Maltese duo find going tough in World Championships

Local canoeists Christopher Camilleri and Matthew Schembri recently returned from the ICF Flatwater Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.

Schembri was the first on the start line for the senior men K1 500m heat. Although using a boat which was quite large for him, he got off to a good start, fighting for sixth position and a place in the semi-finals.

Unfortunately, this was not enough to hold off Sri Lanka’s Levente Gannoruwa as Schembri finished seventh in 2.14 minutes, well below his personal best. The heat was won by Poland’s Marek Twardowski in1.47.141 mins who went on to win the Final A in 1.36.688 mins.

The next morning saw Camilleri take to the water for the K1 200m sprint. Understandably frustrated that the boat given to him was too small, the Maltese kayaker gave his all from start to finish but this was not enough to secure a place in the semi-finals. He placed seventh in 42.62sec, also quite off his best time.

The heat was won by Poland’s Piotr Siemionowski in 35.046 seconds who went on to become world champion after winning the Final A in a time of 34.770 seconds.

The final race for the Maltese duo was the K2. Camilleri and Schembri produced a good start but around the 100m mark, they started to lose control of the boat as it had a tendency to zigzag as the speed picked up.

This reduced their stability and it was a case of paddle slower or swim as the team decided to lower their frequency in order to finish the race. They placed seventh in a time of 42.605 seconds.

On land, the team discussed their issues with coach Kata Pongracz and it turned out that, besides the boat problems, Camilleri’s seat had broken off the railings.

The heat was won by Belarus duo Raman Piatrushenka and Vadzim Makehneu in 32.597 seconds. France’s Arnaud Hypois and Sebastien Jouve won the world title in 31.940 seconds.