Published on June 12th, 2023 | by Kayak Session
Day 2 | Level Six King of the Alps | Extreme Kayak World Championships 2023
The Extreme Kayak World Championships kicked off on June 2nd at King Of The Alps 2023, held in the picturesque village of Moos situated in the Passeier Valley, South Tyrol, Italy. An event that attracts some of the top whitewater athletes from not only Europe but across the globe, this year saw paddlers from New Zealand, Chile, Colombia, USA, GBR, and many more. Check out what went down on the Final day!
By Josh Dias-Smith
Saturday brought a day filled with racing at the Extreme Kayak World Championships. The schedule was packed with Quarter, Semi, and Grand Finals for the Women, Men, and Masters Men categories. Before the races began, all participants had to complete an obligatory training lap on the Finals course.
The Men’s Open Quarter Finals kicked off with athletes setting off at intervals of approximately 1′ 30″. Spectators gathered along the massive slabs on the river right, cheering on the athletes as they raced to secure their spots in the Semi Finals. From the initial 60 athletes, only 30 would make it through to the next round.
After a brief lunch break, the Masters Semi Final took place, where 10 athletes battled it out to secure their place in the Finals.
The Women’s category followed suit, with 10 athletes competing fiercely for their spot in the Final.
Finally, the Men’s Open Semi Finals saw 30 athletes competing to advance, with only 15 making it to the Finals.
From 15:30 onwards brought the long anticipated Finals, with the Slabs fully packed out with spectators, sun shining and beers in hand it was time to see some real game faces as athletes charged down the course!
This year King of the Alps had two thrones placed on the bank of the river for the fastest man and woman on the course, they would take their seat and wait patiently in the hope they wouldn’t be knocked off the throne.
Starting off with the Master Mens and Eric Deguil taking the gold with a time of 1:32:57 who was first take a seat on the throne!
Next up was the Women’s Final and who lay’d down some quick laps but after a tight showdown we saw Nouria Newman take the win with a time of 1:34:65 and she took a seat on the throne alongside Eric!
Finally was the Mens Open Final where everyone was pushing their limits aware that one small mistake could cost them the top spot.
In the end after seeing the throne switch owners a few times between Andi Brunner, Erik Hansen, George Snook but finally Zack Mutton took the final seat on the throne laying down a time of 1:29:04 beating George Snook by 0.12 seconds…
An amazing atmosphere created by everyone involved!
With all the races concluded, the athletes and spectators took a break for food before the evening’s festivities.
The Prize-Giving ceremony crowned the new King and Queen of the event, and lucky dip raffles offered the chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of an Exo Zion Slalom.
With all prizes given it was time to kick off the party, good vibes, great tunes and a lively crowd created such a sick party to finish off the weekend! Everyone let loose with some questionable dance moves and some enthusiastic crowd surfs! Its hard to find words to explain these parties so next time experience it for yourself! You wont be disappointed.
See you all next year at King of the Alps 2024!!
Check out Day 1 Here
Check out the Full Results on the Kayak Session Website Here
To check out more head to the King Of The Alps Website Here
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