Ricarda Funk curse, fought tears and couldn’t believe it: The Tokyo Olympic champion missed her fourth overall World Cup victory in the kayak one in a dramatic way.
At the World Cup final of the slalom canoeists in Augsburg, the 33-year-old received a total of four penalty seconds in the semifinals for two goal contacts and missed the final run as 13. Her deficit to twelve, which would still have justified for the final, was only twelve hundredths of a second.
Funk (Bad Kreuznach), which won the overall World Cup 2016, 2017 and 2024, had traveled to the home game final with a total leader. Due to the double rating of the final weekend, she slipped to fourth place, but remained the best German. British Kimberley Woods, victorious in Augsburg, secured the winning of the overall World Cup.
“Of course it annoys me brutally, here at home, family and friends are all there,” said Funk in a brittle voice: “It just shouldn’t be.” The fact that the successful title defense in the overall World Cup still failed is “very, very bad”, Funk continues: “The last World Cup counts twice and you have to deliver.” Already at the start it “not” started and then she “just didn’t keep the calm”.
Lilik paddles in second place
The emotional world with teammate Elena Lilik was much more positive. The Augsburg native, finally overall World Cup, used her home advantage to paddle in second place, her younger sister Emily Apel became twelfth.
In the men, too, Noah Hegge finished second in second place, and he lacked 0.16 seconds on the French winner Anatole Delassus. Hannes Aigner finished eighth in the final. Hegge finished the overall World Cup in seventh place as the best German, the victory went to Delassus’ compatriot Titouan Castryck for the first time.
On Saturday there are also the decisions in the Canadier and on Sunday in the kayak cross. Following the World Cup final, the twelve athletes of the German Canoe Association (DKV) continue to Pennrith in Australia, where Funk and Co. are preparing for the World Cup in Sydney (September 29 to October 4).