Tauranga kayaker Mike Dawson put together two good runs on the opening day of the canoe slalom event to qualify comfortably for the semi-finals.
Dawson, who has dominated the sport in New Zealand since winning the first of his seven national titles in 2004, secured eighth place among the 22 starters after the two qualifying runs.
In his first run he was timed at 86.90s and had four penalties added for a total of 90.90. This left him eighth, with the top 15 to go through to the semis.
A few hours later, Dawson completed his second run in 88.58s and had no penalties, enabling him to maintain eighth.
Europeans dominated the first day Dawson was the highest-placed non-European.