The 30-year-old Slovenian grazed the tenth gate, however, this turned out not to be a fatal mistake, since he beat the closest rival, Alexander Slafkovski of Slovakia, for a second and a half. Another Slovak came in third place, the veteran 38-year-old Michal Martikan.

Savšek has competed his set of medals from world championship with the finest token, since he had already won bronze (2013) and two silvers (2014, 2015). He also won the title of a European champion in whitewater slalom (Maarkleeberg, 2015). The second Slovenian competitor, Anže Berčič, missed a gate in the finals and finished in 11th place. 11 canoeists took part in the grand final, since two competitors, Japanese Takuya Heneda and Spanish Ander Elosegi, both qualified in 10th place due to the exact time.

I knew I was fast enough for a medal
“I really flew. As I had said before the championship, second place just wasn’t good enough this time … Truly amazing experience. Despite the graze, I knew I was fast enough for a medal, but I even surprised myself a bit by becoming a world champion with this performance. I went all in at the start and I really made it. I’m incredibly happy, I still can’t believe I was a vice-champion twice and now a champion. The ride was incredible, I told to myself I needed to do my best, as the competition was strong. I touched the gate once but managed not to lose the rhythm and I was quick enough. I won and now I’m a world champion. I’ve really deserved this medal, as I worked really hard for it. As long as I have the medal around the neck now, I don’t care if I’m wet,” explained Savšek with great satisfaction.

Namely, soon after the award ceremony, colleagues from his team, led by kayaker Peter Kauzer, who had won bronze on Friday, threw him into the water. The team stayed true to the tradition – Savšek’s head coach Jože Vidmar also ended in the water.