“He City of Palma Trophy This will mark a before and after in our sport. We took a long time to organize an event like this at the Parc de la Mar, a setting that looks set to host a major canoeing competition» Triple Olympic medallist and flag bearer for the Spanish team at Paris 2024, Marcus Cooper, is looking forward to rowing in his homeland on October 12, the date set for the first canoe event in Ciutat de Palma organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palm.
The competition, in which they have already confirmed their participation some of the best flatwater paddlers in the world (16 men and 16 women), was created with the dual objective of, on the one hand, creating a major annual international canoeing event in Mallorca and, on the other hand, making the spectacular nature of this sport known to the general public in an urban setting. track.
Cooper, bronze in K4 and fourth ranked in K2 at the last Olympic Games, will be one of the stars present in this new competition, where A new regatta format will be launchedadapted to the characteristics of the artificial saltwater lake located at the foot of the Cathedral of Mallorca, in the historic center of the capital of the Balearic Islands.
“The Parc de la Mar has very hard water, This will be a test for true gladiators where there will be more splashing than usual and where people will have the opportunity to see up close the effort on the athletes’ faces,” explains Marcus Cooper, convinced that the limitation of the distance to the lake, far from representing a handicap, will make the competition “more spectacular” and offer spectators “the opportunity to enjoy both the beginning and the end of the event”, something that does not happen in official competitions.
Carlos BorrasCanoeist from the Real Club Náutico de Palma and director of the event, assures that the participants will only be informed of the exact distance and course the day before the competition, although Marcus Cooper assumes that It will be an “explosive” regatta with a ciaboga maneuver to round a mark. This circumstance, says Borrás, minimizes the difference between long-distance runners and sprinters and allows both profiles “to have the possibility of victory in the same event.”
The Real Club Náutico de Palma admits that at first it was not sure whether the athletes would accept the invitation to participate in such an unprecedented event. “We had a very big doubt, since our aspiration was to organize a trophy at the highest world level and we did not know what the answer would be. We immediately saw that Mallorca, and Palma in particular, has a great attraction for athletes, and now we are very calm with the starting list that we have,” confesses Borrás, who boasts the long history of the canoe section of the Real Club Náutico de Palma and its important international track record, which includes world and European medalists.
Manu Fragadirector of the club and the organization of the Copa del Rey de Vela, assures that the Ciutat de Palma de Palma de Canoeing is destined to become a reference from its first edition.We have been thinking for some time about creating an event with these characteristics. Although it is true that our entity enjoys great prestige as a host of sailing competitions, we still had to offer a great spectacle focused on canoeing. Our commitment has been to bring the best in the world for the city of Palma to enjoy.
