Former World Champion Herzog Wins Championship Title on His Home Track

Andrea Herzog fully lived up to her status as the favorite and won the German championship title in the Canadian canoe. The Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and 2019 and 2022 world champion prevailed on her home course in Markkleeberg near Leipzig with a flawless run and a 7.66-second lead over her club teammate Lucie Krech. In the kayak and kayak cross events, Annkatrin Plochmann of SGV Nürnberg-Fürth swept the board.

Most of the national team canoeists from the World Championship squad have already wrapped up their season. As a result, the title races near Leipzig also provided an opportunity for the second string. In the men’s events, however, former champion Stefan Hengst (KR Hamm) claimed the title in the kayak; in the canoe, Niels Zimmermann of the Leipzig Canoe Club won, while his LKC teammate Felix Sachers triumphed in the kayak cross. 

Former World Champion Franz Anton Retires

During the championships, Leipzig’s Franz Anton was also honored as he retired. The 36-year-old Canadian canoe specialist was sent into retirement by Saxony’s Minister President Michael Kretschmer. Anton had won World Championship gold in the doubles with Jan Benzien in 2015. After the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where the duo finished fourth, the doubles event was removed from the program. In the single canoe, Anton—who has served as president of his club since the beginning of the year—won another World Championship gold medal in 2018.