Czech canoeist Chaloupka claims first World Cup victory

Czech canoeist Václav Chaloupka has claimed his first career victory in the Canoe Slalom World Cup. The 28-year-old won on the Olympic course at Vaires-sur-Marne near Paris, beating World Cup leader Žiga Lin Hočevar of Slovenia by 0.16 seconds. Chaloupka’s breakthrough victory comes five years after he won the world championship title. His previous best World Cup results were second places in Pau in 2020 and Tacen earlier this year. The victory moves Chaloupka into second place in the overall standings, 44 points behind Hočevar, ahead of next week’s World Cup finale in Seu d’Urgell.