Sunday, 13 January 2019 – Final event wrap to follow
The final day’s racing of racing at the 2019 Paddle Australia Canoe Slalom Senior National Champs at Brady’s Whitewater course in Tasmania wrapped up with the semis and finals of the Women’s C1 and the Men’s K1 classes.
In today’s final of the women’s canoeing event (WC1), line honours went to NSW paddler, Ros Lawrence in a time of 109.09 seconds. It was the second title in a row for Ros Lawrence, who already won yesterday’s women’s K1. Noemie Fox (NSW) finished in second place with a time of 112.23 and won the U23 category of the event. Third overall and second place in the U23 age group went to Tasmanian paddler Kate Eckhardt (115.40). All top three athletes got a few penalties in their final runs which saw today’s times slightly slower than those for the heats.
Despite a couple of minor time losses, Ros Lawrence felt able to keep her C1 race under control. “I always enjoy the conditions at Brady’s Whitewater course but keeping that momentum going was a challenge.
“It’s obviously a lot harder paddling in the canoeing event versus kayaking and while you have a lot more vision during your run there are still plenty of challenges,” Ros said.
The Men’s kayaking event was won by Australian team member Daniel Watkins who managed to improve his times recorded in the heats to post a winning time in today’s blistering final of the MK1 race.
Watkins finished (93.41) over a second faster than NSW’s and Rio 2016 Olympian Lucien Delfour (94.74) with Tim Anderson taking third spot in a time of 95.92. Today’s results see Watkins take out an amazing double in the National Championships with first place in the in both the Men’s K1 and C1 classes.
“I was nervous at the start as I was further down the field through the semis. But I was absolutely stoked with my run through the middle and felt fit and strong all the way to the bottom,” Watkins said straight after the event.
The U23 podium saw Angus Thompson (NSW) at the top with Tristan Carter (VIC) in second and Brad McLaughlan (VIC) in third.
The Senior Championships are also a welcome opportunity for the younger paddlers (Under 18) to compete against the national team paddlers with the Senior event part of the 2019 Paddle Australia Junior Slalom team selection series.
Paddlers in the Under 18 class, Brad McLaughlan (VIC) and Mark Crosbee posted good times in the Men’s K1 race today, reinforcing their bids for national team selection. All junior paddlers will have to repeat their strong performances at Penrith’s Whitewater Festival next month, when the final team selections will be determined.
The Junior paddlers will head to Victoria next to contest the 2019 Paddle Australia Junior and Masters Slalom National Championships on the Goulburn River in Eildon (18-20 January 2019).
Slalom events involve paddler navigating a series of gates down a white-water course with the gates altered for each heat. Paddlers must go upriver through red gates and downriver through the green gates and on the challenging Brady’s course, every paddler requires considerable technical skills as this is one of Australia’s most demanding canoeing venues, which made for exciting racing.
This event is hosted by Paddle Tasmania and Derwent Canoe Club. The event is supported by Hydro Tasmania, Tasmanian State Government, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services and the Tasmanian Institute of Sport.
See more information about the Brady’s Lake races at the event website: https://slalom.paddle.org.au/.
Results can be accessed here with today’s results to be uploaded later today: https://slalom.paddle.org.au/results/
