Lee Valley White Water Centre Passes the Test

175 elite athletes from 30 nations competed at one of the first competitive Canoe Slalom events at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, the London 2012 Canoe Slalom venue. The event was part of the London Organising Committee's "London Prepares" series, to test arrangements for the Olympic event next year. Arrangements such as the field of play, athlete conditions, the condition of the water, and how the team worked together were being looked at.

"This is a fantastic venue" said David Luckes, head of Sport Competition at LOCOG. "We thank Lee Valley Regional Park Authority for letting us use this venue. It is a venue that really shows legacy in action with the Centre already open to the public. This was a great opportunity for us to see the venue in use and look at important issues such as the flow of the water, timing and scoring systems and how our teams worked together."

Richard Fox, Second Vice President of the International Canoe Federation, said: "We are really pleased and excited about this event and believe Lee Valley has the potential to be the best Olympic Canoe Slalom event ever. It is fantastic to see young people taking to the water and I think it is a certainty that the kids who get involved in the sport now will go on to be the Olympians of the future. We were very impressed by the quality of the white water which looks as clear an an Alpine river and by the Centre as a whole."

Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, said: "We're delighted with the success of the event and the positive comments athletes and officials from across the world have made. In addition, for local young people to have witnessed world class athletes right on their doorstep a year before the Games, has given them a real taste for the competition of London 2012."

In the Kayak Single (K1) Men's race, Vavrinec Hradilek (CZE) came out on top followed by Peter Kauzer (SLO) and Fabien Lefevre (FRA). In the Canoe Single (C1) Men's race, Michal Martikan (SVK) won the race and in second place was Jan Benzien (GER). Denis Gargaud Chanut (FRA) came in third. The Slovakians dominated the Canoe Double (C2) Men's race with Pavol and Paul Hochschorner winning and team mates Ladislav and Peter Skantar coming in second. Third place went to Germans Marcus Becker and Stefan Henze. In the Women's Kayak Single Melanie Pfeifer (GER) took top spot with Katerina Kudejova (CZE) and Ursa Kragelj (SLO) taking second and third place respectively.

The event ran from 28-31 July. Young people from four schools attended the event and had a chance to see international athletes in action a year ahead of the Games. Pupils from Turnford School and Sports College in Cheshunt, The John Warner School in Hoddesdon, St Marys C of E High School in Waltham Cross and King Harold Business and Enterprise Academy in Epping Forest enjoyed world class sport.

For pictures of the event click here http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr154611127

LOCOG's detailed testing programme will see some world class sporting events with athletes competing in London's existing venues as well as brand new venues in the Olympic Park.

For more information, contact: www.londonpreparesseries.com

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

Your complete source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.