ICF World Cup Prague - Day 1 Recap  

With some overcast weather and afternoon showers, the first day of World Cup Prague has concluded and Team USA took the international stage by storm. Five U.S. athletes progressed to the semifinals: Tokyo bound Evy Leibfarth advanced in both kayak and canoe events, Rio Olympian Michal Smolen and Joshua Joseph advanced in kayak, and Zach Lokken and Casey Eichfield will race again in canoe. 

The stakes are high for the U.S. men as World Cup Prague will serve as the final Olympic selection race ahead of the Tokyo Games this summer. Selection is based on a points system – the higher an athlete finishes, the more points he will receive (see below for pre-competition standings). The athlete with the most points will compete at the Olympic Games in their respective event.

Kayak heats commenced in the morning, featuring Evy Leibfarth and teammates Ria Sribar and Marcella Altman. Leibfarth finished 19^th after her first run qualifying for tomorrow’s semifinal without a second run. Sribar and Altman will not advance. 

Leibfarth is satisfied with her performance but has a new race strategy as the competition goes on.

 “I’m really happy with my paddling today... I was being a bit more conservative during this run, but in my next one I’m planning to get really aggressive and attack.”

In men’s kayak, Michal Smolen and Joshua Joseph will progress to the semifinal - the former qualifying after his first run and the latter qualifying in a fantastic second run. Tyler Westfall will not advance. With their performances today, Smolen and Joshua remain in the running for the MK-1 Olympic spot. 

The afternoon session featured the men’s and women’s canoe heats. Evy Leibfarth took to the course again, qualifying for the semifinal in her first run. Harriet Rollins took two runs and will not progress to the next round. Leibfarth is set to compete in both the kayak and canoe events at the Games this summer.

The men’s canoe heats included three-time Olympian Casey Eichfeld (2), along with Nathanial Francis (1) and Zach Lokken (3). Both Eichfeld and Lokken qualified for the semifinal on their first runs, and Nathaniel Francis will not advance. Eichfeld and Lokken will continue to compete for the MC-1 Olympic qualification. 

“We want to do well at every World Cup, but this one holds a lot of extra loaded pressure because it’s our last Olympic selection race. My run felt good and smooth... it got me into the semifinals which was today’s goal. It’s another chance to fight on Sunday,” Eichfeld said.

Stay tuned for Day 2 of World Cup Prague tomorrow. The kayak events will come to a close, with semifinals in the morning followed by the finals. Extreme slalom time trials will follow. 

Pre-World Cup Standings

The following points are available at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Prague toward Olympic selection: 

MK-1:

MC-1: