Day Two of the Wildwater European Championships bore witness to both the sprint and the classic team racing.
Words: Nick Boreham
The sprint race kicked off the day with the course being moved back to the Mezzana Slalom Course amid a slight drop in water levels.
This steep and technical course proved to be a challenge for every nation, with the high river levels leaving little opportunity for practice.
The Men’s sprint team consisted of Freddie Brown, Alex Sheppy and Huw Singleton. The Women’s sprint team was formed by Emma Christie, Freya Pryce and Laura Milne – following a last minute change as Kerry Christie had to bow out due to illness.
Despite impressive top sections both the Men’s and Women’s Kayak teams were caught out by surging boils in the lower half of the course leading to irreparable line changes and some unfortunate DSQs.
The Brits were not alone in their struggle with the German and Swiss teams taking heavy hits to times with some accidental eddy outs.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s, France’s former European Champion Maxence Barouh made a rare mistake, crashing over a reef while the Slovakians finished backwards following a big spin.
Despite the morning’s disappointment the Brits rallied again for the Classic team race in the afternoon. Taking the lessons learned from the sprint runs the Women’s kayak team (Emma Christie, Freya Pryce and Laura Milne) pulled down the 5km course to grab a solid sixth place.
“It was very satisfying to lead a fellow Scott down this technical and changeable course,” said Laura Milne.
“The conditions made hunting down our lines a challenge but I’m proud of how we’ve adapted as a team.”
The Men’s Classic kayak team was lead by Freddie Brown, followed by Nick Boreham and Huw Singleton.
The trio made good use of the washes visibly gaining time on the Slovakian team ahead to secure 8th place in a stacked field. It was a super tight race with the podium positions separated by mere seconds.
“Freddie led us beautifully down the classic course and it was a dream to paddle with my hero’s on such a deranging river,” said Huw Singleton.
“They pulled ahead a little in the mid section but I was pleased to be able to close the gap at the finish.”
Tomorrow, Friday 6 June, the competitions will turn to the individual sprint heats, to see who will qualify for Saturday’s Finals.
Christie Sisters Secure Bronze at European Championships
Words: Nick Boreham
The Christie sisters secured their 13th C2 medal today, bagging a bronze at the first day of the Wildwater European Championships.
The 2025 championships is being held on the challenging river Noce. Today’s racing saw athletes competing in the long distance ‘Classic’ time trial, battling down furious rapids filled with ice cold glacial water.
Late rain in the few days leading up to today’s racing has caused challenges for the organisers and our team with a final decision on the course only being made 2 hrs before the first starts! All our paddlers met the challenge extremely well and adapted to the conditions on the day.
In the woman’s K1, Kerry Christie came in 10th with Emma hot on her heals in 12th. Meanwhile Laura Milne came in 23rd and Freya Pryce came in 24th place, an impressive result for her first senior championship.
“The river was extremely challenging but it was good fun. I feel like I have learnt a lot of lessons to take forwards in my paddling career” – Freya Pryce
Freddie Brown was the first Brit in the MK1. The sprint specialist demonstrated his superb boat control in the big waves to come in 28th. Nick Boreham squeezed into 31st place, less than 2 seconds ahead of Huw Singleton (32nd). Alex Sheppy closed out the tightly bunched pack in 34th place.
“With the changing levels, every day we are presented with a new challenge and a new river” said Nick Boreham, recapping his race. “We rarely experience these kind of big volume, steep alpine conditions in the UK. It requires a completely different paddling style, but as a team we are learning to adapt.”
Meanwhile in the canoe classes Andrew Crowhurst crossed the line in 14th place before returning with his C2 partner Phil Dean to bag 7th.
Racing continues tomorrow with team Sprint and classic races. Individual sprint heats and finals will be held on Friday and Saturday respectively.