Great Britain's senior paracanoe and canoe sprint teams kicked off their World Championships campaign on the opening day of the 2023 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Duisburg, Germany.
All of the British boats qualified through to their respective semi-finals with Emma Wiggs, Charlotte Henshaw and Hope Gordon securing finals spots.
Everything you need to follow the action, including a link to the results and Recast can be found here: https://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-sprint-world-championships/duisburg-2023
As well as aiming for their personal goals, athletes will also be contesting for boat quota places for the Olympic and Paralympic Games which will be held in Paris next summer.
Reigning World Champion Emma Wiggs posted the World's fastest VL2W 200m time, winning her heat in 56.002, five seconds ahead of her nearest rival. She progresses straight to Friday's final.
Emma was back on the water this afternoon, taking her second win of the day in the women's KL2. She won her heat in 50.604 to qualify for her second final of the regatta.
The 2022 KL2 World Champion booked her place in the final with clear water between her and the rest of the field. She crossed the line in 49.063.
Compatriot Hope Gordon also booked her spot in the final of the new Paralympic event, the women's VL3. She was well clear in her heat to cross the finish line in 56.760.
Dave Phillipson was second in the Men's KL2 heats in 41.585 behind Australia's Curtis McGrath. He books his spot in the semi-final on Friday morning.
World Cup winner Jonny Young won his heat of the men's KL3. There's no fasttrack to the final in the men's KL3 so he will race in the semi-final on Friday.
He will be joined by compatriot Jon Tarrant who made his World Championship debut today finishing in 4th place in his KL3 heat
Ed Clifton was also making his World Championship debut. He finished third in the VL2 in 55.775 to book a semi-final spot, making it a clean sweep of qualification today, for the paracanoe team.
In the canoe sprint heats it was Izzy Evans (Chester) who opened the competition for the Brits. She was 5th in the heats of the C1W 200m in 48.954, progressing to Friday's semi-finals.
The Women's K4 500m crew of Deborah Kerr (Anker Valley), Emma Russell (Chelmsford), Emily Lewis (Worcester) and Rebeka Simon (Elmbridge) finished 6th in their first race of the regatta, crossing the finish in 1.33.662. They will race again on Friday in the semi-finals.
In the final race of the day for GB, Dan Johnson of Chelmsford cruised into the semi-final of the K1 1000m by finishing in third place in 03:42.185.
The C2 pairing of Beth Gill (Chelmsford) and Katie Reid (Forth) finished in fifth place in the first round of the 500m event. They crossed the line in 2.05.711 to book a place in the semi-final tomorrow where the first three will qualify for the A final.
Lucy Lee-Smith of Norwich had a nervous wait after finishing 5th in heat 5 of the K1W 500m, but her time of 2.00.075 was good enough for a semi-final spot on Thursday.
Lewis Fletcher (Scottish Performance Squad) was the quickest man on the water today. He won heat 6 of the K1 Men's 200m in a time of 35.338m – the fastest of all heats – to book a spot in Thursday's semi-finals.
Solihull's Tom Lusty was second in his heat of the men's K1 500 to book his place in the next round with a time of 1.41.199.
It was third place in the heat for Melissa Johnson (Chelmsford) in the women's K1 1000m. She crossed the finish line in 4.21.338 to book a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Reading's Anna Palmer was 5th in her heat of the C1 1000m with a time of 5.06.581 to qualify her berth in the semi-final.
And finally, the K2 1000 pairing Philip Miles (Royal Leamington Spa) and Luke Shaw (Norwich) were 4th in their semi-final this afternoon. They will race again on Thursday.
The racing resumes tomorrow morning and can be followed on Recast.