Laura Sugar MBE made it a hat trick of paracanoe KL3 world titles today with compatriot Jack Eyers winning VL3 silver to wrap up the ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Duisburg, Germany.
The duo also secured crucial boat quota places for next summer's Paralympic Games in Paris.
Laura, the reigning KL3 World Champion and Paralympic gold medallist came into this race as the firm favourite, but kept her nerves at bay to dominate the race from the start.
She crossed the line in 45.418, a second and a half clear of her nearest rival, France's Nelia Barbosa.
She said: “It's incredible, you plan to try and go as fast as you can but you don't know what else everyone is going to do. I didn't think about the title, I just wanted to come out here and show everyone what I've been doing in training.
“I was really nervous about the race today, the two-day wait between heats and finals was hard so I’m really happy to put that race together and get the result.
“Every year is a fresh slate, just because you've won before doesn't mean you're entitled to win again so for me, it's about doing my best and going my fastest so I'm delighted that that came with a world title today.
It's about doing my best and going my fastest so I'm delighted that that came with a world title today
– Laura Sugar – KL3 World Champion
“There was some added pressure of qualifying the quota place but I must admit, I had nothing on my mind other than just focus on my lane and race but it's nice to have that job ticked off. It takes some pressure off next year and hopefully as a team we can get as many as possible.”
VL3 World Champion Hope Gordon finished in fourth place in the same event, but was happy with how she raced after a long weekend of racing.
“Fourth is never the best place to finish but that was a good race, I came out here to have fun and race the best in the world. It was weird, I was the only one on the start line who raced in both boats and it definitely took it out of me,” she said.
“That event is getting faster and closer with each competition, there are a few of us pushing each other on and that's what it’s all about, making us all better.”
The men's VL3 final was one of the most closely contested finals of the day. With medal potential in all nine lanes, it was Great Britain’s Jack Eyers who snatched a silver medal in 48.602 with early leader Stuart Wood finishing in fifth in 49.233.
Having only been selected a few weeks ago following an injury to his hand, Jack was delighted to not only be on the start line, but also the podium.
He said: “That was epic, I don't really know what to say.
“It’s been a tough year. I broke my hand in April and I had it in my head that competing this year would be a bonus. .
“The quota place for Paris was definitely on my mind and I'm really excited for next year. I had full confidence that GB would secure that spot, it was just which of the two of us would get it. But I've really enjoyed this, there's been added pressure but it’s been manageable . I'm chuffed
“It's a massive help training with Stu and having him as a team mate strengthens my outcomes.”
Having won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Stu was diagnosed with Stage 3b Hodgkin Lymphoma about a month after the games. This season marked his return to international competition and he was happy to be back in the mix for medals.
“I was just happy to be back on a World's start line. It’s been a crazy two years for me and this week it's only just starting to hit home. I haven't stopped since Tokyo and it all hit me as I got here.
“Every year this event gets more competitive and anyone on that start line could've taken it. There were a few bits on the delivery that I wasn't happy with, there always is but I was happy to be here this week.”
Jeanette Chippington OBE was also in action and finished in seventh place in the KL1 final.
In the Canoe Sprint events Phil Miles (Royal Leamington Spa) and Zoe Clark (Royal) made their senior World Championships debuts this week and put in a valiant effort to finish 9th in the A Final of the K2 mixed 500m.
Starting strongly, the pair faded in the latter stages but admitted they wanted to put everything into the final.
Phil said: “I'm really pleased that we made it into the A Final, it was pretty tight racing in the semi finals but we've seen a lot of that this weekend and it's great that we were on the right side of it.
“I'm grateful to have the opportunity to represent GB in their first mixed K2 A Final, it’s really quite exciting to be here and get that race experience.”
Zoe added: “It was really satisfying to finally get into an A final especially after the U23 season. We knew we probably weren't going to be in the medals in this race so we decided we were just going to go for it. We did suffer in the last 50 metres or so quite badly but I think if we'd stuck to the race plan we'd have ended up in the same position. We went for it, risked it, and learned where our limits are so I'm really happy with that.”
It was also ninth place for the K2 women's pairing of Debs Kerr (Anker Valley) and Emma Russell (Chelmsford). The duo, who were in the hunt for Paris quota places, were involved in a tussle to the line with five crews finishing within a second of each other. Sadly, their placing was confirmed after a lengthy wait for the photo finish.
The C2 pairing of Jonny Jones (Fladbury) & Ben Phillips (Richmond) opened the day's racing for the Brits, finishing in 5th place in the C Final of the C2M 500.
With the wind whipping up on the Duisburg lake, Jonny was back on the water in the final of the C1 1000m where he finished 13th in 24:54.184.
Anna Palmer went in the women's event over the same distance and also finished in 13th in 29:28.746.
Chelmsford Melissa Johnson wrapped up the World Championship for the British team. Battling the best in the world, torrential rain and an impending storm, she finished in 10th in 24:03.756.
Reflecting on a busy five days of racing, Performance Director Chris Furber said:
“As expected, it's been an incredibly competitive championship with an exceptional standard of racing in both paracanoe and canoe sprint, heightened by the opportunity to win quota places for Paris 2024.
“We’re delighted by the performances and results within paracanoe. The huge commitment from the athletes, working in partnership with the team around them, has led to a number of personal best performances and we are thrilled to have achieved our medal and quota places targets.
“We’ve seen great world championship debuts from Jon Tarrant and Ed Clifton; standout performances from experienced athletes including Charlotte Henshaw, Emma Wiggs and Laura Sugar who continue to raise the bar in their respective events; a first world title for Hope Gordon; and Jonny Young and Jack Eyers’ both won silver medals too in really competitive events. After a tough couple of years, it's brilliant to see Stu back contesting medals at this level and of course, Jeanette's list of accomplishments continues.
“In canoe sprint, it has been a tough week and we are all so disappointed not to be leaving Germany with any Olympic quota spots. We knew it was going to be a hugely challenging week but we are delighted that a number of athletes produced lifetime best championship times.
“We know there's no hiding that we need to sharpen our focus if we are to be competitive at the very top level of the sport. Over the last two seasons, we have been through substantial change and have been establishing positive foundations upon which we can build – indeed, the lifetime best times here this week support this assertion and provide the encouragement that we are progressing.
“There are real positives from the week – we are delighted for Lewis Fletcher achieving world top 5 in the K1 200m and for Zoe Clarke and Phil Miles, who made the A Final in K2 mixed 500m. It's been a great learning experience for the younger paddlers who have been able to see first-hand the level at which we want to perform and we all leave here with a better understanding of what’s required.
“We travel to the Paris World Cup from here, where we intend to progress once again and perform to the very best level we can and aid our preparations for next year. Following Paris, we move into our annual review process, where together, we will be making decisions and plans for next year.”
A link to all the week's results can be found here: https://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-sprint-world-championships/duisburg-2023
The ICF Canoe Sprint & Paracanoe World Cup starts on Wednesday 30th August – more details can be found here.