WAIS Slalom Canoe Pair Impress at Australian Open

WAIS slalom canoe athletes Kynan Maley and Robin Jeffery have finished sixth in the men’s C2 event at the Australian Open event in Penrith on the weekend.

The pair produced a strong mid-section run for a highly credible finish in what was a world class finish as the process for Olympic selection draws near.

The French duo of Mathieu Peche and Gauthier Klauss won the men’s C2 final amongst a top field in 110.41, a mere 0.14s clear of Slovenian duo Luka Bozic and Saso Taljat. A gate touch proved costly for Great Britain champions David Florence and Richard Hounslow, who finished 1.76s off the winners’ time in third.

The WAIS pair was encouraged with their result, particularly given they feel there is still room for improvement.

“We’re pretty happy. We still improved our time. I’m not sure about our places but we improved there (our time). But the general feel in the boat was better for the majority of the course. Still, a few little mistakes but we’re really happy,” Maley said.

“It’s pretty good to have two runs pretty close (in time) together. It’s a solid foundation at the start of the Olympic year. There are lots we can improve. In this sport it’s the errors that cost you the most. So we got rid of those and have them under control with those two runs and can move forward with that.”

Jeffery said the competition had been very demanding one, but felt there was more to come with further experience.

“A lot of them (Europeans) have been paddling together for years. Kynan and I are still relatively new on the world scene. They’re good at the moment but we’re (Aussies) catching them every year. I think we can get there really soon,” Jeffery said.

The individual slalom results weren’t quite what the pair were hoping for, with Jeffery missing out on a semi-final berth, whilst Maley failed to capitalise on a strong performance in qualifying, to exit the competition at the semi-final stage.

The next Olympic selection event, the ‘Oceania Championships’, commences later this month.

 – Canoeing Australia