After being eliminated in the kayak cross, Krejčí felt wronged, he accused the Pole of simulating

Czech kayaker Jakub Krejčí in the kayakcross discipline at the World Cup in water slalom in London, September 24, 2023.

London – Czech slalomer Jakub Krejčí felt after being eliminated in the round of 16 Kayakcross at the World Cup. He knew about the contact with Tadeusz Kuchne, but he did not think that he deserved to be moved from the second row to the bottom of the driving order. According to him, the Polish competitor exaggerated the consequences of the collision.

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“It was a coincidence that it ricocheted off the boat back into his helmet and he was pretending like I'd broken his vertebrae. After the ride I asked him if he was all right and he said no and held on over there. At the same time, in my opinion, the contact there was minimal. The fact that someone hits someone a little is part of the sport, in my opinion. I regret how it turned out,” Krejčí regretted in an interview with Czech journalists.

He would hate to see simulcasting take off in kayakcross. “I find it quite unsportsmanlike and completely unnecessary, it does not belong to our sport at all. Everyone knows that it is a contact discipline. And if the referees will take any account of it, it is hard to say. Perhaps it could be introduced into rules that he can be disqualified for it or something,” said Krejčí.

The spectators and the competitors themselves have a hard time judging what is still permissible in kayakcross and what is not. “The rules are set, but each referee has a different meter, which I think is wrong because the meters should be set the same. It (is wrong) that they review it and first say it was clean, then they review again and suddenly it's a fault,” Krejčí wondered.

In addition, the rules change quite often. “I think they are set pretty well, rather they prohibit too much contact. When there are four of us and the gates are jammed, there will always be contact. It depends more on the judges what they will let in,” thought the promising Czech kayaker.

< p>After Jiří Prskavec's silver on Saturday, he also lost hope of participating in the Olympic Games in Paris in the K1 category. That is why, like Vít Přindiš, he intends to focus on kayakcross, where there is still hope. “We definitely want to plan something with the coach, it's the only possibility to get to the Olympics as a specialist. We have to focus more on it. I have to be a little more lucky,” he reflected.

An unpredictable discipline in which together four ships are racing head-to-head, he likes it. “It's new, the passages are different from the slalom and we have a lot to learn there. The water is from a slightly different angle and I really enjoy it. We've been training on it more lately and I think it helps in the slalom as well , that we can take something from it. Even the head will rest from the slalom,” described the multiple medalist from international youth events.

He made his debut at the senior world championship. At the start of the World Cup in London, he helped the Czech guard win gold. In the kayak race, he flashed the fastest qualifying time, but then was eliminated in the semi-finals. “The feelings are bittersweet because I did well in the qualifying run in the slalom, now I advanced with a pretty good run from the time trial and then it didn't work out right away. I have to deal with it when I'm calm at home,” he added.