Aussie paddlers fire up at canoe world championships
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Ben Sainsbury has claimed his third crown while Australia has also won silver in the men’s K4 event at the canoe sprint world championships in Poland.
Sainsbury added another title in the men’s VL1 200 metres paracanoe event, which he first won in 2022.
“It’s special – three times now…I haven’t won it since 2023, so to be back on the top step feels amazing,” said the West Australian, who moved to the Gold Coast this year to train.
“It hasn’t sunk in fully yet, but it’s great to be back up there.
In the men’s K4 500m final in Poznan, brothers Jean and Pierre van der Westhuyzen joined with Noah Havard and Riley Fitzsimmons to win silver.
Only the slick German outfit proved too strong for the Aussies, who crossed the line 0.62 seconds behind the world champions.
“I think that’s a really good result for us – we were going for that gold and we were quite confident but to miss out to a really strong crew in Germany, we’re really happy with that,” Havard said.
“We’ve now got to improve over the next couple of years, and make sure we’re in that top spot once it comes to LA 2028 (Olympic Games),” he said.
The women’s K4 Australian team also raced in the A final on Friday (local time), finishing eighth.
AAP