The 2019 ICF junior and U23 wildwater canoeing world championships in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina wrapped up over the weekend with Australia taking home a bronze medal in the women’s U23 kayak sprint team event.
Western Australians Georgina Collin and Demi O’Brien teamed up with Madison Wilson (VIC) to win bronze in the K1 sprint team event on Friday.
“We had a pretty good run and didn’t expect to win bronze. I went first, Demi second and Maddie third and we managed to cross the finish line pretty fast, but we didn’t believe that we had actually won a medal. The boys were coming down and they were telling us that we were third but we needed to see it in writing,” Georgina Collin said laughing.
“We tried to stay at each other’s tails and that worked well,” Maddie Wilson added.
Madison Wilson also finished sixth in the individual women’s U23 C1 canoe sprint event, after qualifying for the final with a first place in the second run of the heats.
“I’m really happy with my result. I was very excited about winning the second run and didn’t realise I could pull out a run that quick. The final wasn’t quite as good as my second run the day before, but it was good given the circumstances,” Madison Wilson said.
Victorian brothers Kaylen and Lachlan Bassett completed the Australian contingent in the U23 sprint finals with the pair finishing sixth in the men’s U23 canoe double sprint and only +1.07 seconds behind first place. The pair qualified for the final with a third place in their second run of the heats.
“We’re pretty happy overall. We put in a fast time to get into the final and then did it again in a good, competitive field. We can be pretty happy about the race and being +1.07 seconds off first place. There’s still some room for improvement and we’ve learnt a bunch,” Lachlan Bassett said.
“The wildwater here in Banja Luka was pretty good. Not too difficult but it was hard to put a consistent line in,” Kaylen Bassett added about the Vrbas river in Banja Luka.
Kaylen + Lachlan Bassett – Photo Wildwater Canoe
It was the last U23 world championships for Kaylen Bassett, who will also contest the senior wildwater world champs at the end of September.
“It’s a bit sad to have now finished my last U23 wildwater worlds. I had some trouble both in and out of the K1, but I’m really happy with the C2 with my brother Lachlan and we are excited to see where we can take it,” Kaylen Bassett said.
“Now I will do some slalom races and then continue onto preparing for the Senior Worlds in La Seu (Spain). I’m hoping to take the confidence we have gained from these worlds and to also rectify mistakes to put together a solid campaign at the senior worlds. It will be an exciting event being not only a dual event with slalom but also Olympic qualification,” Bassett added about the wildwater canoeing world championships at the end of September, which will be run in conjunction with the 2019 ICF canoe slalom world championships.
In the individual sprint races, Robert Janiszewski also put in a strong race just missing out of the finals by .91 seconds in the men’s C1 at his first U23 world championships and finishing ninth.
“I was really happy with my second run and missed out by .93 seconds. It’s my first U23s and I’m really stoked. I still have a couple of years ahead of me and I’m looking forward to it,” Robert Janiszewski said.
“I have been training with the Swiss team for about a month and the European training style has helped for this event and it shows in the high ranking I managed to get. I will definitely continue with my wildwater and I feel a lot fitter now. I also hope to take that into my slalom as well and fight for selection at the end of the year,” Janiszewski added about the goals ahead.
Robert Janiszewski also finished fifth in the U23 men’s canoe sprint team event together with his Melbourne Canoe Club mates Kaylen and Lachlan Bassett.
Robert Janiszewski – Photo Wildwater CanoeIn other Australian sprint results, Paddle Australia’s men’s junior K1 sprint team of Victorians Ryan Hughes, James Humphry and Ben Strmecki finished sixth in a tight race and only 0.61 seconds off the podium.
The U23 men’s kayak sprint team of Kaylen Bassett, Max Mcdonald (VIC) and Kieran Simpson (WA) finished seventh.
The strong results across the wildwater sprint events secured Australia a spot in the top ten of the sprint nations cup ranking with the team finishing eighth place out of the 18 countries contesting the event.
The sprint events were followed by the long-distance classic races with Georgina Collin (WA), Imogen Douglass (VIC) and Ashlee Ilott (VIC) finishing fifth in the women’s U23 K1 classic team race on Sunday.
Joshua Lee (NSW), James Humphry (VIC) and Ryan Hughes (VIC) finished ninth in the men’s junior K1 classic team, while Kaylen Bassett, Max Mcdonald and Kieran Simpson finished tenth in the men’s U23 K1 classic team.
Genie Collin, as well as Victorians Kaylen Bassett, Madison Wilson, Imogen Douglass and Ben Strmecki will contest the senior 2019 ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in La Seu d’Urgell in Spain at the end of September next (25-29 September 2019). See the team for La Seu d’Urgell here.
See Australian results at Banja Luka below and here: https://www.canoeicf.com/wildwater-canoeing-world-championships/banja-luka-2019/live-results
2019 Paddle Australia Junior + U23 Wildwater Team Results
SPRINT RACE
Individual Races – Finals
Women’s U23 Canoe Sprint (12)
6thMadison Wilson (VIC)
Women’s U23 Kayak Sprint (15)
13thGeorgina Collin (WA)
Men’s U23 Canoe Double Sprint
6thKaylen Bassett / Lachlan Bassett (VIC)
Teams
Women’s U23 Kayak Sprint Team
3rdGeorgina Collin (WA), Demi O’Brien (WA), Madison Wilson (VIC)
Men’s U23 Canoe Sprint Team
5thKaylen Bassett (VIC), Lachlan Bassett (VIC)
Men’s U23 Kayak Sprint Team
7th Kaylen Bassett (VIC), Max Mcdonald (VIC), Kieran Simpson (WA)
Men’s Junior Kayak Sprint Team
6thRyan Hughes (VIC), James Humphry (VIC), Ben Strmecki (VIC)
2019 WWC Sprint Nations Cup: Australia 8th
CLASSIC RACE
U23
Women’s U23 Kayak Sprint
Genie Collin (WA):16th
Demi O’Brien (WA): 21st
Men’s U23 Canoe Sprint
Robert Janiszewski (VIC): 13th
Men’s U23 Kayak Sprint
Max McDonald (VIC): 33rd
Kieran Simpson (WA): 35th
Women’s U23 Canoe Sprint
Madison Wilson (VIC): 11th
Men’s U23 Canoe Double Sprint
Kaylen / Lachlan Bassett (VIC): 7th
JUNIORS
Women’s Junior Kayak Sprint
Imogen Douglass (VIC): 20th
Ashlee Illot (VIC): 25th
Men’s Junior Kayak Sprint
James Humphry (VIC): 24th
Ryan Hughes (VIC): 25th
Joshua Lee (NSW): 34th
Ben Strmecki (VIC): 39th
Classic Teams Classic Race teams:
Men’s Junior Kayak Classic Team (Joshua Lee, James Humphry, Ryan Hughes): 9th
Women’s U23 Kayak (Georgina Collin, Imogen Douglass, Ashlee Ilott): 5th
Men’s U23 Kayak (Kaylen Bassett, Max Mcdonald, Kieran Simpson): 10th
Sprint Events – Individual Heats:
JUNIORS
Women’s Junior Kayak Sprint
Imogen Douglass (VIC): 13thHeat 2 | 11thHeat 1
Men’s Junior Kayak Sprint
Ben Strmecki: 29 Heat 2 | 19 Heat 1
Ryan Hughes: 22 Heat 2 | 23 Heat 1
James Humphry: 26 Heat 2 | 30 Heat 1
Joshua Lee: 33 Heat 2 | 30 Heat 1
U23
Women’s U23 Kayak Sprint
Genie Collin: 7 Heat 2 | 21 Heat 1
Demi O’Brien: 14 Heat 2| 18 Heat 1
Men’s U23 Canoe Sprint
Robert Janiszewski: 9 Heat 2 | 18 Heat 1
Men’s U23 Kayak Sprint
Kaylen Bassett: 22 Heat 2 | 40 Heat 1
Max McDonald: 29 Heat 2 | 32 Heat 1
Kieran Simpson: 34 Heat 2 | 34 Heat 1
Women’s U23 Canoe Sprint
Madison Wilson: 1 Heat 2 | 10 Heat 1
Men’s U23 Canoe Double Sprint
Kaylen / Lachlan Bassett: 3 Heat 2 | 9 Heat 1
