Fox sisters lead the way in qualifications at Canoe Slalom World Cup

Fox sisters lead the way in qualifications & Australian trio show doubling up not a problem at Canoe Slalom World Cup

Daniel Watkins (TAS), Jessica Fox (NSW) and Rosalyn Lawrence (NSW) have led the way for Australia on the opening day of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Liptovsky Mikulas, with the trio qualifying for the both the K1 and C1 semi-finals on the weekend (23-24 June 2018).

In other good news for Australia, Noemie Fox (NSW) qualified second behind her big sister in the women’s C1, while Timothy Anderson (VIC) needed just one run to qualify for the men’s K1 semi-finals.

Watkins is one of just a handful of male paddlers who contest both the K1 and the C1, but made light of the heavy workload by qualifying tenth quickest in the C1, and then getting through on the second run in the K1, despite four seconds in penalties.

“I’m really happy, for the first World Cup of the season to start the day with a really good C1 run and get into the semi-finals, and then to also make the kayak semi makes it more than twice as good,” Watkins said.

“And to be able to do them both at the same time, that’s what I’m trying to chase. I’m pretty proud to be honest, it’s not a massive deal for myself because I’ve always done it, it’s just like any race.

“It was not really a big thing when my results weren’t stacking up, it was like ‘anyone can jump in and float down in two boats’, but now that I’m coming onto the higher levels and getting top 15 times in both C1 and K1, I’m really proud to be able to do that.”

Fox (NSW) returned a near perfect day, finishing second quickest in the K1, and then pipping younger sister Noemie by 1.71 seconds to head into Sunday’s C1 semi-finals as the fastest qualifier.

“You just have to go and do your run, and I was really happy with my race, just really solid and smooth,” Fox said.

“But I’m really happy for Noemie to get a good result in the qualifiers as well.

“It’s nice to get that first run back on the international circuit, so it’s always good to get that out of the way and get a feel for it again.”

For Noemie Fox (NSW) it was a strong start to her European season after some indifferent form in 2017.

“Last year was not the best season, so this season I feel a little bit more confident, I have a better boat,” she said.

“And it’s nice to be able to just focus on C1. I’ll still have kayak opportunities at Junior World’s, but I’m really excited for this season.”

Lawrence (NSW) showed she is ready for a big season by qualifying fifth quickest in the C1, after posting the third fastest time in the second run of the K1.

In other results, Kate Eckhardt (TAS), Ian Borrows (NSW) and Brodie Crawford (WA) missed the semi finals of their K1 and C1 events respectively.

Racing continues on Saturday, 23 June 2018 with the semifinals and finals in the men’s C1 and women’s K1. The semifinals and finals in the men’s K1 and women’s C1 are scheduled for Sunday, 24 June 2018.

Follow the World Cup via live streaming: http://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-slalom-world-cup/liptovsky-mikulas-2018 and live results: https://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-slalom-world-cup/liptovsky-mikulas-2018/rankings-results

For video interviews head to www.facebook.com/australiansprintslalom

Schedule, Saturday, 23 June 2018

  • Men’s C1 Semifinal: 9:03 CET (17:03 AEST)
  • Women’s K1 Semifinal: 10:08 CET (18:08 AEST)
  • Men’s C1 Final: 12:03 CET (20:03 AEST)
  • Women’s K1 Final: 12:40 (20:40 AEST)

Schedule, Sunday, 24 June 2018

  • Women’s C1 Semifinal: 9:03 CET (17:03 AEST)
  • Men’s K1 Semifinal: 10:08 CET (18:08 AEST)
  • Women’s C1 Final: 12:03 CET (20:03 AEST)
  • Men’s K1 Final: 12:40 (20:40 AEST)

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