The Czech team has a strong composition. Among others, it consisted of Olympic water slalom winner Jiří Prskavac, fast canoe representative Anežka Paloudová and para-canoeist Miroslav Šperek, who joined the premiere at the shipyard in Troja Prague.

Despite experiencing technical difficulties, the rowers pushed the race for approximately two kilometers to the maximum and were accompanied by a good mood. “There wasn’t much to feel,” Prskavec commented on the event in a press release. “I was supposed to ride for nine minutes, but I ended up rowing for a quarter of an hour and they stopped me before the finish line,” smiles the kayaker.

“It was the first test and as the fly flies I believe it has a future. I think one day this is how junior competitors can compete with their idols in winter,” said Prskavec.

The advantage is the inclusion of a para category, where athletes with disabilities can compare themselves to able-bodied rowers in real time. “Terrible job and it took quite a while. I have to say I reached out,” admits para-canoeist Miroslav Šperk.

Paloudova is glad she has come that far

“It’s compensation and great training for the winter. I can imagine having it in the garage and taking a ten-minute test every day. It has the potential to connect people from all over the world,” said Šperk, who won a silver medal in the discus at the Paralympics in Athens and is now starting a new sport where he wants to introduce himself at the Paralympics in Paris.

As part of testing virtual races, organizers are also eyeing a concept called “Fit For Future”, which, among other things, tries to minimize the carbon footprint.

“An event that brings together lots of people paddling from different parts of the world seems like a lot of fun to me. I’m glad something like this happened,” commented Anežka Paloudová of the International Canoe Federation (ICF).

At the same time, he admitted that he was quite nervous about getting an offer on Monday if he had time on Saturday. “Finally the stage fright subsided and I was delighted to be able to ride something so long on the coach,” added the kayaker.