Contact kayaking? New Olympic event includes 15-foot drop, Eskimo moves and bumper-car like contact

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Eva Tercelj of Slovenia competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Kimberley Woods of Britain competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Stefanie Horn of Italy competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Eliska Mintalova of Slovakia competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Finn Butcher of New Zealand competes in the men’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Monica Doria Vilarrubla of Andorra competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Lois Betteridge of Canada competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Jessica Fox of Australia competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Evy Leibfarth of the United States competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Kimberley Woods of Britain competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Madison Corcoran of Ireland competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Camille Prigent of France competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Monica Doria Vilarrubla of Andorra competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Zuzana Pankova of Slovakia competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Sofia Reinoso of Mexico competes in the women’s kayak cross time trial at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Marta Bertoncelli of Italy competes in the women’s kayak cross at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in Vaires-sur-Marne, France. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

By CLIFF BRUNT

💬

VAIRES-SUR-MARNE, France (AP) — This is not what kayak fans are used to seeing at the Olympics.

Competitors’ boats drop into the water from a 15-foot-high platform as three other paddlers work furiously to gain traction.

Then, in bumper-car-like fashion, those athletes can ram the other kayaks at any time as they work their way around gates in different directions similar to downhill skiing. And before they reach the end, these Olympians have to go completely underwater to execute a 360-degree Eskimo roll.

This new event is Kayak Cross, with elements that sound like a local amusement park ride. Competitors can’t really plan for what’s going to happen.

“That is what I love about the sport,” New Zealand women’s kayaker Luuka Jones said. “You are in these different situations on white water and have to react in the moment and trust your instincts. That is the biggest strategy, trusting your instincts.”

The finals for the men and women will be Monday.

Launching off the platform is the biggest thrill for Italian men’s kayaker Giovanni De Gennaro, this year’s gold medalist in kayak singles on Thursday.

“The best part is probably the ramp,” he said. “We usually need to get our speed with our arms and our strength, but with the ramp you can use gravity to get the boost. You feel like you’re sprinting immediately when you land.”

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New Zealand men’s kayaker Finn Butcher said speed is still the goal, even amid the chaos. But that everyone also has to be smart. Competitors can be disqualified for going on the wrong side of the gates. And though they can make contact with other boats, they can’t hit the other competitors.

“It’s a lot of adaptation in the run,” he said. “For me, the best form of defense is to get out in front and be by yourself, so that’s the main goal. If you end up in the melee, you need to adapt to the situation.”

Australia’s Noemie Fox said nothing that happens on the course is to be taken personally.

“If you get ganged up on or if things don’t go your way,” she said, “that’s just the sport.”

Britain’s Joseph Clarke, a world champion in 2023, is ranked No. 1 in the world by the International Canoe Federation and had the fastest qualifying time on Friday. He said kayak cross should draw interest.

“I really see this as a gateway to the sport,” he said. “It’s not quite as technical as the slalom, and I think it’s going to be a really big hit on the TV.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Olympic Hightlights

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FILE - South Africa’s Jacques Freitag competes in the men’s high jump of the 2004 Olympic Games, in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Friday Aug. 20, 2004. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

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FILE - Ilona Maher of USA is tackled by Sharni Williams of Australia in a semifinal of the Rugby World Cup 7’s championship held in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The main task for Maher, the breakout social media star on TikTok at the Tokyo Olympics, is winning a medal in Paris. (AP Photo/Halden Krog, File)

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FILE - Jacques Freitag of South Africa waves his national flag after he won the Men’s high jump event at the World Athletics Championships, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Monday, Aug. 25, 2003. Local media is reporting that South African police have discovered the body of former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag after he went missing last month. The reports said the 42-year-old, who won the 2003 world title in Paris and competed at the 2004 Olympics, had been shot. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)

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Sammy Sullivan of USA in action during HSBC rugby sevens series in Singapore, on May 4, 2024. The anthem played as Army officer Sammy Sullivan stood to attention and saluted beside her U.S. rugby teammates before a gold-medal game in Hong Kong against Olympic champion New Zealand. No prizes for guessing where her mind may have drifted to: Paris in July. (AP Photo/Suhaimi Abdullah)

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USA Water Polo Women’s Senior National Team attacker Ryann Neushul, left, trains at Long Beach City College Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Long Beach, Calif. Following in the footsteps of two older sisters who won gold with the U.S. women’s water polo team, Ryann Neushul is making her Olympic debut in Paris this summer. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Iranian wrestler Iman Mahdavi, 28, practices at the Lotta Club Seggiano gym, in Pioltello , northern Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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FILE - Steven van de Velde of the Netherlands competes during the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Vienna 2022 men’s semifinal game against Austria at the Red Bull Beach Arena in Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. Van de Velde, convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in England has qualified for the Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, File)