2018 Slovak C1 Slalom Team - Slovakia
SLOVAK C1 TEAM (Slovakia) - Nominee for the Sportsman of the Year award
Born: 11/03/1983 (Slafkovsky), 18/05/1979 (Martikan), 02/11/1987 (Benus), Represents: Slovakia, Sport: Canoe Slalom C1M
Major Results:
- 2018: C1M Teams World Champions (Brazil)
- 2017: C!M Teams World Champions (France)
- 2015: C1M teams world champions, C1M teams European champions and C1M teams World Cup 3 champion
- 2009 - 2018: winning eight straight C1M team World Championships
- European Championships C1M teams champions – 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018
A perfect combination of technique, strength and precision, Slovakian trio Matej Benus, Michal Martikan and Alexander Slafkovsky are the ultimate C1M dream team, most recently winning an incredible eighth consecutive title at the 2018 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Rio, Brazil.
The Slovakian men’s C1 dream team of Alexander Slafkovsky, Michal Martikan and Matej Benus have won every men’s C1 World Championship teams title since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, clocking up their eighth consecutive title by just 0.28 seconds from Slovenia, with Great Britain third.
As the commentators so perfectly described at the recent ICF canoe slalom World Championships in Rio, the team is making history, one amazing win at a time. This was a remarkable achievement which dates back to their first victory at La Seu D’Urgell in 2009. It followed on the heels of their convincing win over Great Britain and France at the 2017 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in France, where they retained their world title from 2015– the Championships having taken a break during Rio Olympic year.
Standout paddlers in their own right, all three athletes have featured on the C1M World Championship podium in the past decade, with Martikan a two-time Olympic champion.
With such a formidable combination and with 10 years as the undefeated champions, it is difficult to imagine who will stop the Slovakian C1M team in the coming years.
TESTIMONIAL/QUOTE:
“We really are a compact team, everybody knows what to do, and even if something goes wrong, we are very fast at creating and we think well.” — Alexander Slafkovsky
NOTE World Paddle Awards: this nominee is not placed in the 'Team Award' category because that category is for non-Olympic team disciplines only.
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