WAIS kayaker Alana Nicholls has completed the 2015 Australian Sprint Canoe Championships with four gold medals after a highly impressive campaign in Sydney.
Having won her favoured events in the women’s K1 200m and 500m races earlier in competition, Nicholls built on her good form over the weekend to also claim titles in the women’s K2 200m and K4 500m events.
Nicholls combined with NSW paddler Jo Brigden Jones to take victory in the K2 200m, with the pair comfortably ahead of Bernadette Wallace and WAIS athlete Jaime Roberts in second. Nicholls and Brigden Jones clocked 38.21secs to finish over a second clear of Wallace and Roberts in 39.56.
There was no surprise in Nicholls taking victory in the women’s K4 500m, with the boat having recorded some scintillating times across the Grand Prix circuit.
Nicholls raced with Brigden Jones, Naomi Flood and Wallace with the four worked hard by silver medallists Catherine McArthur, Alyce Burnett, Hannah Minogue and Alyssa Bull. The champions crossed in 1:35.44, with the chasers a further 1.41sec behind in 1:36.85.
Nicholls also picked up a silver medal in the K2 500m with training partner Jaime Roberts, with the duo edged by Queensland pair Burnett and Bull.
London Olympians Jesse Phillips and Steve Bird have had their winning streak in the men’s K2 200m ended after their bid for a sixth consecutive title was ended by Ken Wallace and Lachlan Tame.
In one of the most exciting races of the championships, Phillips and Bird made a blistering start to lead by half a boat length before the 1000m specialists showed a late burst of speed to overhaul the WAIS duo on the line for a famous victory.
Tame admitted the result had been unexpected. “You do not expect to win against the five-time champions so it is always hard to beat guys who are at the top of their games year in year out,” he said.
WAIS combination Brodie Holmes and Todd Brewer were fourth in 33.44. Wallace and Tame clocked 32.76, which pipped Phillips and Bird by .07 of a second in a photo finish.
In what was dubbed a state of origin battle, Western Australian claimed bragging rights in the men’s K4 500m event. Whist the event is not an Olympic classification in the men’s events, there was keen interest in the race, with the showdown pitting state based combinations up against one another.
WA – represented by WAIS athletes; Phillips, Bird, Holmes and Daniel Bowker – recorded a fast 1:23.99 to take gold ahead of crews from Queensland in second and South Australia in third.
The title was one of two for Bowker, who also took line honours in the men’s K2 500m, which he paddled alongside NSW’s David Smith.
U23 WAIS paddler Shannon Reynolds also produced a strong campaign, making the final of the K1 200m, whilst also finishing on the podium in the K4 500m and K2 500m events.
Brock Ingram completed a bitter-sweet championship campaign, with the Australian representative paddler winning a hattrick of titles in the LTA class. Ingram won the K1 200m, 500m and 1000m events, with his results coming shortly after discovering his disability class will not be included in the Paralympic roster when the sport makes its debut in Rio in 2016.
