Paralympic champions Laura Sugar and Charlotte Henshaw claimed golds on a day which saw four Brits win medals at ICF World Cup 2 in Poznan.
Sugar triumphed in the women’s KL3 final, with compatriot Hope Gordon claiming bronze, while Henshaw eased to victory in the women’s KL2. Stuart Wood started the medal rush with his bronze in the men’s VL3.
Sugar, who won gold in both Tokyo and Paris, stopped the clock in 47.08, putting her just over half a second clear of Germany’s Felicia Laberer. Gordon’s time of 48.34 was enough for the final spot on the podium.
Sugar said: “It was really good, a lot better than the heat on Thursday. I love racing, it was a great race with lots of girls in the mix, and it’s nice to come away with both of us on the podium.”
Gordon added: “Getting on any podium is always a big result for me, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with those girls. I haven’t been back to full-time training for too long so it’s an exciting way to start the season.”
Henshaw continued her dominance of the KL2 category, with the reigning world and Paralympic champion in control from the outset of the final.
Her winning time of 48.74 was more than four seconds clear of her nearest challenger and the 38-year-old said:
“It was better than Thursday. I managed the conditions better, executed the race much more to plan and felt like I was working with the boat rather than against it.
“I’m pleased with the result and there is lots to work on for the rest of the season.”
Wood started strongly in his VL3 final and then had to dig in to make sure of a medal, clocking 48.82.
“It was good, there are a few bits I’d like to work on but I did enough to sneak into the medals,” he said.
“It’s a good start to the season and I’m really happy.”
Elsewhere, Ed Clifton came within a whisker of joining his teammates on the podium as he finished fourth in the VL2 men’s 200m.
The 39-year-old flew out the traps but was reeled in by Brazilian pair Igor Alex Tofalini and Fernando Rufino de Paulo, with Portugal’s Norberto Mourao claiming the final podium spot by just over a tenth of a second at Clifton’s expense.
Tom Lambert finished fifth in the men’s C1 1000m B final, while Dan Johnson did likewise over the same distance in the K1.
Deborah Kerr took fifth in the women’s K1 500m B final, a race which saw Emma Russell come home ninth, while Afton Fitzhenry completed a quartet of British fifth-place finishes in B finals by taking that spot in the women’s C1 500m. She finished four-tenths of a second clear of Emily Gill in sixth.
The morning session, which got off to a delayed start due to an issue with one of the starting buckets, saw two British pairs advance into Sunday’s B final of the women’s K2 500m.
Emily Lewis and Emma Russell were fourth in their semi-final, a position also achieved by Zoe Clark and Kristina Armstrong, with both pairs narrowly missing out on the A final by margins of around half a second.
Phil Miles and Tom Lusty will go up against each other in the men’s K1 500m C final after finishing seventh and eighth respectively in the discipline’s second semi-final.
Abi Burgess and Lucy Lee-Smith each finished eighth in their women’s K1 200m semi-finals, while Fitzhenry was seventh at the same stage of the women’s C1 200m after clocking 50.84.
The team will be back in action tomorrow as the K1 men’s 500m finals get us underway.
Live results can be followed here and all the action can be watched on the Planet Canoe YouTube.
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