While 2020 has unquestionably been a turbulent year for sports, four of America’s brightest young canoe slalom athletes put their potential on display at the European Canoe Association Open Slalom Cup in Tacen, Slovenia early this month.
First-year senior Joshua Joseph turned heads in the men’s kayak event, laying down some blazing fast runs throughout the weekend. In Saturday’s competition, Joseph started with a strong semifinal run, placing second and only 2 seconds behind 2016 Olympic silver medalist Peter Kauzer (SLO). With another solid run in the finals, he would go on to finish 6th for the day. On Sunday, Joseph once again put his speed on display, but penalties in both the semifinals and finals stifled his bid for the podium, leading him with a 6th place finish for the weekend.
In the women’s canoe event, junior Michaela Corcoran showed increasing confidence in her abilities and growth as a competitor. On the first day of competition, Corcoran put together a solid performance to finish 5th in the final. Things only got better for her on Sunday as she cruised to a 4th place finish.
Meanwhile, in the women’s kayak category, the two junior athletes representing the United States got stronger as the weekend progressed. Not to be outdone by her twin sister, Madison Corcoran made the finals on both days of competition, finishing 10th and 7th respectively. Slovenian-native Ria Sribar showed her familiarity with the course in Tacen with an 18th place finish on Saturday and 11th place finish on Sunday.
As athletes around the world try to adapt to the surprise Olympic gap year and uncertainty of these crazy times, America’s up-and-coming athletes of canoe slalom are undoubtedly using this unexpected opportunity to hone their skills and raise their games to the next level.
To view Saturday, August 15th final results, please click here.
To view Sunday, August 16th final results, please click here.
To watch footage from the competition, please click here.