Paddlers Post Solid Result in First World Cup

The first races of the international canoeing season commenced on Saturday the 9^th and the 10^th of May, with the Canoe Sprint World Cup 1 held in Racice, Czech Republic.

There were fantastic results achieved by all Australian crews and individuals, with six Australian crews qualifying for finals on the Sunday. WAIS athletes Reece Baker, Alana Nicholls and Lisa Russ competed fiercely in their races to achieve solid early season results.

Reece Baker and his crew, Chad Alston (SA), Chris Alagich (SA) and Matt Urquhart (QLD), competed strongly in the men’s K4 1000m heat on Saturday morning. They placed 3^rd in a time of 3:03.306 qualifying them for the final the next day. In the final of the crew performed well claiming a 5^th place.

Fellow WAIS paddlers Lisa Russ and Alana Nicholls, along with their fellow crew members, Lyndsie Fogarty (QLD) and Mieke Boerema (SA), managed to also place 5^th in the final of the women’s K4 500m race with an excellent time of 1:38.214. Their solid time was not enough to out-do Poland who placed first in the event, with two Russian teams also claiming medals.

Nicholls and Russ then combined as partners to finish a commendable 9^th in the final of the women’s K2 500m.

Following the conclusion of the Canoe Sprint World Cup 1, the Australian team will move onto their training camp in Varese, Italy before a small selected portion of the team are selected to compete at the World Cup 2 in Poznan, Poland in May 22^nd-24^th.