The 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was the thirty-ninth edition of the
ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). The World Cham ...
, that took place between 17 and 21 August 2011 in
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
, Hungary. The Southern Hungarian city welcomed the world event for the third time, having hosted the championship previously in
1998 and
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. These championships were awarded initially to
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
, France,
however, the race course on the
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
proved to be inadequate to hold the competition and the French Canoe Federation withdraw from organizing the event,
following that Szeged, the original host of the
2013 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, was moved up to 2011.
Originally 94 nations have indicated their intention to participate on the championship, from them 88 registered officially for the competition, which was the main qualification event for the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, since 176 of the 248 Olympic quotas were distributed in this fixture.
Germany and Russia topped the overall medal count with 11 medals each, and the Central European country won also the tied-most gold medals together with Hungary. The joy of the Germans was only overshadowed by an anthem mishap, as for their first gold medalists, Anne Knorr and Debora Niche the first verse of the national hymn was played, which is associated with the crimes of the Nazis and is not used since 1952. The organizers asked to be excused, which the head of the German Canoe Federation accepted, assuming no intent. Azerbaijani trio
Sergiy Bezugliy,
Maksim Prokopenko and
Valentin Demyanenko
Valentin Demyanenko (), born 23 October 1983 in Cherkasy, is a former Ukrainian-born Azerbaijani flatwater canoeist. He is a four times world champion, three times European champion and silver medalist of 2016 Summer Olympics in C-1 200 metres. ...
collected three medals each in the men's events, while
Max Hoff of Germany became the winningest canoeist with two World Championships titles. In the women's competition Hungary's
Danuta Kozák
Danuta Kozák (; born 11 January 1987) is a Hungarian sprint canoeist. She has won one silver, one bronze and six Olympic gold medals, three of which in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, making her the only female to win K1, K2 and K4 at the same Oly ...
was the most successful racer with two gold and a silver medal. Kozák's partner in K-2,
Katalin Kovács
Katalin Kovács (born 29 February 1976) is a Hungarian sprint canoer. She competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics and won eight medals, with three golds (K-2 500 m: 2004, 2008, K-4 500 m: 2012) and five silvers (K-2 500 m: 2000, 2 ...
claimed her thirty-ninth and fortieth World Championship medal and surpassed
Birgit Fischer
Birgit Fischer (; born 25 February 1962) is a German former kayaker, who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games, a record she shares with Aladár Gerevich and Isabell Werth, spanning seven Olympiads: twice representing East ...
's record of 38.
Venue
The races were held in the Maty-ér, also known as the National Kayak-Canoe and Rowing Olympic Centre, an artificial reservoir which is situated two kilometres south of Szeged. It consist a 2400 metres long and 122 metres wide race track with nine lanes and a warm-up course, and is equipped with an automatic starting system and an electric time keeper with photo finish camera to meet all the criteria of the International Canoe Federation.
In preparation for the championship, the facilities of the Maty-ér were upgraded to become a state of the art sports complex. The Hungarian government allocated 450 million HUF (approximately $2.4 million) for the procedure, in which the whole sports center became accessible for disabled people, what was an important factor, since paracanoeists also participate in the competition. There was also constructed an 11,000-seat tribune, and the VIP-building together with the finish tower was also redeveloped. New racks were installed as well to be able to store the increased number of boats, and new catamarans were put into operation to assist the smooth conduct of the competition. Moreover, LED displays were erected on the island that divides the race course and the warm-up area, and two 36-meter-high cranes were set up, which hold and move the spidercams above the water. The complete refurbishment was finished and the facilities were delivered on 9 August 2011, eight days prior to the beginning of the championship.
Preliminaries to the event
Host selection
In October 2007, on the congress meeting of the International Canoe Federation in
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
the organization rights of the World Championships were given to
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
, beating the bids of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
.
The regatta course in Vichy is on a natural river, which quality is highly influenced by the weather conditions. On the 2010 World Cup events a heavy water flow was experienced on the
Allier River making the racing unequal. A number of competitors, including Olympic medalists
Josefa Idem
Josefa Idem married Guerrini (born 23 September 1964) is an Italian sprint canoer turned politician. Competing in eight Summer Olympics, she has five medals. Winning 35 international medals during her career, Idem was the first Italian woman to ...
and
Ken Wallace expressed their concerns and dissatisfaction with the track, following that the International Canoe Federation had to reconsider its decision. In early July, after a deep analysis of the situation, being aware of the possible inequity and unfairness on a major Olympic qualification event, the French Canoe Federation with the consent of the International Canoe Federation desisted from organizing the event.
On 25 July 2010 the executive committee of the International Canoe Federation awarded the vacant place in its meeting in Lausanne to Szeged, which came second behind Vichy in the official candidating process, and was originally scheduled to host of the
2013 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.
Sponsorships
The naming sponsor of the event is the petrolchemical concern
MOL Group, which actively supports sports in Hungary since years, having a prominent role in ice hockey, fencing, tennis and canoeing. MOL was the main sponsor of the 2006 ICF World Championships and for years it has been the naming sponsor of the MOL World Cup, which is one of the most acknowledged regattas in the world. The official supplier of the championship is
SEAT
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
, while
Magyar Telekom
Magyar Telekom Nyrt. (officially ''Magyar Telekom Távközlési Nyilvánosan Működő Részvénytársaság, Magyar Telekom Telecommunications Public Limited Company'' ) is the leading Hungarian telecommunications service provider company. I ...
enters the sponsors' list as the exclusive telecommunications partner. They are present in the competition with a wide range of services, such as LAN, WLAN, 3G and IPTV, providing internet terminals for the usage. Allee Center hosts the related official events, press conferences and promotional programs. Among the media partners are a number of online and offline newspapers (Délmagyarország,
Figyelő
''Figyelő'' ('' en, Observer'') was a Christian-conservative Hungarian business magazine published on every Thursday by the Hungarian publishing company K4A Lapkiadó (owned by Mária Schmidt). ''Figyelő'' covered a broad range of subjects, s ...
,
Index.hu
Index.hu is a Hungarian news website covering both Hungarian and international news. In 2018, it was the most visited Hungarian website with an average of 1.5 million daily readers. While most of the website's articles are written in Hungarian, ...
, IPM,
Nemzeti Sport
''Nemzeti Sport'' (the title means "National Sport") is a Hungarian sports daily.
History and profile
''Nemzeti Sport'' was founded in 1903. The paper is owned by Ringier of Switzerland. It is frequently cited by quality English-language media The ...
, Szabad Föld) as well as radio stations, including regional transmitter Rádió 88 and nationwide broadcasters Rádió 1 and
mr1-Kossuth Rádió. Other sponsors are
EDF DÉMÁSZ, ESMA Group, Hunguest Hotels,
MKB Bank MKB may refer to:
Business
* MKB Bank, the third-biggest commercial bank in Hungary
* MKB Raduga, a Russian aerospace company
* MKB Fakel, a Russian government-owned aerospace defense corporation
Community
* Moogooru Karnataka Brahmin, a sect ...
, Rauch, RiverRide, Theodora, Volán and Weltauto.
Coverage
The media coverage was directed by the
Hungarian Television and was taken over by 80 broadcasters, including
ARD,
rbb,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Live streaming on the official website of the event was also available. The World Championships were the first ever canoeing event, where the
was used, giving a three-dimensional view of the course and making the races more lively for television viewers. 420 accredited press members were present throughout the competition, among others from
(DPA). The event organizers also had a pioneer role in using social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs to extend the event's reach. Live results were provided by Sportline Ltd and could be reached from the official site of the event.
came out with a free mobile application called ''Canoe 2011'', with that one could be continuously informed about the results and the latest news, both in English and Hungarian.
, president of the International Canoe Federation expressed his satisfaction with the coverage on the closing press conference of the event, having emphasized the records that were set in the World Championship: "I'm absolutely content. The finals over the weekend took place in front of a crowd of 15,000 people, and more than 400 correspondents reported from the event, both are record numbers in the history of canoeing." Perurena also highlighted the innovative technologies that debuted on the competition and made the broadcast more enjoyable. His view was shared by Italian Canoe Federation president
, who stated that "for the member countries of the international federation, Szeged has been a very good occasion, in the best way, to showcase our sport on the international stage. Hungarian television production was really fantastic."
s (K), a closed canoe with a double-bladed paddle. Each canoe or kayak can hold one person (1), two people (2), or four people (4). For each of the specific canoes or kayaks, such as a K-1 (kayak single), the competition distances can be , , or long. When a competition is listed as a C-2 500 m event as an example, it means two people are in a canoe competing at a distance.
Paracanoeist race in the traditional kayak (K) discipline and in
(V), which is canoe with an outrigger, that helps the canoeist to poise the boat. The contenders are divided into three classes according to the level of their disability. Participants in LTA category have functional use of their legs, trunk and arms for paddling, and they can apply force to the footboard to propel the boat. TA class paddlers have functional use of the trunk and arms, but they are unable to apply continuous and controlled force to the footboard to propel the boat due to the weakened function of their lower limbs. Canoeist who have no trunk function are classified in the A category. At the World Championships 200 metres single events were organized for both genders in both disciplines in every disability class, however, a minimum of six competing national federations for each category were required in order to be a valid championship.
88 countries have entered athletes.
* Algeria (3)
* Angola (3)
* Argentina (12)
* Armenia (5)
* Australia (29)
* Austria (4)
* Azerbaijan (8)
* Belarus (26)
* Belgium (7)
* Brazil (19)
* Bulgaria (14)
* Cambodia (1)
* Canada (40)
* Chile (6)
* China (24)
* Chinese Taipei (1)
* Colombia (5)
* Cook Islands (2)
* Croatia (2)
* Cuba (9)
* Cyprus (1)
* Czech Republic (21)
* Denmark (9)
* Ecuador (4)
* Egypt (1)
* Estonia (1)
* Finland (6)
* France (18)
* Georgia (2)
* Germany (31)
* Ghana (8)
* Great Britain (23)
* Greece (4)
* Hong Kong (7)
* Hungary (49)
* India (29)
* Indonesia (19)
* Iran (11)
* Iraq (3)
* Ireland (4)
* Israel (2)
* Italy (37)
* Japan (8)
* Kazakhstan (12)
* Kenya (3)
* Kyrgyzstan (6)
* Latvia (14)
* Lithuania (14)
* Luxembourg (3)
* Malaysia (1)
* Malta (2)
* Mexico (12)
* Moldova (5)
* Montenegro (1)
* Morocco (2)
* Myanmar (2)
* Netherlands (5)
* New Zealand (11)
* Norway (7)
* Poland (34)
* Portugal (12)
* Puerto Rico (1)
* Romania (27)
* Russia (44)
* Samoa (1)
* São Tomé and Príncipe (2)
* Senegal (2)
* Serbia (22)
* Seychelles (2)
* Singapore (10)
* Slovakia (18)
* Slovenia (6)
* South Africa (9)
* South Korea (12)
* Spain (41)
* Sri Lanka (1)
* Sweden (21)
* Switzerland (5)
* Tajikistan (1)
* Thailand (1)
* Tunisia (4)
* Turkey (3)
* Ukraine (40)
* United States (28)
* Uruguay (1)
* Uzbekistan (12)
* Venezuela (7)
* Vietnam (2)
ICF – accessed 21 August 2010.
– accessed 8 August 2008.