Canoeing

Oschmautz celebrates first World Cup victory in Augsburg

Felix Oschmautz has triumphed in the kayak slalom at the Whitewater Canoe World Cup in Augsburg, boosting his self-confidence for the Summer Olympics in Paris! 

The Olympic fourth-placer from Tokyo won for the first time in the World Cup on Friday in the traditional Augsburg ice channel despite two penalty seconds in 1:41.66 minutes ahead of New Zealander Finn Butcher (+0.60 sec.) and Peter Kauzer (+1.03) from Slovenia. European vice-champion Mario Leitner failed to reach the semi-finals in 24th place.

"We knew that I could be right at the front!"
"Of course I'm really happy about my first World Cup victory. We knew that I could be right at the front, and now the result proves us right," said the 24-year-old from Carinthia, who finished third in the semi-finals to advance to the final.

On Sunday, Oschmautz will still be competing in the cross competition, and the next World Cup is scheduled for next weekend in Prague as part of the Olympic preparations. In the Czech Republic, Leitner can still qualify for the Summer Games in France in the cross-country event. In the women's event, Viktoria Wolffhardt (26th) and Corinna Kuhnle (27th) missed out on the final.