wide and athletically strong international competition and most importantly, Rowing slalom is suitable for absolutely all ages.

See you on the water!