The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, July 10) –- The International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe/Kayak Slalom Racing World Cup ended after the final stage in Augsburg, Germany. The host country, Slovenia and Austria were the biggest winners, each claiming two medals in this competition. Then the ICF announced the final World Cup rankings.
Erik Pfannmoeller scored a combined 133 points across three events to top the K-1 Men's ranking. Though new on the international stage, he earned one gold and one sliver medal in Augsburg and Prague, respectively. Athens 2004 eighth place finisher Brett Heyl of the United States got 117 points and placed second. Austrian Helmut Oblinger earned 116 points for third place overall.
The C-1 Men's ranking saw canoeist Robin Bell of Australia place first, evidence of his experience from the 2005 World Championship and 2005 World Cup, where he was champion. Bell also claimed one gold and sliver medal in Augsburg and Prague to earn 168 points. Slovakian Alexander Slafkovsky, who also had his international debut, scored 132 points to take second place behind Bell. Another young canoeist, Ben Fraker of the United States, ranked third with 121 points.
Twins Peter and Pavol Hochschorner of Slovakia have been familiar names in slalom racing these past eight years. They earned 147 points to rank first, followed by brothers Peter and Ladislav Skantar with 129 points. In third place were Marek Jiras and Tomas Mader of the Czech Republic with 127 points.
In K-1 Women's, Katrina Lawrence of Australia clinched the top place with 144 points. Kraut Mandy Planert won the gold and sliver medals in the first two stages and finished behind Lawrence by 12 points to place second. Austiran Violetta Oblinger-Peters ranked third with 129 points.
