Stunning conditions in Adelaide once again greeted competitors on day three of the Paddle Australia Canoe Sprint Championships, with plenty of Club glory on the line in the team boat events.
Athletes also had the opportunity to test their speed, with the 200 metre distance the focus of the day.
For full results – click here.
In the 16&U Men’s K4 200, it was a true battle of the States, with New South Wales young guns taking the gold ahead of local South Australians and Queensland.
Luke Chaffer made up the winning K4 crew, with 16 year old from Sydney Northern Beaches thrilled his team were able to get the win.
His family name is synonymous with kayaking, his dad Ross an Olympian who formed part of the K4 crew at the Sydney Olympics, Luke is pleased to be back kayaking after spending a couple of years away from the sport.
“I joined when I was 12 and then faded away for a bit… but I got into Surf Life Saving and I decided to come back [to kayaking].
“We [K4 team] got selected into the State team at the start of the year and we have been training together since then trying to build the boat and switch arrangements.
“It’s quite interesting because everyone wants to be in the K1 but you want to get into a team boat to get the feeling, bring the energy from the team events into your individual events,” he said.
Queensland’s Currumbin Creek rising star, Claudia Bailey, was part of the K4 200 18&U crew that took gold, adding the bronze medal she collected with her twin sister Alyssa in the K2 200.
“Racing has been going really well, we’ve been so fortunate to have such beautiful conditions and it’s been really fun racing out there.
“It’s so great to race with my sister – I love racing with her and we hate losing to each other so it’s always a great time.
“It’s so good to be here at Nationals, for us in Queensland our States got cancelled this year so we’re all just glad to be here racing,” she said.
More action is coming up across the weekend. You can stream all the Canoe Sprint Championship action LIVE on the Paddle Australia Facebook Page. Daily photo galleries and behind-the-scenes content will be shared on the Paddle Australia Facebook and Instagram.
Keep up to date with all the results on our website HERE
