Andorran Canoeists Doria and Checa Miss World Cup Slalom Finals After Penalties

Andorran canoeist Mònica Doria was eliminated in the kayak cross round of 16 at the Canoe Slalom World Cup in Vaires-sur-Marne, Paris, finishing last in her heat and capping a challenging weekend without reaching any finals.

Doria had posted the 28th-fastest time of 66.22 seconds in the time trials, advancing among the top 32 to the heats. She competed in the third heat against France's Camille Prigent, Brazil's Omira Estacia Neta, and Spain's Miren Lazkano, but only the top two progressed. Prigent took the heat win and went on to claim the kayak cross title ahead of Germany's Ricarda Funk and Britain's Lois Leaver.

The kayak cross exit followed Doria's near-miss in Saturday's canoe slalom, where she placed 13th at 118.37 seconds after a two-second penalty for touching gate 17. Her net time of 116.37 seconds would have put her inside the top 12, ahead of Australia's Noemie Fox on 118.31 seconds. On Thursday, she finished 19th in kayak slalom with a net time of 107.97 seconds, but four seconds in penalties from gates 6 and 10 dropped her to 111.97 seconds overall.

Cadet athlete Nil Checa recorded 116.27 seconds in the senior kayak slalom time trial, placing 51st out of 78 with eight seconds in penalties from four gate touches—6.04 seconds off the fastest mark and just under three seconds shy of advancing to the heats. Britain's Joseph Clarke won that event.

Despite the results, Doria holds fourth in the canoe Olympic rankings with 1,590 points, behind Zuzana Pankova (1,780), Marta Bertoncelli (1,640), and Tereza Kneblova (1,600). Her recent world silver in the United States keeps her in the top 10 for canoe qualification toward the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with the top 10 in canoe, six in kayak, and three in kayak cross securing spots in the initial phase. No other Andorrans reached finals this weekend.

The World Cup season concludes next weekend with finals at La Seu d'Urgell from Thursday to Sunday, counting toward Olympic rankings.