The World Games in Chengdu, China saw canoe marathon take place over the weekend.
With humid and varied weather across the weekend, the best racers from the top 20 countries in the world took to the water, including GB athletes James Russell and Melissa Johnson.
Both appeared in short and long distance races across Saturday and Sunday, qualifying for their respective finals at Xinglong Lake.
Both appeared in their respective short course heats, confidently qualifying for the finals.
The hot and humid morning racing showed a fast paced start for the British paddlers.
This followed into the finals with Russell coming in tenth in a time of 14:38.95, falling just behind Ivan Alonso of Spain.
Johnson finished her WK1 short distance final in 16:46.89, putting her in 13th position. Swede, Melina Anderson claimed the top spot with a time of 15:20.64.
The long course event saw a bigger field than the short, with all 20 countries taking their places at the start line.
Another fast paced start for Johnson, fitting for the back washes, as she worked hard to get through the field.
The earlier laps saw her picking off a few places before she swam ahead of one of the later portages.
Johnson came in at 14th during her long distance final, with the gold being awarded to Anderson yet again.
“The World Games has been an amazing experience, it’s always a great honour to represent Great Britain, but this competition really shows the level of quality of the athletes,” says Johnson.
“Racing has been really fun, they didn’t all go to plan but that’s marathon racing, anything can happen.
“The weather was definitely a challenge, from really hot to rain storms. I wasn’t expecting to struggle as much as I did in the heat, I had prepared for hot temperatures, but the humidity is never that bad in England.
“The highlight would have to be carrying the flag in the opening ceremony, just being a part of it and representing Great Britain made the experience extra special, I’ll remember that moment forever,” says Johnson.
In the men’s long distance event, Russell pulled off of the start line lightning quick, finding his way into the front group with ease.
However, several of his opponents set out with an intense work rate, switching leads between a front four to slim the group down early.
Russell was one of the last casualties to split from the group, which then had him working hard to chase the pack for the majority of the race.
A strong battle to the finish saw him take sixth place overall, just 2:36.29 short of the Danish frontrunner Mads Brandt Pedersen.
During the K1 long distance final, Russell got his best result of the competition in sixth place. He fell just 2:36.29 short of the Danish frontrunner, Mads Brandt Pedersen.
“It was really hectic with a tight turnaround across the two days of racing but it was a really enjoyable and great experience,” says Russell.
“It was an interesting time, we had the athlete village which just shows that the competition is as big as it gets bar the Olympics.
“The weather was definitely a challenge, it was hot and humid, just crazy temperatures. It was a little bit cooler on Sunday which is why I got a better result.
“Overall the conditions were not ideal for me, the weather probably benefited some of the smaller competitors but I’m happy with my performance,” says Russell.
Looking forward for canoe marathon, the World Championships will be held at the beginning of September in Gyor, Hungary.
The competition will see the junior, under 23, senior and para athletes coming together to race.