Thursday evening’s Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Collins Cup included the announcement of the 12, three-athlete matchups that we will see when the racing kicks off on Saturday.

As 12 months ago, the impressive x-bionic® sphere in Šamorín, Slovakia is the host venue.

Highlights of the draft

The event went ‘big’ with Match #1 pitting all-time legend Daniela Ryf, against all-time legend Flora Duffy. That’s a tough challenge for the returning to racing Sarah True, to take on.

The men’s first race (match #7) didn’t come as a surprise, but will certainly provide interest with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold and bronze medallists, Kristian Blummenfelt and Hayden Wilde, joined by the USA’s Ben Kanute.

Match #6 (Anne Haug / Jackie Hering / Tamara Jewett) will surely see three of the fastest female run splits of the day, while the youngster, Sam Laidlow, was more than happy to be pitted against long-time rivals Sam Long and Lionel Sanders in Match #8. The North American duo will want to silence the banter of the young Frenchman… but will have to catch him first, when he leaves them adrift in the water!

Watch it again and check out the reaction

If you missed the Opening Ceremony then you can replay it via the embed below, while our live blog has all the reaction as well as the build-up to Saturday’s showdowns.