Hanhart is the new Official Watch and Timing Partner of the Extreme Kayak World Championship in Austria’s Oetztal Valley

Hanhart was involved in the Extreme Kayak World Championship – which took place on the legendary ‘Wellerbrücke’ course in Austria’s Oetztal Valley for the fifth time in a row – as official watch partner and timekeeper. Between 29 September and 2 October, the best whitewater kayakers on the globe battled it out on the Oetztaler Ache River in Tyrol’s longest alpine valley to determine the Extreme Kayak World Champion 2011. Ever since the first mechanical stopwatch was released from the Hanhart workshops in 1924, the Swiss-German watch manufacturer has been producing highly functional, extremely reliable and exceptionally durable timepieces in the form of its stopwatches and wristwatches. They have always been used for
measuring time and ensuring safe navigation in the air, on the land and on the sea – by pilots, naval crews and in sporting competitions. Since the objective of those competing in the Extreme Kayak World Championship is to find the so-called ‘Sickline’ on the water – the perfect, best-flowing and quickest route downstream – a partnership with this event is ideal for Hanhart. Starting from 2011, Hanhart has therefore been named official watch partner and timekeeper for the World Championship, which brings the world’s top whitewater kayakers to the Oetztal Valley. The World Championship tests the kayakers’ ability to not only get down one of the world’s most challenging rapids in one piece, but to do it fast as well. In 2011, too, the so-called ‘Wellerbrücke’ section of the glacier-fed Oetztaler Ache River – that has the reputation of being the Eiger North Face of whitewater kayaking – was the centre of the race action. The legendary 280 m long racecourse is solid class 5 white water, both technically difficult and dangerous.
Last year’s top 25 were automatically seeded; the remaining entries were allocated to kayakers who master whitewater class 5. The over 140 participants were creeking, slalom and freestyle world champions, winners of prestigious extreme races and extreme paddlers from 26 different countries, including athletes from all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Canada and Russia. With his perfect run in the semi-final, Sam Sutton from New Zealand set a new course record of 0:56,41 so that everybody was eager to see if he could keep it up in the super-final. The top 15 athletes in the super-final showed how competitive these championships have become, with the kayakers ranking 2nd to 8th ending up within a second. Final starter Sam Sutton showed again how to find the ‘Sickline’ and even topped the record he set up during the semis. A powerful start, a smooth mid-section and a perfect final drop on the ‘Champions Killer’ secured his second title in a row. Caption: Sam Sutton, from New Zealand, won the title of Extreme Kayak World Champion for the second time running, and was presented with a Primus Driver from the Official Timekeeper Hanhart.