The GB U23 and junior sprint team confirmed their places in more semi-finals and several B finals today at the World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal.
U23 men’s K1 500m saw Gabriel Popham-Coveley (NOT) come out on top during his heat with a strong performance of 1:43.45.
He will be looking to take that winning energy into tomorrow’s semi-final.
Kristina Armstrong (SPS) achieved fourth place in her U23 women’s K1 200m heat. She previously came in third in the 2023 European Championships for the event and will advance to the semi-final.
In the junior squad, the men’s K4 crewboat made up of Tom Hatton (RIC), Olivier Mazur (RDG), Freddie Heard (EXE), Sam Dickson (FOX) put in a strong performance to come in fourth in their semi-final this morning.
Their 1:26.14 time today being just under three seconds faster than their heat, and places them in the B final tomorrow.
Also for the juniors, Isaac Aveson (RIC) finished fourth in his K1 200m semi-final, missing out on the A final by 1.08 seconds.
He will advance in the B final at 14:32 tomorrow.
Tom Holland (WEY), Benji Cabrera (FOW), Xavier Hinves (SOU), Dylan O’Connor (RIC), placed fifth in the U23 men’s K4 500m.
A quicker time of 1:24.07 today puts them through to B finals.
Another B final spot is reserved for Annie Bates (RIC) after a time of 4:12.74 in the junior women’s K1 1000m semi-final put her in seventh.
Dianora De Bilio (ROY) competed in the junior women’s K1 200m heats, securing her place in the semi-final in sixth position, in 48.26.
After competing in the junior K4 earlier in the day, Mazur also finished in sixth place to cement his place in the K1 500m semi-finals, completing the race in 1:52.46.
The U23 men’s K2 500m duo of Nelson Kinzler (RIC) and Dylan O’Connor achieved seventh place in their heat this evening with a time of 1:38.84. They will go through to the semi-finals.
Lucy Guest (NOT) will not advance further in the competition after coming in ninth in her U23 women’s K1 1000m race.
She put on an impressive race, improving on her heat time by 9.07 seconds, and will appear alongside Popham-Coveley in the K1 5K relay on Sunday.
Friday morning will see more semi-finals taking place (09.35am), before moving onto B and A finals in the afternoon.
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.