Rafting Women Win World Champ Slalom Bronze

World Championship Rafting, August 28-31, at Lipno in the Czech Republic, the Australian women's team beat out strong competition to win bronze in the slalom event. The Aussie women were 'underdogs' having sent their first women's team to a world championship, and the results gave hope for an even better result at the next World Championships in 2005.

The Slalom event was held on the second day of competition at the Lipno course, Devils stream section of the Moldau River in the Czech Republic. The grade three slalom course was one of the hardest courses to paddle, and many teams gave the public a thrill with their near misses, spills and flips. The 12 gate course included many tight sequences and hard up-stream gates. In the women's competition the results were eventually decided on who could negotiate all the gates with the least penalties.

The Aussie women put in a great first run and were in the gold medal position, beating out the favourites New Zealand (three time World Champions) and the Czech team. Unfortunately, due to the excitement of leading the competition the team then lost concentration in their second run, and a few small mistakes saw them slide into the bronze medal position. The New Zealand women finished with silver, while the team from the Czech Republic finished with the Gold.

The Australian Women's rafting team finished fifth overall in the Championship, where the title was again worn by the New Zealand Womens team.

Australian Team:
Anita Prior
N\Brooke Simpson
Ebony Arnold
Jennifer Corser
Dita Pahl
Michelle Blackwell
Juliette Morris

Coach:
Roy Farrance