Kraków (from our correspondent) – “It’s not difficult for me at all, I don’t call anyone by their first name. I have Zavírák (Zavřel), Bobík (Brabc) and Týček (Špicar) here,” laughed Olympic double kayak medalist Radek Šlouf, known as Ventil himself.
The quad kayak used to be the showcase of Czech canoeing, he won a medal at two Olympic Games on a kilometer course. Then he cleared the positions, last year the Czechs, including the star Josef Dostál, were absent from the European Championship in the A final.
Photo: Ivana Roháčková
Czech quad kayak in Krakow, from the front Jakub Špicar, Jakub Brabec, Jakub Zavřel and Radek Šlouf.
This year, in the changed line-up, he presented himself significantly better, at the World Cup in Szeged he was only seven tenths of a second behind the winners, and in Chořov he was only three tenths behind the medalists.
“It’s definitely moving forward,” Šlouf nods. “This is where I felt perhaps the worst, we need to do a longer block of training now and I see no reason why it shouldn’t be good for the World Championships in August,” he looks forward to the championship in Duisburg, which will also be a qualification for the Olympics. The ten best ships are nominated so that four continents are represented.
The 21-year-old Jakub Brabec took the place of the experienced Dan Havel, who fell ill before the World Cup in Szeged, and is doing fearlessly. “It’s a new experience for me. It was our second race together and my first adult Europe, but I think that mentally and in terms of alignment, the races went well,” he assessed. The final nomination will be up to the national team coaches.