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2011 Oceania Open Canoe Slalom Championships
Mike Kurt posts fastest time in the final
Mike Kurt of Switzerland dominated the final in the fastest time of the day (95.07) 2.53 seconds ahead of Czech junior Jiri Prskavec. Top qualifier from the heats, Pierre Bourliaud, missed the podium after incurring a 50 second penalty towards the bottom of the course. Sam Lyons of Australia with his 3rd place also took the Oceania title.
Aussie women dominate events
The women’s events were dominated by the Australians, although top seeded and eventual winner Kate Lawrence had a nervous wait as the judges investigated a 50 second penalty in the semi final. It was over turned and she raced the final with a time of 111.24 ahead of fellow Aussie Sarah Grant and New Zealander Louise Jull in 3rd.
Jess Fox had a podium finish flat time but a 50 also kept her off the dias in K1W, although she won the C1W by a 24 second margin and took the Oceania junior and senior C1W titles.
Event organiser Sue Clarke said "I was thrilled as to how the race went. The bad weather around the rest of NZ managed to avoid us and with such a great team of officials and helpers things ran pretty smoothly. It was fantastic to have this level of racing in NZ and we received many positive comments from the entrants. I hope we can continue to grow our event and attract even more international paddlers to NZ next year."
A French affair on the C1 podium
The C1 men’s event was a French affair with their athletes taking all podium places. Top seed Denis Gargaud Chanut won by 3.36 seconds with a 99.20 from Thomas Martin. Shaun Travers, in fourth, took the Oceania C1 title as the best of the Australasian men.
The junior C1 title and Oceania junior title went to Brogan Gordon of Tauranga, ahead of Tommy McDowell of Nelson and Cole O’Connor Stratton, Tauranga.
Results
Article by ICF.
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