DARTMOUTH, N.S. — Eran Leb faced a challenge. The 21-year-old Israeli kayaker from Kibbutz Ein Gev in the Jordan Valley looked across the start line last Thursday for his 1000-metre K1 heat at the World Canoe Championships in Dartmouth, N.S. He saw Olympic champion Adam Van Koeverden from Canada in the next lane and Russian champion Anton Ryahov among the other contestants.
Eran Leb, an Israeli kayaker, competed at the world canoe championships in Dartmouth, N.S. He finished seventh in this race the K1 500-metres. [Christian Laforce photo]
After practice two days earlier, Leb was asked if he’d be satisfied with third in his heat. He smiled. “First would be fine.”
A seventh-place finish with a time of 3:52.3, behind heat winner Adam Van Koeverden (3:36.1) of Canada and runner-up Anton Ryahov of Russia, still qualified him for the semifinal Friday, when Leb finished eighth (3:47.1) and missed the A final.
Later Thursday, Leb finished in seventh, and was eliminated, in the K1 500-metre. His time of 1:57.6 was 10 seconds back of heat winner Van Koeverden.
More than 1,000 athletes coaches and officials from 70 countries took part in the four-day event. Leb was Israel’s lone athlete.
It was his first world senior event. He’s competed at worlds before, but at the junior level. The Israeli team’s chef-de-mission, Moshe Yizhak of Kfar Tvol, said that Leb, at 21, is several years from his peak.
“Most world-class senior paddlers and kayakers are 28 and above,” he said. “This will be a good experience for Eran.”
Leb was the Israel team in Dartmouth. He’s been kayaking for 11 years and has attended three junior world championships and the last two Europeans as well. His older brother was a paddler. That built Leb’s enthusiasm.
“I live on Lake Kinneret [a paddling hot bed, with two of three paddling clubs in Israel located there],” Leb said. “The opportunity is there for me.”
Yizhak noted that Israel had several fine paddlers who have now aged and turned to coaching and outside work. Included is Michael Kolganov who won a K1 500-metre bronze medal in 2000 in the Sydney Olympics, the first-ever Olympic medal for the Israeli Canoe Federation and Israel’s only medal that year. Kolganov won gold in the K1 200-metre at the worlds two years earlier in Hungary.
Leb’s goal was to get to the nine-person B final, but he didn’t qualify. The world’s best battled for gold in the A final. The third-tier kayakers qualified for the C final.
“If he can be in the middle of the pack, that will be very good for Eran,” Yizhak said.
After practising on a damp, cool morning, Leb said his best time in the 1000 K1 (single kayaker in the boat) is about 3:40. The top athletes go below 3:30. He has reached 1:44 in the 500 K1 while the best finish is under 1:37.
Yizhak was pleased with Leb’s work.
“It’s cold here, though,” he said about the 18 degree-Celsius temperatures. “Right now in Israel, it’s in the 40s. Eran’s [two-a-day] training regimen has slowed down, so he’ll be fresh when the competition begins.”
Leb will complete his three years of army service in October. Yizhak said he has been able to train morning and night and do six hours of army work in the middle of the day.
“They have a special program for elite athletes,” he said. “It’s hard to qualify for that posting [in the army].”
The Israeli contingent stayed in a Dalhousie University residence. Leb and Yizhak attended Shabbat evening services at nearby Beth Israel Synagogue. On Saturday, while Leb trained, Yizhak returned to shul.
“It was enjoyable,” Yizhak said. “The young rabbi is from Israel, and we had a great discussion. They even invited me to Kiddush,” he added with a smile.
He said the atmosphere at the competition lake was friendly. “The people are nice. There are lots of very patient volunteers.”
