Britain's top sprint & paracanoe athletes were back for a second day of selection action as they contested more tricky conditions for international spots at the National Water Sports in Nottingham.
With a number of international competitions on the horizon, places for the Olympic and Paralympic qualification event in Szeged, as well as the paracanoe World Championships, and canoe sprint World Cups 1 and 2 were a focus for many paddlers.
Junior and U23 athletes were also competing to race internationally at the European Championships.
The dynamic duo of Emma Russell (Chelmsford) and Deborah Kerr (Anker Valley) powered to a double victory in the K2 Women’s 500m as they went in search of a place at the Olympic qualifier.
The crew claimed comfortable wins in both rounds of the selection race, putting down a best time of 1:53.50 across the two races.
Reflecting on their race, Emma said:
“I'm pretty happy with both of today's races. It was quite tough with the headwinds so we knew we just needed to get off the start like we normally would and then settle into a strong pace and just keep it going the whole way.”
Deborah added: “The second run was windier for sure and it felt longer.”
She continued: “I think our training has made a big difference to how we gel together. Even if we don’t have the best K2 sessions, we know that as soon as we get on the start line, it's like the saying ‘a bad rehearsal, makes a good performance'.”
Round one of the 500m race saw second place go to Emily Lewis (Worcester) and Lucy Lee-Smith (Norwich), with Kristina Armstrong (Scottish Performance Squad) and Zoe Clark (Royal) placing third.
Armstrong and Clark bettered their result and time in round two coming in second place with a time of 1:56.72.
James Russell (Nottingham) and Trevor Tomson (Ealing) combined as they stormed to victory in both rounds of the K2 Men's 500m finals.
An incredibly high calibre field pushed them all the way to the line, with tight margins separating first and second on both occasions. They put down their fastest time in round one with 1:40.83.
Speaking after their race, James said: “I think it went really well, we're a relatively new crew and only recently decided two or three weeks ago to enter together.
“We’re both fairly local to the lake (in Nottingham) so we’ve been doing quite a few sessions and trying to drill the race pace.
“We had a rough idea of the race plan today. It was a headwind so it was a slightly slower race. We were just trying to manage our energy through it and I think we delivered pretty well, especially the second time round.
Trevor added: “Yeah, I think me and Jimbo (James) came together as a good crew and we both just love racing., so that’s why we decided to put this entry in. It’s great to see so many people out today.”
The crew was Fowey's Matt Collinge and Matt Johnson (Chelmsford) placed second in round one, putting down a 1:40.96, whilst Dan Johnson (Chelmsford) and Tom Lusty (Solihull) improved their time by 1.21 to place second in round two.
Ben Phillips (Richmond) and Jonathan Jones (Fladbury) claimed a double win across both rounds of the C2M 500m finals. The crew were in fine form today posting a best time of 1:58.35.
Feeling happy with their results, Ben said: “That was good, it was pretty tough in the wind, but I think we did alright and it's good to put that down for the first race of the year.
Jonathan agreed, adding: “It felt smooth. It's good to be back racing again, and we can test a few more things out when we’re under a little bit less pressure.”
Looking ahead, Jones said: “I think there’s plenty to work on, it’s been good to get back into it after such a good year last year.
“We're starting from a much higher point than we were this time last year, so now we can be focusing on much finer things and delivering on some of the technical bits that we didn’t quite iron out by the end of last season. I'm quite excited to see what we can do as a crew.”
Paralympic bronze medallist Stuart Wood and 2023 world silver medallist Jack Eyers went head to head in the men's VL3.
Both rounds of racing brought tight battles between the duo, but it was Stuart Wood who took the win on both occasions, although less than a second separated the pair on both counts.
Pleased to get the season underway, Stu said:
“I'm really happy with that. Two runs that I was pleased with. It's great to be back racing again after what has been a tricky and flooded winter.
“Training has been going well despite the recent weather, so it was great to put down what I've been working on there.
“We've not got long until the World Championships, so we will plan to get a good couple of weeks in before that.”
After racing the KL2 yesterday, Tokyo Paralympic Champion Emma Wiggs was back in race action as she took on the VL2.
Up against Tokyo bronze medallist Jeanette Chippington and Ellen Field, Emma claimed the victory on both occasions ahead of Jeanette, with a best time of 1:04.59.
She said:
“We are realistic with where we are at, and we are happy with those two performances for the first hit out.
“The important thing for me is that we can see real areas to improve on. It's great to be racing again so really chuffed.
“I enjoy the winter because I like to do the work. It was a challenging one with flooding but we got through it and it was nice to see some hard work out there on the course today.”
With selection for the men's VL2 Paralympic qualification event on offer, Ed Clifton (Chelmsford) put down two strong runs as he went against Xander Van der Poll, who was racing his first regatta.
Both athletes were impressive in the windy conditions, as Ed put down a best time of 59.93.
The women's VL3 made for some impressive racing as Hope Gordon and Charlotte Henshaw battled it out across two rounds after their respective kayak finals yesterday.
The pair, who are formidable on the international stage, were neck and neck on both occasions as the event prepares to make its Paralympic debut in Paris this summer.
Hope clinched both round victories, with a narrow 0.38 seconds between the two VL3 World Champions in the final race.
She said:
“It's not been the easiest weekend in terms of wind. It's always good to race against Charlotte. She's a great friend as well as a great competitor so we always have a good race. It's great to practise in tough conditions too.
“The Va'a start-line is world-class. It's a great race between all of us. Hopefully myself and Char will be on the World Champs start-line together and we can push each other throughout the year.”
Beth Gill (Chelmsford) and Afton Fitzhenry (Belfast) combined once again as they teamed up for the C2 Women 500m.The duo showed great form as they put down a solid time of 2:25.03, heading into a second international season together.
In the canoe sprint, after great success in the 1000m distance yesterday, Tom Lambert (Lincoln) was back in strong form down the 500m. He clocked in 2:10.74 to take the C1 Men's win.
Katie Reid (Forth) also claimed the C1 Women's 500m win after success in the 200m yesterday. She put down a solid run time of 2:34.87, with Afton Fitzhenry took second in 2:35.35 and Anna Palmer (Reading) earnt third coming in at 2:40.25.
The crew of Emily Lewis and Lucy Lee-Smith came out on top in the K2W 200m, ahead of. Abi Burgess (Wey) and Amy Green (Worcester).
Trevor Thomson recorded an individual win in the K1 Men's 200m, where he put down a 40.27. Linlithgow's Lewis Fletcher claimed second with a time of 41.24 whilst Dylan O'Connor (Richmond) was hot on Fletcher heels, taking third in 41.77.
Emily Lewis dominated the 200m distance today. After taking the win in K2 she also claimed the K1W victory, putting down a time of 44.48.
Tom Lusty powered to the win in the K1 Men's 500m this afternoon. He clocked a time of 1:52.50.
The afternoon brought the 5000m distance and blustery winds.
In the Senior Men's K1, James Russell topped off a successful weekend with a final win. Chelmsford paddler Melissa Johnson fought hard and pulled away to cross the finish line first in the Women's K1 5000m race.
In the Men's C1, it was Jonathon Jones who claimed the win over the 5000m distance and Anna Palmer put in a dedicated performance in the Women's C1 5000m.
In the K1M 500m U18 age group Philippe Ehrnrooth (Devizes) was first across the line clocking in at 2:00.56. Tom Hatton (Richmond) took the win for the U16 with a time of 2:02:52
Down the 200m Dianora Di Bilio (Royal) was the fastest U18 in the K1 Women's race. She took the win with a time of 49.64. In the U16 age group Zoe Herriot (Scottish Performance Squad) finished victorious in 55.48.
The Nottingham/Richmond duo of Huw Singleton and Nelson Kinzler put down a 1:51.64 to take the win of the K2 Men's U18/U16 500m final. In the women's race, Mollie Ball (Devizes) and Annabel Hutchinson (Reading) teamed up to power down the 500m and finished first with a time of 2:08.22
In the K4 Men's U18/16 500m race Freddie Heard (Exeter), Andre Hinves, Nathaniel Lamb (Southampton) and Olivier Mazur (Reading) proved to be a winning combination as the crew were first across the line with a time of 1:40.98.