Stalwart New Zealand canoe slalom champion Luuka Jones bounced back well on the opening day of the K1 event.
Jones, who is competing in her fifth Olympic Games, won a silver medal in the K1 in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
In a field of 25 in Paris, the top 22 were assured of progressing to tomorrow’s semi-finals, but it was important to Jones that she used her time on the water well today.
She struggled somewhat on her first run and was timed at 102.90s, including a two-second penalty. However, she improved markedly in her second run and her of 97.13s landed her in 15th spot.
Jones, 35, said it was good to blow out some cobwebs today.
“The first run was not good, but in the second one I put down a fast run. I was hit with two penalties in each run and I’ll be looking to tidy that up for tomorrow’s semi-finals.
“But I was pleased with my pace and feel encouraged going into the semi-finals.”