Great Britain’s canoe sprint and paracanoe teams contest three A finals on the third day of racing at the ICF World Championships.
After an impressive semi-final run yesterday, the women’s K4 were ninth in their third A final of the season.
And while the quartet of Emily Lewis, Deborah Kerr, Kristina Armstrong and Zoe Clark were disappointed, there were many positives to take from the regatta.
Emily said: “We tried to put our best race down, it wasn’t what we hoped for but we’ve got a lot to learn, as this crew we’ve only had six weeks in the boat.”
“I think it’s our fourth 500 that we’ve just finished and we’ve got some really strong foundations,” added Debs. “It is hard, those are some really quick girls out there. We just need to repeat what we did in the semi-final more often because that was pretty good.”
In her first senior international final Kristina was optimistic about the LA cycle.
“We’ve gotten to know each other as a crew really well, figuring out how we all work and what we all like. Yesterday and today’s race is just a reflection of how we work as a team, not just us here but everyone in the group at home.
“We’ve got a strong foundation for the next three years like Debs said and we’ve got something special here.”
And Zoe added: “It’s always exciting to be in a big race and hearing the crowd on the start line does give you a bit of a kick. I think it’s just a case of now getting used to being in A finals rather than just having it as the exception, so that’s the next step.”
Team mate Emma Russell raced in her second individual A Final of what has been a great racing season. She was 8th in the K1 1000m.
“It was really exciting, I’ve looked up to those girls a lot so to actually be lining up with them again just feels a bit surreal,” she said.
“I’m really happy and even with the conditions today it’s probably my second quickest ever time. With a PB yesterday and a pretty good time today, that just shows that I’ve done a lot of 1000m work over the last couple of months and it’s nice to see it paying off.
“I think that particularly the women’s kayak group as a whole is working really well together and it’s just really exciting for future years. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else we can do.”
On his international debut, Tom Price was eighth in the final of the VL1.
Having been disappointed with his heat run on Wednesday, Tom made amends by qualifying through to the semi-final with a much improved run.
Having declared after his heat that he didn’t come all this way for one race, Tom finished in second place to qualify for his first international final, before ultimately coming in 8th overall.
“I literally have no words,” he said. “From the start line you can hear everyone cheering and it just gives you goosebumps. Thankfully I had some level of awareness so that I could take it in because it was insane.
“I’m happy with how I paddled but it’s just been incredible. I like canoeing, it’s pretty nice and I can get used to this.
“It has been amazing, the crowds, the people, the staff, it’s just such a good environment.”
Tom Lambert put down a personal best performance with his highest international finish, coming in 8th in the B-Final of the C1 500m.
“I knew I was never going to win, but surrounding myself with great athletes and being on the start line with paddlers I know are faster than me has really helped.
“It’s going to help me in the years to come, along with learning how to better refine my race process will really help me.
“After the disappointment of the Euros, to have achieved a B final has given me some real confidence.”
In the semi-finals, Tokyo 2020 medallist Stuart Wood just missed a spot in the A final of the VL3, finishing fourth in the semis this morning. He will get the chance to race again tomorrow in the B final.
Dan Johnson was seventh in the semi-final of the K1 1000m to progress to the C final tomorrow.
After a sixth place in her semi-final, Beth Gill will race in the B final of the C1 500 tomorrow afternoon.
After the racing was cancelled yesterday after thunderstorms caused havoc on the Idrascolo lake, a number of rescheduled paracanoe heats took place this morning.
Having been forced to take shelter behind a restaurant boat, European Champion Dave Phillipson was relieved that the conditions were somewhat calmer today as he won his KL2 heat.
He said: “It’s been absolutely mad but it’s a lot nicer today and we did what we needed to do so I’m happy.
“It was a bit exciting, I had to rescue about six people but luckily everyone is alright. I’m pretty laid back, it is what it is.
“It was an early start today so it was a bit tiring but I had a nice and fresh cycle in today on the scooter and I was ready to go.
“I still get the nerves, of course, there’s still that pressure but I’ve got confidence now and I just settled into it nicely and everything worked out really well.
Hope Gordon and Charlotte Henshaw are both safely through to the final of VL2 on Sunday. The pair were also out on the water yesterday, waiting to line up as the storm hit but despite the change of schedule, were able to execute their race plans.
“Yesterday was a day we’ll all remember,” said Hope. It adds to the experience. It was a really good example of how the paracanoe family came together and got people off of the water, a real display of teamwork.
“I’ve got some bruises and a bit of a bloody nose from yesterday but I didn’t let it distract me.
“It’s just a case of taking it, simplifying it down, you’ve got to do 200m as fast as you can. It’s something we do every single day so it’s just about focusing on what we have to do.
“We’ll just completely forget about that now and focus on the kayak final tomorrow.”
Xander Van Der Poll also qualified for the VL2 A final after coming in third during his semi-final this morning. This marks the first time Xander will appear in an international A final after he faced disqualification at the Euros last year.
Elsewhere in the heats, Jonny Young and Rob Oliver booked their spots in the semi-finals of the KL3 after both finishing their respective heats in third.
Having also had their races cancelled yesterday, the pair blew out the cobwebs to qualify comfortably.
The last of the semi-finals will be taking place tomorrow morning, with more finals scheduled in during the afternoon.
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.