Get ready for some fast and furious action down the PWS rapids this Friday when an international field containing past and previous world champions take on our Aussie paddlers in what should be an exciting spectacle as the action heats up with Olympic spots and senior selection on the line.

Over 200 athletes from 24 countries will take on the Penrith Whitewater Stadium rapids this Friday (10 Feb) for the 2012 Australian Open, and with a World Class field to contest the three day event with a host of past and current world champions competing, the scene is set for some fast and exciting racing.

The event will be the first selection event to determine the 2012 teams, including Olympic selection, with a win at the Australian Open going a long way to securing an Olympic berth. Racing is set to commence on Friday with qualification runs for all events, followed by the women’s K1 and men’s C1 semi finals and finals on Saturday, with the remaining events scheduled for Sunday.

The women’s K1 event promises to be an exciting affair with NSWIS trio Jessica Fox, Rosalyn Lawrence and Kate Lawrence, and VIS paddler Sarah Grant set to battle it out, as they rival one another for the women’s single Olympic spot, and with just over a second separating them at Nationals earlier this year, this race should go down to the wire.

Austria’s 2011 Slalom K1 World Champion Corinna Kuhnle will be hard to beat for overall honours, but expect the Australian contingent to push the champ all the way, along with fellow countrywoman Violetta Oblinger-Peters, Elena Kaliska (SVK) and Eva Tercelj (SLO) who finished 6th, 7th and 9th respectively at Worlds last year.   

The men’s C1 finals will also be raced on Saturday and after seemingly securing their spots for London in the men’s C2 event, WAIS duo Kynan Maley and Robin Jeffery will go head to head as they try to get the advantage heading into Oceania’s later this month. The duo will face competition from recent NZ Open victor Ian Borrows who is in good form, and T22 athlete Ethan Hodson.

Overall honours will prove tough for the Aussies, with a very strong international contingent present including the three medal winners from last year’s World Champs; Denis Gargaud Chanut (FRA), Nico Bettge (GER) and Matej Benus (SVK). Multiple Olympic and World Champion Tony Estanguet and Great Britain’s Olympic silver medallist David Florence are also set to challenge for line honours in what could be a preview of the Olympic final later this year.

On Sunday the men’s C2 race will commence proceedings, and after seamlessly securing their spots in the C2 come London with very little competition amongst the Australian ranks, expect Maley and Jeffery to come out firing regardless, and take it up to the strong international field, going head to head with the likes of French World Champs silver medal winners Fabian Lefevre and Gargaud Chanut, and Slovakian bronze medallists Ladislav and Peter Skantar. Look out for emerging Tasmania duo, U18 pair, Andrew Eckhart (17) and Daniel Watkins (16) who are showing positive signs as athletes to look out for in the future.

A star studded world class field will Lineup for the men’s K1, led by current Slovakian World Champion Peter Kauzer, World champ bronze medallist Fabian Lefevre and Italy’s Danielle Molmenti, but expect Australian trio, Lucien Delfour, Will Forsythe and Warwick Draper to push their international counterparts.

Embarking on competing at his third consecutive Olympics, Draper and current National Champion Forsythe appear to be the frontrunners to compete in the men’s K1 in London, but don’t discount the likes of Jaxon Merritt (VIS), Sam Lyons (NSWIS) and Joey Croft (NSWIS) from making a charge.

The women’s C1 event will round off an exciting weekend of racing, and although not contested at Olympic level, expect Aussie girls Jessica Fox, Ros Lawrence and Leanne Guinea, who are ranked one, two and three in the world respectively to dominate.

Tom Collings
Australian Canoeing

To try your luck in the rapids and play BK Kayak Slalom