Paracanoe events provide the first opportunity

Duisburg – Germany, August 28, 2013: OPPORTUNITY, Former Paralympic gold medal winning swimmer, Jeanette Chippington (GBR) showed her class as her high cadence paddling proved too much for the rest of the field.

The 43-year-old from Maidenhead won all three events she entered (V1 200m A, V1 200m TA and K1 200m A), equaling her impressive haul from last year’s Championships.

With six World Championship Gold’s since making the switch in sports back in 2011 she is certainly the dominant force of Paracanoing.

Chippington already has 12 Paralympic medals spanning five Games from swimming; and if she manages to maintain this form she will certainly be a strong contender to add to that tally when Canoe Sprint debuts at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Speaking after her first race the mother of two said, “On the start line it’s very lonely, thoughts start going through you mind, why am I doing this? But when you get that Gold medal you realise what it’s all for.”

First Championship Gold

Oleksandr Hrenchko from the Ukraine was the first athlete to win Gold at this year’s Championships. He out sprinted Poland’s Jakub Tokarz to win the V1 Men 200m A.

Daniel Hopwood (GBR), last years champion, was promoted to Bronze in the same race after Brazil’s Luis Cardoso Da Silva was disqualified for straying from his lane.

Speaking after the race Hopwood said, “This year seems to be a massive improvement. There’s lots more competition and the people who are coming in are a lot higher quality.”

The rise in standards was clearly visible throughout the day’s competition with all races being highly competitive.

Close Racing

In perhaps the tightest race of the day, Spain’s Javier Reja managed to edge ahead of the rest and secure his first World Championship Gold in the V1 Men 200m.

The 39-year-old was thrilled with the result and was already looking forward to celebrating. Laughing after the race he said, “ I will celebrate with a jam sandwich and beer.”

Nicholas Heald (GBR) claimed the Silver and Tomasz Mozdzierski (POL) the Bronze.

Further British Success

It was another Brit who was triumphant in the K1 Women 200m TA. Emma Wiggs, the current European Champion, narrowly defeated Megan Blunk from the U.S.A by just over five-hundredths-of-a-second.

In the same race, Ukraine’s Nataliia Lugutenko pick up the Bronze and her nations second medal of the day.

This was Blunk’s second silver of the day, her first was in the V1 200m TA.

Throughout the morning 25 races heats were contested across with further finals scheduled for tomorrow.

Results: V1 Women 200m Paracanoe A

1.Jeanette Chippington (GBR)

2.Kara Kennedy (AUS)

3.Anne Yoshida (USA)

V1 Women 200m Paracanoe TA

1.Jeanette Chippington (GBR)

2.Megan Blunk (USA)

3.Tamara Oliveira Da Silva (BRA)

K1 Women 200m Paracanoe TA

1.Emma Wiggs (GBR)

2.Megan Blunk (USA)

3.Nataliia Lagutenko (UKR)

V1 Men 200m Paracanoe TA

1.Javier Reja (ESP)

2.Nicholas Heald (GBR)

3.Tomasz Mozdzierski (POL)

K1 Women 200m Paracanoe A

1.Jeanette Chippington (GBR)

2.Svitlana Kupriianova (UKR)

3.Alexandra Dupik (RUS)

V1 Men 200m Paracanoe A

1.Oleksandr Hrechko (UKR)

2.Jakub Tokarz (POL)

3.Daniel Hopwood (GBR). —- ICF