We use cookies to improve our site and your experience. By continuing to browse our site you accept our cookie policy
We use cookies to improve our site and your experience. By continuing to browse our site you accept our cookie policy
24.9.2026
Alsu Minazova set the fastest time of the session with a clean 91.42, but the top of the ranking was extremely close. Mallory Franklin finished just 0.43 seconds behind, while Zuzana Pankova was third at +0.65 and Marjorie Delassus fourth at +0.66.
With less than one second separating the top five, the heats gave an early indication of how open the women’s C1 title race could be.
Mallory Franklin produced one of the strongest runs of the session, finishing second with a clean 91.85.
The British paddler already knows what it means to win the European title in this event, having become women’s C1 European champion in 2022.
Franklin was also one of three British athletes to progress, with Ellis Miller finishing seventh and Kimberley Woods 16th.
For Woods, the result was particularly important after her dramatic elimination from the women’s K1 heats earlier in the morning.
Zuzana Pankova was another major name near the top.
The Slovak paddler finished third with a clean 92.07, only 0.65 seconds behind Minazova.
Slovakia also qualified Sona Stanovska in 11th and Emanuela Luknarova in 19th, meaning all three Slovak athletes safely advanced to the semifinal.
It gives Slovakia one of the strongest collective positions heading into the next stage.
Marjorie Delassus recorded the fastest raw time of the entire field, 90.08, but a two-second penalty dropped her to fourth on 92.08.
The French athlete already has a strong European record in C1, with silver in 2022 and bronze in 2024.
Doriane Delassus also progressed in equal 13th place, while Angele Hug suffered a costly 50-second penalty and was eliminated in 35th.
Elena Micozzi gave the home team another strong start, finishing fifth with a clean 92.32.
Marta Bertoncelli also progressed in equal 13th, while Elena Borghi missed qualification after receiving a 50-second penalty.
Micozzi’s fifth place keeps Italy well represented in the semifinal and continues the host nation’s strong opening day.
Andrea Herzog finished sixth with a clean 92.66, only 1.24 seconds behind the leader.
The German paddler won the European women’s C1 title in 2024 and remains one of the most experienced contenders still in the race.
Lucie Krech and Nova Mueller also qualified, meaning Germany placed all three athletes into the semifinal.
Klaudia Zwolinska continued a busy opening day by finishing eighth.
Her raw time of 92.32 matched Micozzi’s, but a two-second penalty left her on 94.32.
The Polish paddler remains one of the most versatile athletes in the field and enters the C1 semifinal after already progressing in women’s K1 earlier in the day.
Hanna Danek also progressed, taking the 30th and final semifinal position.
The women’s C1 heats also highlighted the versatility of many of the leading athletes in Ivrea, with 13 paddlers successfully qualifying for the semifinals in both women’s K1 and women’s C1.
Alsu Minazova produced perhaps the strongest double performance of the morning. After finishing third in the K1 heats, she went one step further in C1 and topped the standings with 91.42.
Zuzana Pankova also placed inside the top ten in both disciplines, finishing ninth in K1 before taking third in C1, while Klaudia Zwolinska followed sixth place in K1 with eighth in C1.
Marjorie Delassus moved from 17th in K1 to fourth in C1, while Mallory Franklin made one of the biggest jumps of the day, progressing from 19th in K1 to second in C1.
There was also remarkable consistency from Slovenia’s Lea Novak, who finished 15th in both disciplines.
Eva Alina Hocevar, Viktoriia Us, Sona Stanovska, Monica Doria, Lena Teunissen, Alena Marx and Nova Mueller also remain in contention in both individual slalom disciplines.
For Kimberley Woods, the picture is different. After her dramatic elimination from the K1 competition following the post-race penalty review, she kept her individual slalom campaign alive by qualifying 16th in C1.
One of the most closely watched athletes was Tereza Kneblova, the reigning 2026 world champion.
She finished 18th with 95.97 after a two-second penalty.
Kneblova arrived in Ivrea as the current world champion, making her one of the central names in the title race despite a relatively modest heat result.
Czechia also qualified Martina Satkova in ninth and Tereza Michalova in 27th, giving the country three semifinalists.
The defending European champion Monica Doria safely moved into the semifinal, although not without difficulty.
The Andorran finished 24th after a two-second penalty, on 97.57.
Doria won the European title in 2025 and therefore remains in contention to become the first repeat champion in this event in several editions.
Miren Lazkano, who won the European title here in Ivrea in 2021, also progressed in 25th after four penalty seconds.
Her return to the course carries special significance, as she remains the only one of the recent women’s C1 European champions to have won on this exact venue.
Spain had mixed results. Klara Olazabal qualified in 17th and Lazkano in 25th, but Nuria Vilarrubla finished 32nd and missed the semifinal. That leaves Spain with two athletes still in contention.
The middle of the ranking featured several high-profile athletes who did enough to move on despite penalties.
Kimberley Woods was 16th after a two-second penalty, Tereza Kneblova 18th, Monica Doria 24th and Miren Lazkano 25th.
It means the semifinal will still contain the defending European champion, the reigning world champion, the Ivrea 2021 champion, the 2022 European champion and the 2024 European champion.
The top of the ranking could hardly have been tighter.
Only 0.66 seconds separated the top four, and less than five seconds covered the first 19 athletes.
Minazova leaves the heats as the benchmark, but Franklin, Pankova, Delassus, Micozzi and Herzog are all within striking distance.
Behind them, the major championship names remain very much alive: Kneblova, Doria, Lazkano, Zwolinska and Woods all progressed.
With 30 athletes through, 13 women still competing in both K1 and C1, and several former European champions remaining in contention, the women’s C1 semifinal promises to be one of the most open races of the Championships.
© 2021 ECA
