A bullet in the Gun; training and the opening of Thun

“Let the games begin”said Richard Fox, 5 times World Slalom Champ and ICF Vice President earlier today as he opened the 2009 World Freestyle Championships in Thun, Switzerland.

Official team trainings are now done, the opening ceremony is over, and competitors are getting for their moment of glory on the wave in Thun tomorrow. Sun is still shining and the wave is in a perfect condition for the competition – bring on the men’s preliminaries starting on Tuesday morning!

As a week of training sessions come to an end, the battle lines have been drawn and the favourites start to emerge. after a strong finish in the EuroCup events this year and high flying air moves all week, Peter Csonka of Slovakia is likely to set the standard for the finals. Perennial Champ from the US, Eric “EJ” Jackson is a master competitor, so I do not expect to see him fall short. The young ripper from Germany, Simon Strohmeier and Canadian Freestyle Journeyman Billy Harris have hit the big moves all week, yet the one to watch for the crown is clearly Nick Troutman again from Canada. Every training ride has been a blow away run, big, solid and consistent.

In the ladies, their is likely to be a face off between Emily Jackson (Daughter of EJ and wife to Troutman) and Ruth Gordan, again from Canada, these two lead the pack, and have been neck and neck all week for the most consistent big rides. Snapping at their heals are Ozzy Tanya Faux, Mariann Sæther from Norway and Lowri Davies from the UK. All have been nailing great air moves.

For the juniors its a tight split between two US chargers, Dane Jackson (brother of Emily and son of EJ) and Jason Craig. I expect to see these boys get scores that would qualify them in the mens, good air, for fast and clean moves. For the junior girls, French wave shredder in the form of Nouria Newman has been popping great blunts, to please the crowds. A special mention for C1 aerial specialist Guillaume LaRue whose clean air screws are a wonderment to enjoy, very flash indeed.

The opening ceremony finished off the team trainings in the early evening, and presented a great mixture of speeches, street dance and kayak-rap performed by Rush Sturges. Over 30 nations are present in the 2009 Freestyle Kayak World Championships and the ceremony brought together a colorful mix of athletes, many of them sporting their national colors.

Here’s a ride from Monday just to show the talents of Mr Nick Troutman: Final Day of Practise with Nick Troutman rippin\'

Check in on Tuesday for the news & scores on men’s preliminary rides! on Twitter or at Playak’s Twitterwall

Text: Satu VW & Simon
Pics: Satu VW & Simon