Zuzana Paňková competes in the women's canoe single finals at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (source: AP Photo/TASR)
Nineteen-year-old canoeist Zuzana Paňková delivered a strong performance at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, finishing fourth in the C1 category.
“Fourth place stings, but it’s a beautiful fourth place,” she told the state broadcaster STVR, happy tears streaming down her face.
Her time (111.07 s) was just 1.12 seconds shy of a medal, with Australia’s Jessica Fox (101.06 s) taking gold in the event.
Despite a clean run, Paňková’s performance had room for improvement.
“It was a nice run,” Slovak canoeist Alexander Slafkovský told STVR. “She navigated the difficult sections well, but minor mistakes accumulated time. She did what was expected, but she’s capable of even better.”
However, the young talent said that she could not have performed any better in the finals, saying that she really gave it her all.
“Finishing fourth will definitely motivate me. It is time to keep pushing forward,” she told STVR.
Paňková, the youngest of all finalists at the Vaires-sur-Marne canal, earned silver in K1 at the May 2024 European Championships in Tacen, Slovenia.
Originally from Košice, eastern Slovakia, Paňková grew up paddling the Hornád and Dunajec rivers with her grandparents and started competitive slalom at the age of six.
From Košice, tennis player Anna Karolína Schmiedlová, 29, reached the semifinals at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday after defeating Czech Barbora Krejčíková, marking the biggest achievement of her career.
