The women’s K4 blazed into the 500m A final after a confident display in their semi this afternoon on day two of the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in a stormy Milan.
The quartet of Tokyo 2020 Olympians Emily Lewis and Deborah Kerr combined with the 2024 European U23 champions Kristina Armstrong and Zoe Clark had a strong start and were in second place at the halfway marker.
Having pulled back the Slovakians, they held their form and a fightback from Germany to ultimately finish in second place behind the Hungarian team, with the third fastest time of the day.
Debs said: “It just felt so good from the start, but we just nailed every stroke. It doesn’t happen every race but we made it happen when we needed to and I’m so proud of everyone.”
“The second part of the race, through the middle 200 and 300 is what we’ve been working on in training and I think we nailed that in the race to stay in the group,” explained Kristina. “We just gave it everything.”
And it was the teamwork that made the difference today.
“We left it all out there,” said Emily. “Zoe gave us the best pep talk before we got in the boat and then on the water every stroke was just fighting for each other.
“It’s just nice to know that each girl has got your back in that moment, there’s full trust in the boat and it really paid off.”
Zoe added: “This race especially has been a reflection of the season and the new way of working that we’ve got. It’s not just the four of us, this is a representation of where we’re going as a group. Now that we’ve made this A final, it’s such a good step for the next four years so I’m really proud.”
Emma Russell also stormed her way into her second senior individual final of the season with a composed race in the K1 1000m.
A group of four were in close contention for most of the race, but a strong second half from Emma saw her finish in third place to book her spot in the A Final tomorrow.
And she was delighted with the result.
“I was really pleased to move things on from the heat yesterday, this is a PB for me. I knew I was in contention and wanted to keep my composure at the end.”
Tom Lambert raced into the B finals of the C1 500m after adopting a new race plan for today. Having just missed the cut in Racice at the European Championships he is pleased with his progress since then.
“It’s nice to come out here and get into the finals, it’s something I missed out on at the Euros so there’s definitely been some progress there. I’m just happy to deliver a much better race.
Before I was too focussed on just racing hard and not actually how I was putting my paddle down. I reflected overnight, put some technical applications in place today and it felt better out there.”
“I think I need to be a bit more aggressive off the start and just try and find a rhythm and relax and race with confidence.
“I’m getting used to the level of competition and relaxing into it, like Ekaitz says, embracing that pressure. I’m using this year as a stepping stone for the next few years of the cycle so I’m pleased with the progress.”
Earlier in the day Kristina Armstrong and Deborah Kerr made history as the first all Scottish crew, racing in the heats of the K2 500m. In lane one with the kiwis to their left, the pair kept their composure and finished in sixth to book their place in the semi-finals.
Kristina said: “We stayed together, we didn’t panic or up the stroke rate or drop the stroke rate and made the most of the chop.
“That was a good run out, our first one internationally and we’ll go for it in the semi-finals”.
Kerr added: “We’re really proud to race here together, we’re from a tiny nation not known for its paddling so it’s really special.”
In a dramatic turn of events, Jeanette Chippington won her heat of the VL2 in the final race of the day, as the remaining events were cancelled due to inclement weather.
Having had the threat of thunderstorms throughout the day, the first drops of rain fell as Jeanette lined up at the start, but by the time she made it to the finish, the heavens had opened and the rumbles of thunder echoed throughout Idroscalo lake.
She commented on her return to international competition: “On the start line it was starting to rain a bit, and then the last 70m it was starting to really hail.
“It was incredible but all I kept thinking was just stay in my lane and keep going. When I stopped I had my sunglasses still on, and it did really hurt but I won my heat so I’m pleased.
Having raced here in 2015 as part of the Rio 2016 Paralympics selection, ahead of the sport making its debut, Jeanette has been in the sport since its inception.
“I have to pinch myself sometimes and think wow would I have thought ten years ago that I’d still be coming back here and I’d feel as strong as ever. I just want to go out there and prove myself.”
Elsewhere in the canoe sprint heats, Emily Lewis was a comfortable second in her heat of the K1 200m, she finished in second place to move through to the semi-final. Beth Gill was seventh in the C1 200m, in the first race of the day for GB. She will race again in semi-final three on Saturday.
Tom Lusty was fourth in the K1 500m to qualify for the semi-finals.
Benji Cabrera and Tom Holland combined in the men’s event at their first major senior event. They finished in sixth place but just missed out on a spot in the next round.
With semi-finals taking place throughout the morning, the first finals are scheduled for 1pm (BST).
If you want to watch along, the livestream is available for members on the Planet Canoe YouTube Channel.
Competition schedule and live results are available here.