Quota place secured, World Cup medal missed: Elena Lilik narrowly missed the podium at the Canoe Slalom World Championships in Lee Valley, England.
On the 2012 Olympic course, the Augsburg woman finished fourth in the canoe sculls, only having to admit defeat to the new British world champion Mallory Franklin, her compatriot Kimberley Woods and Olympic champion Jessica Fox (Australia).
Lilik, who became world champion under her maiden name Apel in 2021, had previously secured the German Canoe Association (DKV)’s Olympic quota place for Paris 2024 with her entry into the final – just like her club colleague Sideris Tasiadis, who won his in the men’s final in the afternoon wants to defend the world title.
In the semi-finals on Friday afternoon, the remaining four German starters had failed, some of them clearly. Defending champion Andrea Herzog surprisingly only managed 28th place out of 30 starters after a driving error. The Leipzig woman was given a time penalty of 50 seconds for missing a goal. There was no chance of an objection because the goal post line was not visible in videos or Herzog had disappeared in a wave.
A start at the 2024 Olympics in Paris is still not out of the question for Herzog. At the World Championships, only one athlete receives a quota place in canoeing and kayaking; this is not tied to an individual.