North Berwick's Lena Kraus targeting top-10 finish in Madeira

Lena Kraus will travel to Madeira next month for the prestigious event and compete in the Single Surfski Women’s Open Category.

The 33-year-old paddler competed in the event in Australia last year and is looking forward to once again taking on the world’s best.

She said: “I have always loved paddling ever since I was a child.

“Now, the more I train, the more motivated I get!

“Ocean racing combines many of my favourite elements of the sport: endurance, reading the water, strength, tactical decisions and planning.

“North Berwick really is the ideal place for me to train.

“When I get to the beach in the morning, I often can’t believe how lucky I am to live and train here.”

Lena Kraus is heading to Madeira to take part in a world championships. Image: Ezgi Tezgelen

Lena, who works as a literary translator, moved to Scotland from Germany in 2019 before settling in North Berwick.

She highlighted the differences between slalom racing, which she competed in as a teenager, and her current discipline.

She said: “There is a huge difference between ocean paddling and slalom paddling.

“The boats are completely different and slalom is on rivers or artificial courses.

“Slalom competition is also very short, under two minutes, in ocean you can race for one-and-a-half to two hours – there is a lot more endurance.

“In Germany, we trained for the slalom, where the training is quite endurance-based anyway.

“I am playing to my strengths here with ocean racing. “I’m alright at sprinting but better in long distance.”

Racing on the ocean also presents other challenges, including wildlife and the tidal changes.

That means different paths can be taken to find an advantage over the longer distance.

Lena described the water off North Berwick as “perfect” as she headed to her second world championships.

Lena Kraus is heading to Madeira. Image: Nicolò Zagato

She told Courier Sport: “Last year did not go super great in terms of I got a really bad cold and had to see a doctor there and get antibiotics.

“It was not the trip or race that I had hoped for but it was still amazing, absolutely amazing.

“Looking back, what went wrong does not really matter as much as the fact I was in it.”

And she was quick to praise her coach Jon Schofield, who won medals at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016, as well as the community North Berwick, including Steampunk, for their support.

She added: “The support of the local community has been very, very important to me.

“My neighbours asking how the training is going and cheering me on means more than they probably know.

“It makes such a difference.”