Great Britain added two more medals as the action unfolded in round two of the 2024 ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Cup series in North Macedonia.
After a stunning first day for GB, scooping three medals in the sprint finals, attention in Veles turned to the classic races as endurance paddlers raced over a 2.45km course on the Varda River.
Day two started as Saturday's racing had finished – with a medal for Kerry Christie as she took silver over her favoured distance in the women's kayak.
The classic specialist had taken her first senior individual World Cup medal on day one with bronze in the women's kayak sprint and this time went one better.
She then teamed up with sister Emma to claim gold in the women's canoe double classic – having also taken victory in the sprint discipline.
It took Great Britain's overall tally to five for the competition – two gold, a silver, and two bronze.
“It has been amazing,” said team manager Jamie Christie.
“Alex's medal was the high mark for us. He's a super guy and a pleasure to be around.
“He had only moved out of under 23s and then had to take last year off because of a covid issue, so it's really good to see him bounce back.
“For him to win a medal was just amazing.”
Jamie added: “With Kerry in the individuals and also with Emma in the doubles, we thought they were there or thereabouts, but with it being the first race of the season, you never really know how everyone else is going.”
The squad rebuilding phase looks to be beginning to bear fruit, with the number of paddlers registered for selection this spring at his highest for many years.
“We had 65 boats this year up for selection so it's getting a bigger number of people paddling which is pushing the standard,” Jamie said.
“And that competition is beginning to show in the results.”
In searing heat, with morning temperatures already topping 30 degrees, Emma Christie was the first British paddler away on Sunday in the women's kayak and duly improved on her 11th place in the sprint final.
The Nottingham Canoe Club paddler clocked 18min 11.45secs, good enough for a ninth-place finish.
Setting off four minutes later, Kerry was among the favourites and lived up to the billing with a powerful run to finish in 16:53.41 – one of just two paddlers to break the 17-minute mark.
Ultimately she was left to settle for silver as Cecilia Panato, of Italy, took gold with a superb time of 16:37.07.
Britain's only individual canoe paddler, Andrew Crowhurst continued to show year-on-year improvement by claiming his best international result in the men's canoe.
He finished 55 seconds outside the medal positions in fifth, stopping the clock in 18min 51.05secs, to complete a satisfying weekend, after a seventh-placed finish in Saturday's sprint event.
French paddler Louis Passernig powered to the gold.
Sprinters Freddie Brown and Alex Sheppy went away first for Great Britain in the men's kayak final, with classic specialist and British trials winner Nick Boreham completing the trio.
All three had qualified for the K1 sprint final on Saturday, but Brown was slightly disappointed with a classic run of 16min 37.04secs which placed him 13th in the 31-man field.
Sheppy would have been excused for still feeling the exertions of his brilliant bronze medal run on Saturday evening, but eclipsed his team-mate, albeit by just one-and-a-half seconds, to finish one place higher.
Nottingham paddler Boreham was the quickest of the Brits and forced his way into the top 10 with a composed performance, posting 16:12.79 for 10th place.
The Nottingham paddler was 49 seconds outside the medal positions which were topped by Leo Monutlet, of Belgium. He snatched gold with the penultimate run by just two-tenths of a second from Germany's Andreas Heilinger.
Kerry and Emma swept to women's canoe double gold over the sprint distance on Saturday and faced the same rivals on Sunday over the longer course.
The Czech pair of Ela Strechova and Alexandra Plachtova set the time to beat of 19min 52.56secs, which French paddlers Margot Beziat and Emma Lacoste (20:08.93) could not match.
The Christie sisters were last to go, setting off at one-minute intervals, and the British pair made ground on their rivals down the course to post the clear gold-medal winning time of 19:33.35.
British team coaches also added more medals to the mix after the masters races.
Team manager Jamie Christie bolstered the family haul with silver in the under-55 K1, while Neil Blackman took the gold in the U70+ K1.
Results –
Women's K1
Silver – Kerry Christie 16:53.41; 9th – Emma Christie 18:11.45
Men's C1
5th – Andrew Crowhurst 18:51.05
Men's K1
10th – Nick Boreham 16:12.79; 12th – Alex Sheppy 16:35.54; 13th – Freddie Brown 16:37.04
Women's C2
Gold – Emma Christie/Kerry Christie 19:33.35