The paracanoe team had great success on the final day of racing for the Paracanoe Demonstration events at the World Championships in Denmark. The team took home not one, but two gold medals and a silver. The junior women were on top form again with a 4th place finish for the K2 of Roeser and Payne.
The junior women got action underway once again this morning. This time in the K2 long course race.
Greta Roeser (Wey) lined up with partner Sienna Payne (Chelmsford) for a thrilling race around the 17.7km course.
It was fast off the line and the British crew found themselves in the chase group as four boats broke away to lead.
The Brits kept the pace high and were able to rejoin the lead group around lap two, maintaining content into the first portage of the race. Both girls were fast on the portages and had a good get in, ready to push on around the next lap.
The Hungarian crew put in a solo effort to drop the rest of the group and go clear. Roeser and Payne were joined by two other crews in an attempt to chase them down.
Coming into the penultimate portage an interaction with one of the canoes from a different race caused the duo to drop slightly behind the group heading into the pontoon.
Unfortunately this meant the girls dropped back from the top three positions in the race around the final large lap.
It was a gripping end to the race as Greta and Sienna put in a huge effort in an attempt to catch up with the boats in those medal positions.
They crossed the line in an impressive fourth place with a time of 1:21:40.
Speaking with the star duo after their race they said:
G “It was so much fun”
S “We did really well. We're really happy with the result, there was that moment at the turn which we were less happy about, but we still put in the work and I think if we had a little bit more time then we would've been there”
G “It was quite exciting to see how it kept changing and forming and moving around. Being behind and watching the race ahead you see the front group moving around and doing so many burns. Whereas we were doing a steady pace in a group and doing equal leads.”
S “It was calmer back there and I think it was better because at Euros we definitely didn't have a great start, but this was definitely better than Euros and we were more settled and the group was working together to get back up there. Where as at Euros I think we did a lot more of the leading”
G “We were very proud of our burn up to the top group”
S “The Hungarian boat broke free and then we were in a group of three with us the Spanish and the South Africans and we were trying to catch them and then on the turn one of the C1 boats didn’t move out the way on the turn”
G “The C1 was going wide so I thought we could nip through but then they went close so we had to do a bit of back paddling and then I think we struggled to try and recover from that. It was a really hard lap”
S “As we neared the bottom turn we were definitely a lot closer, you could see the V but we just couldn't quite get there in time”
The paracanoe team had a spectacular day out on the water as racing concluded for the 2023 Paracanoe Demonstration races.
In his debut at an international paracanoe race, Charlie Knowlden (Royal Leamington Spa) earnt a brilliant gold medal in the Men's KL3. He was joined on the start line by Tim Lodge (Wey) who made it a one, two for Great Britain, securing the silver medal.
Both brits got off to a great start to power ahead of their competitors. They maintained contact with each other around the 11.1km course. It came down to an epic sprint finish between the two Brits and the Argentinian boat, which saw Knowlden claim the gold with time Lodge only six seconds behind.
Charlie completed the course with a time of 0:58:41 and Tim with 0:58:47.
Speaking to Charlie after his win, he said:
“I haven’t really processed it yet, I'm going to feel great in about an hour and my ego is going to be through the roof, but for now I’m just trying to not be sick.
“Before the race I was pretty nervous as this was my first world championship ever and I was competing against some of the best. As soon as those start gates dropped I just tried to remember all of my training and tried to get on the side of one of the washes.
“I remained on that right side for all three long laps and then on that short lap I saw that they might try to push me out on the finish line so I thought I'm going to make a move now and I just sent it and came first.
Speaking about his journey to winning gold in his first international marathon race Charlie continued:
“I've done about four (marathon races before today). I have to thank all my coaches for pushing me well out of my comfort zone and all that training has paid off. I got this first place because of them. A shout out to my coaches Sam Glover, Attila Herbent, T Bore and Sam Cribbett my main marathon guy, and Tim Scott
“I started off doing pool sessions in a rec boat and it all started from there. They saw I had a talent for it and the slalom team picked me up and I did a couple races there and enjoyed it. All of the white water guys were pushing me to do bigger white water so that is where I get my balance from and that has shaped me into a well rounded paddler. When I did start sprint about a year ago, I picked it up really fast and now I'm here. I'm really proud of myself and I enjoy this sport so much. It's been a life changer.”
Jon White (Exeter) also secured a gold medal in the KL2 Men's class.
He had a brilliant race and even paddling in a small field, White was able to display his incredible paddling talent, finishing over three minutes ahead of the other competitors.
He completed the 11.1km course with a time of 1:01:51.
Speaking after his race he Jon said:
“I'm pretty excited. It was quite stressful racing because we had a combined start, so I knew three of the people in the race ahead of me weren’t in my category, but the fourth person I wasn't sure about. But around halfway around the race I got the news that he wasn't in my category and that I was in the lead.
“After that I focused on holding my pace and worked hard right to the end. I'm very very happy and tired. My heart rate was probably averaging up around 190 for the race, so I was working really hard.
“I'm super happy. I got a silver in this race last year, so to get the gold this year is pretty amazing. I was hopeful but the problem is with the para races, we don't have any other races throughout the year, so you've got no idea who is going to turn up, what they've done in the last twelve months, so you just have to give it your all and hope for the best.”
Today’s racing concludes the Marathon Paracanoe Demonstration event out in Denmark with the Brits bringing home four fantastic medals.
The U23 long courses rounded off a fantastic day of racing.
Isla Bethune was back in action today after an unfortunate rudder issue meant she had to retire from her race yesterday.
Racing up in the U23 category, she had a great start to her race and established herself in the leading group. She maintained the strong position around the first two laps.
Coming into the first portage Bethune lost contact with the race leaders.
As the race continued on the Elmbridge paddler started to drop back within the field. She powered on and put on a dedicated performance around the course to finish in 16th position.
She completed the 21k course in a time of 1:51:04.
Luke Shaw (Norwich) and Matt Collinge (Fowey) were representing the Brits in the U23 Men's race.
Collinge stormed off the start and established a great position within the lead group. Luke battled with a crowded field off the line and was pushed back.
Lap two saw the both Brits paddling together in a chase group upping the pace in an attempt to get back up the field.
Lap six saw a huge effort from Luke as he managed to rejoin the leaders heading into the penultimate portage. He had a strong portage, and settled into the second v of the lead group.
The Danish boat of Knudsen set the pace high on the last portage. It caused the group to split and Shaw was left in a chase group again for the final small lap of the race.
The Norwich paddler crossed the line in an impressive eighth place with a time of 1:47:00.
Collinge continued to power around the 24.3km course after dropping back. He finished in an admirable 14th place with a time of 1:50:16.
Racing continues tomorrow with the Junior Men's K1 race at 7:50am BST and the Senior Long course races in the afternoon.
You can follow along live via Recast, and via the British Canoeing and Marathon Racing Committee social channels.
The start lists and live results can be found online here.