The first day of the ICF U23 and Junior Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho brings a strong foundation for Great Britain with today’s athletes all reaching semi-finals.
Isaac Aveson (Richmond) is safely through in the junior men’s K1 200m tomorrow after he placed second in his heat, coming in 0.78 seconds behind the Australian frontrunner, Jerome Drobot.
Gabriel Popham-Coveley (NOT) achieved second place in the U23 men’s K1 1000m in the final event for GB for day one. He recorded a time of 3:44.36.
Another success for the juniors came from Annie Bates (RIC) who claimed the number three spot in her K1 1000m heat with 4:20.91.
Also coming in third, Kristina Armstrong competed in the U23 women’s K1 500m event with a time of 1:58.95.
Both the men’s crewboat teams will also advance through to the semi-finals. The U23 K4 500m comprising Benji Cabrera (Fowey), Tom Holland (WEY), Dylan O’Connor (RIC), and Xavier Hinves (Southampton) came in third in their heat this morning, missing out on the top spot by just 3.31 seconds.
The junior team of Tom Hatton (RIC), Freddie Heard (Exeter), Olivier Mazur (RDG), and Sam Dickson (FOX) completed their heat with a time of 1:28.78, placing them in sixth.
Hatton also advances to semi-finals in the junior K1 1000m as he came in fifth during heats this afternoon.
In the women’s U23 K1 1000M, Lucy Guest (Nottingham) also finished in sixth, completing her heat in 4:19.22.
Dianora De Bilio (Royal) came in seventh in the second heat of the junior women’s K1 500m, 4.93 seconds behind Sofia Zucca of Italy.
Thursday afternoon will see more heats, with semi-finals beginning from 9am.
The schedule and live results can be found here.
Or to watch the racing, the livestreaming will be available for members on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.