Roughly a week after injuring his ribs during a training run for the , French kayaker Eric Deguil took first place in the competition's second event, a roughly one-mile sprint through the Class V whitewater of Chile's Rio Puesco. Deguil clocked the fastest time while paddling over a number of waterfalls, through tight slots, and around a series of jagged rocks the size of VW bugs, in an event athletes nicknamed the “Boulder Dash.”
French athlete Nouria Newman clocked the fastest time for the women, beating seven men in the process. Mike Dawson of New Zealand, who won the first event,
dropped out of the
competition following an injury he suffered in training.
Watch highlights of the race in the top video, a rescue in the video immediately above, and a preview of the competition's third event in the final video. That giant slalom preview comes courtesy of whitewater kayaker Rush Sturges, who recorded a view from his helmet cam during a training run on Chile's Rio Trancura.
For more updates, check out the . For more on the history of the event, read “Patrick Camblin's Risky Plan to Revive Whitewater Kayaking.”
鈥擩oe Spring