# 2008 Canoe Slalom World Cup

The 2008 Canoe Slalom World Cup was a series of seven races in 4 canoeing and kayaking categories organized by the International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 21st edition. The series consisted of 4 continental championships (Africa, Oceania, Pan American and Asia) which were open to all countries and 3 world cup races. The athletes gained points for their results in the three world cup races plus their best result from any of the four continental championships.

## Calendar

| Label | Venue | Date |
| 2008 African Championships | Sagana | 27 January |
| Oceania Championships 2008 | Penrith | 15–16 March |
| 2008 Pan American Championships | Charlotte | 26 April |
| 2008 Asia Canoe Slalom Championships | Nakhon Nayok | 17–18 May |
| World Cup Race 1 | Prague | 20–22 June |
| World Cup Race 2 | Tacen | 28–29 June |
| World Cup Race 3 | Augsburg | 4–6 July |

## Final standings

The winner of each race was awarded 50 points. Paddlers outside the top 20 in the C2 event and outside the top 40 in the other 3 events were awarded 2 points for participation. If two or more athletes or boats were equal on points, the ranking was determined by their positions in the final world cup race.
| C1 men Pos Athlete Points 1 Robin Bell (AUS)168 2 Alexander Slafkovský (SVK)132 3 Benn Fraker (USA)121 4 Dejan Stevanovič (SLO)114 5 Tomáš Indruch (CZE)106 6 Teng Zhiqiang (CHN)106 7 Ronnie Dürrenmatt (SUI)99 8 Kynan Maley (AUS)97 9 Christos Tsakmakis (GRE)95 10 James Cartwright (CAN)93 | C2 men Pos Athletes Points 1 Pavol Hochschorner/Peter Hochschorner (SVK)147 2 Ladislav Škantár/Peter Škantár (SVK)129 3 Marek Jiras/Tomáš Máder (CZE)127 4 Hu Minghai/Shu Junrong (CHN)119 5 Mark Bellofiore/Lachie Milne (AUS)107 6 Tomáš Kučera/Ján Bátik (SVK)106 7 David Schröder/Frank Henze (GER)101 8 Marcus Becker/Stefan Henze (GER)100 9 Duan Junjie/Duan Junqing (CHN)99 10 Mikhail Kuznetsov/Dmitry Larionov (RUS)98 |
| K1 men Pos Athlete Points 1 Erik Pfannmöller (GER)133 2 Brett Heyl (USA)117 3 Helmut Oblinger (AUT)116 4 Lukáš Kubričan (CZE)112 5 Warwick Draper (AUS)112 6 William Forsythe (AUS)101 7 Dejan Kralj (SLO)98 8 Scott Mann (USA)95 9 David Ford (CAN)95 10 Tomáš Mráz (SVK)94 | K1 women Pos Athlete Points 1 Katrina Lawrence (AUS)144 2 Mandy Planert (GER)132 3 Violetta Oblinger-Peters (AUT)129 4 Li Jingjing (CHN)123 5 Elena Kaliská (SVK)118 6 Gabriela Stacherová (SVK)107 7 Marie Řihošková (CZE)99 8 Sarah Grant (AUS)97 9 Nina Mozetič (SLO)93 10 Jana Dukátová (SVK)92 |

## Results
### 2008 African Championships

The first African Canoe Slalom Championships were held in Sagana, Kenya on January 27. USA won the medal table with 2 golds and a bronze.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| C1 men | Siboniso Cele (RSA) | Cyprian Ngidi (RSA) | Tyler Hinton (USA) |
| C2 men | United States Mark Staszko Nic Borst | South Africa Cameron McIntosh Cyprian Ngidi | South Africa Jabulane Mofokeng Siboniso Cele |
| K1 men | Benjamin Boukpeti (TOG) | Johnathan Akinyemi (NGR) | Cameron McIntosh (RSA) |
| K1 women | Emily Jackson (USA) | Sarah Dupire (ALG) | Marissa Dederer (CAN) |

### Oceania Championships 2008

The 2008 Oceania Championships were held in Penrith, Australia on March 15–16. Slovakia won 2 golds a silver and a bronze to top the medal table.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
| C1 men | Michal Martikán (SVK) | 197.81 | Robin Bell (AUS) | 202.00 | Alexander Slafkovský (SVK) | 205.54 |
| C2 men | China Hu Minghai Shu Junrong | 213.25 | Slovakia Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner | 214.61 | Australia Mark Bellofiore Lachie Milne | 216.36 |
| K1 men | Jens Ewald (GER) | 197.41 | Warwick Draper (AUS) | 197.47 | Brett Heyl (USA) | 197.50 |
| K1 women | Elena Kaliská (SVK) | 222.42 | Li Tong (CHN) | 223.02 | Li Jingjing (CHN) | 224.67 |

### 2008 Pan American Championships

The 2008 Pan American Championships took place in Charlotte, USA on April 26. The home athletes dominated the medal table by winning 3 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronzes.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
| C1 men | Robin Bell (AUS) | 187.70 | Benn Fraker (USA) | 194.23 | Jeff Larimer (USA) | 199.13 |
| C2 men | United States Scott McCleskey Austin Crane | 216.44 | United States Benjamin Kvanli Mark Poindexter | 258.03 | United States Casey Eichfeld Rick Powell | 269.07 |
| K1 men | Brett Heyl (USA) | 179.70 | Eric Hurd (USA) | 181.83 | Scott Mann (USA) | 182.70 |
| K1 women | Heather Corrie (USA) | 223.76 | Zuzana Vanha (USA) | 232.63 | Jessica Groeneveld (CAN) | 243.65 |

### 2008 Asia Canoe Slalom Championships

The 2008 Asia Canoe Slalom Championships were the last of the continental championships to count for the world cup. The event took place in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand on May 17–18. China won the medal table with 2 golds, 2 silvers and 4 bronzes.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| C1 men | Takuya Haneda (JPN) | Feng Liming (CHN) | Zhang Chaojun (CHN) |
| C2 men | China Mai Jianmin Mo Bin | Japan Masatoshi Sanma Hiroyuki Nagao | China Yu Hongmin Chen Jin |
| K1 men | Kazuki Yazawa (JPN) | Tsubasa Sasaki (JPN) | Huang Cunguang (CHN) |
| K1 women | Li Tong (CHN) | Cen Nanqin (CHN) | Zou Yingying (CHN) |

### World Cup Race 1

The main part of the world cup series got under way in Prague, Czech Republic on June 20–22. France and Czech Republic shared the top spot in the medal table with both countries winning 2 golds and 1 bronze medal.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
| C1 men | Tony Estanguet (FRA) | 175.50 | Robin Bell (AUS) | 176.91 | David Florence (GBR) | 178.39 |
| C2 men | Czech Republic Marek Jiras Tomáš Máder | | China Hu Minghai Shu Junrong | | France Cédric Forgit Martin Braud | |
| K1 men | Fabien Lefèvre (FRA) | | Erik Pfannmöller (GER) | | Lukáš Kubričan (CZE) | |
| K1 women | Štěpánka Hilgertová (CZE) | 192.47 | Mandy Planert (GER) | 193.84 | Jana Dukátová (SVK) | 195.43 |

### World Cup Race 2

The penultimate race of the series took place in Tacen, Slovenia on June 28–29. Two gold medals were enough for Germany to win the medal table. Slovenia took one gold courtesy of Peter Kauzer.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
| C1 men | Nico Bettge (GER) | 193.27 | Alexander Slafkovský (SVK) | 196.65 | Ronnie Dürrenmatt (SUI) | 198.81 |
| C2 men | Slovakia Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner | 200.08 | Slovakia Ladislav Škantár Peter Škantár | 206.25 | Czech Republic Marek Jiras Tomáš Máder | 207.27 |
| K1 men | Peter Kauzer (SLO) | 179.29 | Lukáš Kubričan (CZE) | 184.17 | Richard Hounslow (GBR) | 184.46 |
| K1 women | Mandy Planert (GER) | 205.34 | Li Jingjing (CHN) | 206.23 | Gabriela Stacherová (SVK) | 209.67 |

### World Cup Race 3

The world cup series closed in Augsburg, Germany on July 4–6. Australia was the most successful country with 2 golds. The German paddlers won 1 gold and 1 bronze medal.
| Event | Gold | Score | Silver | Score | Bronze | Score |
| C1 men | Robin Bell (AUS) | 203.67 | Tomáš Indruch (CZE) | 205.94 | Krzysztof Bieryt (POL) | 206.47 |
| C2 men | Slovakia Pavol Hochschorner Peter Hochschorner | 216.77 | Slovakia Ladislav Škantár Peter Škantár | 219.42 | Germany Kay Simon Robby Simon | 221.13 |
| K1 men | Erik Pfannmöller (GER) | 193.03 | Benoît Peschier (FRA) | 195.73 | Scott Parsons (USA) | 195.79 |
| K1 women | Katrina Lawrence (AUS) | 216.01 | Jana Dukátová (SVK) | 217.06 | Marie Řihošková (CZE) | 217.70 |