In what has to be one of the most stunning canoe sprint courses in the world, the New Zealand contingent should be very proud of the team’s effort in Auronzo, Italy at the Junior & U23 World Championships.
On the 5th and final day of racing, Thomas MacGibbon claimed 7th place in the K1 U23 Men’s 500m A final, in what can only be described as a seriously tight finish.
Kacey Ngataki and Julia Padrutt finished in 9th place in the K2 U23 Mixed 500m A final against a strong European field.
Emma Kemp came an impressive 4th place in the K1 U23 Women’s 5000m, which included 6 laps and 5 portages where you had to navigate high docks. Amazing endurance effort.
Daniel Brown also raced the 5000m distance, placing 25th in the K1 U23 Men’s 5000m.
A great development experience for the New Zealand team
The New Zealand Junior & U23 team had an impressive campaign with our paddlers making:
- 5 A finals
- K2 Junior Women 500m 6th place in A final – Greer Morley & Natasha MacGibbon
- K1 Junior Women 1000m – 5th place in A final – Natasha MacGibbon
- K2 U23 Women 500m – 7th place in A final – Julia Padrutt & Lucy Matehaere
- K1 U23 Mens 500m – 7th place in A final – Thomas MacGibbon
- K2 Mixed U23 500m – 9th place in A final – Kacey Ngataki & Julia Padrutt
- 5 B finals
- K4 U23 Men’s 500m – 7th place in B final – Daniel Brown, Grant Clancy, Fletcher Moles & Kacey Ngataki
- K1 U23 Womens 1000m – 2nd place in B final – Emma Kemp
- K1 U23 Men 1000m – 2nd place in B final – Grant Clancy
- K1 U23 Women 500m – 1st place in B final – Lucy Matehaere
- K1 Junior Women 500m – 2nd place in B final – Greer Morley
- 1 C final
- K2 Junior Men 500m – 3rd place C final – Tiago Chamberlain & Logan Fergusson
- 4th place in the K1 U23 Women’s 5000m – Emma Kemp
The Hungarian team were seriously dominant in the World Championships with 44 their final medal tally (including 25 gold), followed by Germany with 22 and host nation Italy with 14 medals.
The next generation of Kiwi paddlers will be headed home soon with some incredible racing experience and development under their belt.
A big thank you to all the support staff, coaches and managers who travelled with the team, as well as those who helped from back in New Zealand.
Helpful Links for ICF Junior & U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships
Watch On Demand via Recast: https://watch.recast.tv/user/8XBy2?referrer=8XBy2
Full Results: https://memosoft.spotfokus.com/timetable/index.php?page=eventdetail&folder=89&gmt=12&gmt2=-720
