CANOE - SPRINT: Australian sprint canoeist Alyssa Bull has won a silver medal in the K1 1000 at her first ICF World Cup event of the European season in Szeged, Hungary.
21-year-old Bull and Hungarian Dora Bodonyi cleared out from the field, with a big home crowd urging the local hope to the finish line.
“I had a race plan, I stuck with it, but I didn’t quite have enough at the end,” Bull said.
“I was just trying to hang on, I really wanted to get a good start and make that first 250 count. I didn’t expect anything today, so I’m really happy.
“That was really hard. But I’m really stoked how that went.”
Bull, who made her Olympic debut alongside fellow Queenslander Alyce Burnett in the K2 500 last year, said despite her success today she will continue to focus on the team boat.
“I’m really glad I get to get some K1 experience internationally,” she said.
“Unfortunately it’s not an Olympic sport, but sometimes that’s the best way to start.”
Bodonyi won the gold in a time of 3:50:250, with Bull finishing in 3:51:511.
Fellow Australian, Cat McArthur, finished seventh.
On Day 1 of the Szeged World Cup, Australia made an impressive start to its European canoe sprint campaign
Along with qualifying for Saturday's K1 1000, Bull and teammate Burnett won their K2 500 heat and Billy Bain powering home to beat a quality field in his heat of the K1 500.
Earlier in the day Bain had fallen just short of qualifying for a world-class K1 1000 final, which will feature five of the finalists from Rio.
Sprinters Matt Goble and Robert McIntyre celebrated their return to the Australian team, both showing plenty of speed to qualify for the semi-finals of the K1 200.
2012 Olympian Jo Brigden-Jones and Perth’s Jaime Roberts are into the semis of the women’s K1 200, while it was an historic day for Josephine Bulmer, who became the first Australian woman to compete in a canoe event at a World Cup.
Bulmer is through to the semi finals of the C1 200.
“I was really really nervous, but after breaking the ice with the first one I got really excited,” Bulmer said.
“It’s all happened kind of fast. I haven’t had much time to reflect, but it’s pretty cool to be the first.
“I was really scared coming into it, I thought it was going to be more daunting, but in the end it’s just an event.”
Ross Solly
Australian Canoeing
