Czech yachtsmen did not secure their participation in the World Championships, they will have more chances

Illustration photo – Summer Olympics, July 26, 2021 in Tokyo. Czech windsurfer Karel Lavický in the start of the RS:X class.

The Hague – None of the Czech representatives qualified for the Olympic Games at the World Yachting Championship. Windsurfers were the closest in The Hague, Barbora Švíková took 36th place and Kateřina Švíková 40th. This meant fifteenth position among the countries, eleven of them qualified for Paris.

Advertisement'; }

According to the union websitefemale windsurfing competitors will have great hope in the next qualifications. The second will be in Lanzarote in the winter and the third in the spring in Hyéres. The yachtsmen are betting on the balance of the team, which also includes junior European champion Kristýna Piňosová, Kateřina Altmannová and Nela Sadílková, who did not start in The Hague.

“It was windy in The Hague only at the beginning, when the iQFoil class had not yet competed. We then waited a lot for the wind, and everything was complicated by a strong current. Instead of the planned 25 heats, only 14 started. It was very close, every small mistake had a huge impact on the result,” said 19-year-old Barbora Švíková.

Czech yachtsmen must also continue to fight for the Olympics in other disciplines. Viktor Teplý was 57th in class ILCA 7, windsurfer Karel Lavický finished in 77th place. He was the best in kiteboarding Czech junior Vojtěch Koška in 39th position, Dominika Braunová took 40th place.

“Unfortunately, one day I had a technical problem with the kit and I couldn't do two heats because of it, otherwise the result could have been a little better . I am really looking forward to the last possible qualification for kiteboarders next spring in France in Hyéres. I think I have a chance to qualify there, I will train specially for this race,” declared Koška, ​​a bronze medalist from the Junior European Championships.

Lavický competed at last year's games in Tokyo, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro they were together with him also Viktor Teplý and Veronika Fenclová, who finished twelfth in the Laser Radial class. The only sailing medal was won by Lenka Šmídová in Athens 2004, silver in the Europe class.