A Hungarian kayak team preparing for the World Championships that begins on Wednesday in Dartmouth, Canada, has given a sign of life. The captain of the national team, Chappa Huttner, is not satisfied with the conditions, although, he says, the weather is pleasant, the sun is shining and the water is calm. There is no greater enemy than bad weather for successful Hungarian sports. Hungarian team involvement may depend on how the women’s kayak discipline, which has been rejuvenated in part out of necessity – writes Hungarian nation.
On the shore of the lake, competitors are housed in tents and mobile buildings are erected, and the logistics are not solved either, since the distance between the boats and the finish line and our tent is hundreds of meters. We already had a problem with catering at the property, but it was resolved in the meantime, but the food brought to the tents on the track is a sandwich and a small vegetable, which is not suitable for competitors. However, it can at least be said that the water is good and the weather is great too – national team captain Chapa Hotner of Halifax, Canada, and more specifically from Dartmouth, described the local conditions. Also mentioning this, the journey has also been riddled with bumps:
Our plane took off in Budapest on Friday, but we didn’t get to the property until Saturday morning, as our flight from Montreal to Halifax was delayed. After arriving, of course, everyone at the accommodation immediately went to bed. Here we are five hours behind Hungarian time, a few competitors still struggling to move yesterday, but everyone is fine now.
In Dartmouth, located in Nova Scotia, in the open bay on the Atlantic Ocean, almost nothing has changed in thirteen years. The last time the Canadian city hosted the World Cup was in 2009.
This writer traveled the same way as the full national team does now, I traveled for twenty-two hours due to the loss of contact with Montreal. True, the organizers waited at the airport though and took me to the accomodation. Dartmouth is a gray town in a beautiful natural setting, like most settlements abroad. And yes, the site of the World Championships, Lake Bannock, reminded me at the time of scout camp more than the World Championships in Olympic sports. But just as it did thirteen years ago, this should not be an obstacle to doing well.
At that time, in 2009, Hungary took third place in the medal table, ahead of Germany and Belarus, with six gold, four silver and two bronze medals. As usual, our ladies took the lead led by Katalin Kovacs.
Current performance may depend on how the women’s kayak system, which has been partially rejuvenated out of necessity, performs. For various reasons, all four members of the women’s quartet (Danuta Cusack, Tamara Sipes, Anna Karasz and Dora Bodoni) who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics are missing from the team.
The competitions begin on Wednesday, with the finals taking place on Saturday and Sunday, which will be broadcast live on M4 Sport.
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Hungarian national team men’s boat:
Women’s boat:
kayak for men:
feminine kayak:
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Cover Photo: National team captain Chapa Huttner introduces Hungarian athletes kayak determinant In a team announcement before the World Cup on the event ship Stopper on June 19, 2022.
