The New Zealand's women's K4 canoe racing team made a promising start to their world championship campaign tonight, finishing second in their heat and easily qualifying for tomorrow's semifinal in Milan.Jaimee Lovett, Caitlin Ryan, Aimee Fisher and Kayla Imrie led for most of the 500m distance, with direct qualification for the A final at stake, before the Polish crew came through to snatch the win.
Poland, third at the world championships last year, finished in 1min 34.092secs, while New Zealand clocked 1:34.892 for the eight-fastest time overall. They'll need a top-10 ranking to qualify a boat for next year's Olympics and Ryan believes they are on track.
"We were feeling really strong before racing and we executed our individual and team race plans as they were set," Ryan said. "We've got a good sense of confidence and we feel strong so I think we've got the mental edge and it's all going really well." Belarus (1:31.548) and Hungary (1:33.568) were the other two crews to qualify directly for Sunday night's A final.
Earlier, Lisa Carrington had cruised through her K1 200m heat, recording the fastest time of the 49 entrants with a 40.330sec effort. The defending world and Olympic champion remains on track for an historic double, having qualified for the K1 500m final as well. "I’m just looking for some good performances, so hopefully I can reach my potential - that’s all I can hope for," Carrington said.
Tomorrow's racing sees Zac Franich and Darryl Fitzgerald race their K2 1000m C final, followed by Carrington's K1 500m A final, her K1 200m semifinal and the K4 women's semifinal.
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Wednesday 19 August 2015
2 | 8.14 | 18.14 | MK1 200 KL3 | H2 L3 | Scott Martlew | 2nd in 44.186 to semi |
24 28 29 30 | 14.00 14.42 14.56 16.10 | 24.00 24.42 24.56 02.10 | MK1 200 KL3 | SF1-4 | Scott Martlew | 3rd in 43.688 to B final |
Thursday 20 August 2015
50 | 8.54 | 18.54 | WK1 500 | H2 L5 | Lisa Carrington | 1st in 1.54.291to semi | |
58 | 9.46 | 19.46 | MK1 1000 | H1 L8 | Marty McDowell | 6th in 3.40.005- out | |
88 | 13.07 | 23.07 | MK2 1000 | H5 L2 | Zac Franich/Darryl Fitzgerald | 6th in 3.25.729 to semi | |
96-99 | 15.42-16.00 | 1.42-2.00 | WK1 500 | S 1-4 | Lisa Carrington | 1st in1.49.407 to A final
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122 | 18.30-18.51 | 4.30-4.51 | MK2 1000 | S 1-4 | Zac Franich/Darryl Fitzgerald | 6th in 3.18.344 to C final |
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Friday 21 August 2015
125 | 8.30 | 18.30 | WK1 200 | H1 L5 | Lisa Carrington | 1st in 40.330 to Semi |
156 | 11.30 | 21.30 | WK4 500 | H2 L7 | Jaimee Lovett/Caitlin Ryan/Aimee Fisher/Kayla Imrie | 2nd in 1.34.892 to Semi
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176 | 14.45 | 24.45 | MK1 200 KL3 | B Final | Scott Martlew |
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Saturday 22 August 2015
205 | 10.09 | 20.09 | MK2 1000 | C final | Zac Franich/Darryl Fitzgerald | |
208 | 10.32 | 20.32 | WK1 500 | A final | Lisa Carrington | |
217-220 | 14.00-14.15 | midnight--0.15 | WK1 200 | S 1-4 | Lisa Carrington | 1-2 + NBT to A |
237-238 | 15.58-16.05 | 1.58-2.05 | WK4 500 | S 1-2 | Jaimee Lovett/Caitlin Ryan/Aimee Fisher/Kayla Imrie | 1-3 to A, 4-7 +NBT to B |
Sunday 23 August 2015
249 | 9.27 | 19.27 | WK4 500 | B final | Jaimee Lovett/Caitlin Ryan/Aimee Fisher/Kayla Imrie | |
255 | 10.10 | 20.10 | WK1 200 | A final | Lisa Carrington | |
261 | 11.05 | 21.05 | WK4 500 | A final | Jaimee Lovett/Caitlin Ryan/Aimee Fisher/Kayla Imrie | |