Kristy Packham in action in the sprint 2012 Wildwater World Championships |
Day 4 at the World Wildwater Championships was a mixture of highs and lows.
Today was the individual rapid sprint heats consisting of two runs down the demanding 500 metre course on the Isere River where athletes had to navigate through the tricky Le Mouton's triple stage rapid with
sizable stoppers right at the beginning of the course.
Our first competitor was Rosalyn Lawrence in woman's C1 who was the defending world champion. Rosalyn's first run saw her in 4th place in the field 8, however after completion of the whole of the first runs unfortunately a disqualification was posted against her name as a result of her having to Eskimo roll right on the finish line meaning that she did not complete the course in an upright position in accordance with the rules.
In the men's K1 heats Robert McIntyre put in a solid first run performance placing 29th in the large field of 70 competitors, while team mates Stewart Bennett and Matthew French had troubles at The Le Mouton's rapid and finished 46th and 49th respectively.
The second run turned to disappointment for Robert who started his run promisingly, however mid way down the course caught an eddy and spun out ending any hope of retaining a top 30 finish. By the time he recovered and finished the course he had slipped back to 52nd spot. Both Stewart and Matthew had better second runs and improved their ranking finishing 41st and 44th respectively.
Kristy Packham was our only female representative in the woman's K1 and acquitted herself admirably in the testing conditions. After her first run she was placed 24th in the field of 30 and at the completion of the second run she was placed 26th overall. After the race she said she was happy to complete the course given that the water was the most challenging she has paddled in her career.
Tomorrow is the final day of competition with teams sprint races.
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