Inside the 2023 Freestyle Worlds – Day 3 C1

By: Kathy Holcombe / Photography: Peter Holcombe

Today began the whittling process of the World Championships, where some paddlers made it through to paddle another day, while others left broken hearted. The Men’s Canoe started the day with 20 paddlers and cut to five finalists during two rounds of competition. In the preliminary heats athletes battled with changing water levels, resulting in several top athletes flushing before their ride even started. Team USA dominated both rounds of the Men’s C1 competition and claimed four of the five spots in the final round.

The Women’s Canoe had the crowd on the edge of their seat as junior paddler Sophie Gilfillan laid down a top scoring ride early in the competition and led the event until the final 15 seconds of the heat. Reigning World Champion, Ottilie Robinson-Shaw, flushed on her first two rides and then came back strong and took the top position in the last few seconds of her last ride in a flurry of high scoring tricks. Team Great Britain dominated the Women’s C1 event with three of their paddlers making it through to the final round. Both Men’s and Women’s C1 Finals will take place on Thursday at 1:25 PM EDT.

The Women’s Kayak preliminary round narrowed the field from 38 competitors down to twenty paddlers who will compete in the quarter final heats on Friday at 11:35 AM EDT. The top ladies all have massive tricks, and anything can happen in this powerful and unpredictable feature. We can’t wait to see who ends up at the top of this incredibly competitive field.

WOMEN’S C1 FINAL PRELIMS (Finals on Thursday)

1st	Ottilie ROBINSON-SHAW	GBR	263.33
2nd	Sophie GILFILLAN	CAN	110.00
3rd	Zofia TULA	POL	73.33
4th	Tamsyn MCCONCHIE	GBR	46.67
5th	Jak FANTASTIC	GBR	30.00
6th	Soizic DEMALINE	FRA	26.67
7th	Beibhin BUTLER	IRL	23.33
8th	Rebekah GREEN	GBR	5.00
9th	Julia ROGERS	USA	3.33

MEN’S C1 SEMI FINAL

1st	Dane JACKSON	USA	913.33
2nd	Landon MILLER	USA	793.33
3rd	Seth CHAPELLE	USA	540.00
4th	Subaru FUKUSHI	JAP	420.00
5th	Jordan POFFENBERGER	USA	413.33
6th	Zachary ZWANENBURG	CAN	281.67
7th	Sebastian Kurt Rudolf NELLE	GER	176.67
8th	Adam RAMADAN	GBR	120.00
9th	Tom DOLLE	FRA	113.33
10th	Florentin ABEL	FRA	43.33

WOMEN’S K1 FINAL PRELIMS (Quarter Finals on Friday)

1st	Ottilie ROBINSON-SHAW	GBR	775.00
2nd	Hitomi TAKAKU	JAP	656.67
3rd	Emily JACKSON	USA	598.67
4th	Anna BRUNO	USA	463.33
5th	Heidi WALSH	GBR	281.67
6th	Miki SATO	JAP	250.00
7th	Darby MCADAMS	USA	231.66
8th	Abby HOLCOMBE	USA	188.33
9th	Savannah WESTEINDE	CAN	156.67
10th	Zofia TULA	POL	90.00