It was pandemonium in the stands during the Womens K1 200m A final at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 2 in Germany on Sunday as New Zealands Lisa Carrington flew down the course neck in neck with Hungarys three-time Olympic champion Natasa Douchev-Janics. After a stunning battle in the semi-final on Saturday it was obvious this was going to be the race to watch and the pair didnt fail to provide the promised excitement. When the gun sounded Carrington burst out of the blocks and the event very quickly turned into a two-horse race with the two powering through the front of the field. In a camera-finish Janics just managed to beat out Carrington to the top spot by 0.096 seconds, with Australian Alana Nichols a second behind for third.
Lisa and Coach Gordon Walker were very pleased with the process and the result. Of course she is a little disappointed to miss the gold, especially when its such a small margin, said Walker, but shes absolutely rapt with the performance.
Another paddler pleased with her paddling progress is Teneale Hatton who has performed consistently throughout the two World Cups. Her 7th placing in the C final of the K1 200m (a non-specialist event for her) was more about increasing her racing experience with her focus being on the K1 500m. Its now a bit of a waiting game to see if she has done enough to be added to the games team by the NZOC.
Two hours after the K1 200m Lisa has to climb into the K2 with Erin Taylor to contest the B final of the Womens K2 500m. From the half way mark they moved into the front of the race and controlled it to win by a full second.
With the World Cups finished, the team is packing up and moving into the next stage of the Olympic campaign. This involves the team breaking into three groups to target their specific areas then coming together again at the London Olympics.