Front bunch racing past Central Beach-image by Christy Strever

With most participants taking on the more challenging 5 lap, 20km course, a 3 lap, 11km challenge was also strongly supported. The course proved as grueling as ever and retained its status of being dubbed the best lap course in the world, by Jasper Mocke, a past winner of this event.

Surfski’s tore off from the start, with paddlers digging in hard to gain position. But once round the infamous blind rocks, off Beacon Island, the field spread out, with a pack of 5 paddlers keeping a steady lead pace.

The Keurbooms river mouth proved to be the events’ biggest challenge, with low tides, sand banks and a fair sized break, literally keeping participants on the edge of their seats. Without doubt it was this section of the course, which lead to some interesting position changes during the event.

Race course director Neal Stephenson-image by Christy Strever

Finally it was Dawid Mocke, who snatched first place ahead of younger brother and 2011 winner, Jasper. “The low tide made sandbanks in the river mouth the biggest challenge on the first two laps, but we could eventually paddle over these as the tide came in.” said Dawid after the race.

Second position went to Jasper Mocke, while Richard von Wilderman crossed the line in third place. Kirsten Flanagan took first place in the female entries, followed by Jenna Ward in second and Nicky Russell in third place.

“ With a combination of both long and short courses, this race continues to challenge a wide range of paddling abilities.” Says organiser Wayne Craig. With PPC Cement’s generous contribution and further support from Penny Pinchers Plett, Off The Hook Seafood Café, Hansa and Vitamin Water, this surfski event remains one to be marked on the paddling calendar for years to come.

Press release compiled by: Matthew Covarr

Zaren Courtney racing hard-image by Christy Strever

Results:

We began 2012 with news of the return of Birgit Fischer at age 50 to try and qualificy for the 2012 London Olympics, as part of the German team, in what would be her seventh Olympics. However, at a press conference held in Duisburg prior to the first German team selection, Fischer announced her resignation due to a cardiac arrhythmia requiring treatment.

Birgit Fischer at the press conference in Duisburg

A routine medical examination during the training revealed the problem. Doctors advised against plans to continue racing. A disgruntled Fischer announced her retirement to the media last Friday.Fischer is one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time: 6 Olympic Games (which would have been seven without the boycott of the former GDR in Los Angeles in ’84), 8 gold medals (the first at 18 years old, and most recently at 42) and 4 silver, not to mention her numerous world and European titles.

Finally, after a lot of work by the ICF and others, we will have an event that if you win, you can call yourself World Surf Ski Champ!

The final Olympic nominees have been decided following an exciting finale to this year’s National Championships at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, with Murray Stewart and Alana Nicholls continuing their dominance, winning the men’s and women’s K1 200 national titles.

25 year old Manly Warringah star Murray Stewart has capped off an outstanding past two weeks of racing meeting the nomination criteria and national title in a fourth event by winning the K1 200m.

Rivalling Stewart for the K1 200 crown, Gold Coast’s Joel Simpson got off to a great start powering out of the start gates into a strong cross head wind to lead by a foot at the half way mark, before Stewart stepped it up a gear, powering home to clinch the title in a time of 36.21, 0.51 seconds ahead of Simpson, with fellow Queenslander Matt Urquhart taking home the bronze 0.10 seconds further back.

“It’s always such a close finish in a tough field but I’m glad I could together a good race,” said Stewart.

His coach Tim Jacobs said the possibility of four nominations puts Stewart in good stead for Olympic gold.

“I sort of counted on two (nominations),” said Jacobs. “Four is a bonus. What’s good is that Murray can now pick and choose what he can do best.”

The win means that Australia now have seven male kayak athletes that have met the nomination criteria and earned the right to be nominated to the Australian Olympic Committee for the 2012 London Olympics, following submission and approval of quota places by the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and subject to any appeals.

Stewart’s win blocked the path for Simpson and means that yesterday’s K2 200 National Championships Stephen Bird and Jesse Phillips, and 2008 Beijing Olympian Ken Wallace (K2 1000) have now officially earned the right for nomination avoiding the need for a further trial at the Duisburg World Cup.

“It feels amazing,” said Bird. “It’s going to take a while to sink in. It’s just the end of a long push, so it will take a while because it always seemed so far away but it’s here now.”

Bayswater’s Alana Nicholls won the women’s K1 200 national title, continuing her domination of the women’s K1 events with an emphatic victory today.

Nicholls finished in a time of 40.99, 0.77 seconds ahead of Holdfast Bay’s Hannah Davis and Sydney Northern Beaches paddler Jo Brigden-Jones.

“I came away with another win today so I think I’ve finally let myself get excited now,” said Nicholls.

Davis and Brigden-Jones then combined to finish second behind New Zealand champions Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor in the women’s K2 200 final, with their time of 39.31 placing them comfortably a top the Australian standings, 2.23 seconds ahead of Allison Bryant and Dorina Obermayer.

Western Australian paddlers Brodie Holmes and Brendon Sarson completed at WAIS quinella in the men’s K1 500 A final, with Holmes time of 1:42.48 clinching him his maiden K1 500 national title.

“It was a pretty good race, I think the 500M seems to hurt more than the 1000M and the 200m sometimes, but it was a good race,” Holmes said afterwards.

“We’re a tight bunch in WA and we’ve got a fantastic leader in Ramon Anderson and Michael Pond as well, we just seem to gel and get along really well. It makes training that little bit easier when you’ve got coaches that you really respect and a group of people you really like hanging out with.”

The final senior event of the day saw the Olympic bound K4 500 crew Brigden-Jones, Davis, Rachel Lovell and Lyndsie Fogarty claim the K4 200 National title in 36.79.

The Long distance finals are still to be raced with a full report to be published tomorrow.

Murray Stewart continued his blistering form combining with Beijing star Ken Wallace to win the men’s K2 1000 National title in a time of 3:16.12, more than four seconds ahead of Queenslanders Tate Smith and Jacob Clear in second place.

The win means they have strengthened their chances to be nominated in the men’s K2 1000m to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) for the London Olympic Games.

“I thought we were definitely one of the better crews out there and if we just sat together straight and normal and didn’t do anything stupid then we’d have it pretty nicely,” Wallace said after the race.

“It felt like we were going into a bit of a cross-wind out there and to do the time we did is solid enough.

“It’s a good base to work from and I think we can definitely go a lot faster.”

2011 Racice World Cup gold medallist Alana Nicholls capped off a stellar month of racing taking out the women’s K1 500 final in an enticing battle with New Zealand’s Lisa Carrington.

Nicholls powered out of the start gates opening up a boat length lead with 200m to go before the current women’s K1 200 world champion Carrington found another gear, flying home but not quite catching the Bayswater paddler who held on to the win in a time of 1:49.60, 0.32s ahead of Carrington, with Manly Warringah’s Naomi Flood finishing third, 3.66s adrift of Nicholls winning time.

17 year old Brisbane paddler Jake Donaghey cruised to victory in today’s race off against Coffs Harbour resident Marius Florian, leaving the far more experienced paddler in his wake and winning the right to paddle the C1 1000 event on this year’s senior team.

Donaghey finished in 4:20.47, 8.72 seconds ahead of Florian, before Florian bounced back later in the day taking out the men’s C1 500 national title in 2:03.68.

It has been a fantastic two weeks for the 2010 Olympic Hopes silver C2 200 paddler who combined with fellow Brothers paddler Alex Haas at the Oceania Championships to meet the C2 1000 criteria and earnt the right to be nominated for this year’s London team.

“It’s surreal to think that coming in here, really I was just focusing on the C2, and to think to come out today and put on that performance, I’m just really happy with that and really excited”, said Donaghey.

2011 Paracanoeist of the year Brock Ingram capped of an excellent day of racing completing the double with victories in the men’s V1 1000 and K1 500 paracanoe events, and is aiming for a sub-47 second time in the PC MK1 200m at the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith on Sunday.

But he believes the future of the sport is looking good in Oceania.
“There’s newcomers coming up which makes it really exciting,” said Brock, who came 6th in the K1 200m at the World Championships in Szeged, Hungary last year.
“Last week I got knocked off by a totally unknown New Zealand bloke, so that was a bit of a wake up call, but it’s good.
U23 NSWIS paddler Lachlan Tame continued his excellent start to 2012, combing with Indooroopilly paddler Tim Donkin to win the men’s K2 500 final in 1:33.43, 3.73 seconds clear of Tasmania’s Sam Norton and Holdfast Bay’s Glenn Rypp, with South Australian’s Dale Thomson and Michael Knauer finishing third.

It was another great performance by Tame who impressed onlookers with a 5th place finish behind Murray Stewart in yesterday’s MK1 1000 open Final.

Callum Dunn won the men’s U23 K1 500 final, narrowly ahead of Pierce Hardy and Luke Haniford, while the women’s final was won by Victoria’s Catherine McArthur ahead of Queensland’s Dorina Obermayer and Mitta Mitta’s Amy Peters.

Bill Bain and Shannon Reynolds dominated the men’s and women’s U18 events respectively with Reynolds combining with Victoria’s Rebecca Mann to win the K2 500 final in 1:50.64, 2.29s ahead of Sydney Northern Beaches duo Deeandra Godoy and Mackenzie Labine Romain.

Reynolds then went on to win the women’s U18 K1 500 title in 2:02.22, 1.87s ahead of Godoy, with K2 partner Mann taking home the bronze medal.

Queensland paddlers dominated the men’s U18 events, with Sunshine Coast duo Bill Bain and Charlie Copeland recording an impressive victory in the men’s K2 500 event in a time of 1:37.19, more than four seconds ahead of Ben McLean and Fraser McTavish in second place.

Bain then went on to win the U18 K1 500 final, from Gold Coast’s Jordan Wood and Copeland in a Queensland trifecta.

“I went hard for the first 300 or 400m and I sort of backed it off a little bit at the end there and it didn’t quite seem to go to plan but the first 400m was really good … it turned out to be a pretty good race,” Bain said.

“At the moment the three of us are just trying to make our mark in the opens, just to let them know we are there and try to push the older guys.”

With South East Queensland home to many of Australia’s up and comers, Copeland, who is also competing in his pet event – the K1 200 on Sunday, says there is a bit of rivalry up and down the coast.

“It’s interesting because most of the paddlers are down on the Gold Coast whereas Billy and I and Peter Elford all train together on the Sunshine Coast, so we’ve got a bit of a Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast rivalry but we’re all good mates at the end of it,” he said.

For 18-year-old Bain his next goal is to continue putting pressure on the Open squad while continuing to compete in both the sprint and marathon formats.

“At the moment it’s just about going home over the winter and trying to work on my technique and get a bit stronger over the next couple of months and hopefully come back stronger next year and hopefully even push for open selection,” he said.

Clint Robinson
Date of birth: 27 Jul 1972
Place of birth: Brisbane
Sport: Canoe Sprint
Honours: Olympic gold (1992), World Championships gold (1994), silver (1991, 1995), bronze (1994).

Time Line
1972: Born in Brisbane, July 27
1984: As a 12 year old he was watching Grant Kenny winning a bronze medal in the K2 1000m at the 1984 Olympic Games on television. When his father asked him what he wanted to do with his life, back came the answer: “I want to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal.”
1987: Won the Cadet Malibu Board Race at the 1987 National Surf Lifesaving Championships at age 15.
1986: Invited to train with the Australian Olympic kayak squad.
1989 to 1995: Competed in the Uncle Toby’s Super Series (Professional Iron Man circuit), dominating the board and ski legs.
1991: Won silver medal as part of the Australian K4 10,000m team at the World Championships in Paris.
1992: Became Australia’s first Olympic canoeing gold medallist when he defeated Norwegian World Champion Knut Holmann to win the K1 1000m final in Barcelona.
1993: Received Order of Australia Medal [OAM].
1994: Took gold in the K1 1000m and bronze in the K2 500m at the World Championships in Mexico City.
1995: Finished with silver in the K1 1000m in Duisburg, Germany.
1996: Four years later in Atlanta, he lined up against Holmann again in the K1 1000m and led early, but finished with the bronze.
1997: Finished 8th in the World Championship final of the K1 1000m in Dartmouth, England.
1998: Finished 4th in the K2 1000m in Szeged, Hungary
1999: Surpassed Trevor Hendy’s record of 23 national titles to become the most successful Australian surf lifesaver.
2000: Prior to Sydney Olympic Games, the father of Robinson’s girlfriend was killed in a road accident. Robinson battling an illness, failed to reach the final of the K1 1000m. Awarded the Australian Sports Medal.
2001: Inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport’s ‘Best of the Best’.
2004: Teamed up with great rival Nathan Baggaley to win a silver medal in the K2 500 m in Athens. Inducted into the Surf Lifesaving Hall of Fame.
2008: Competed in the K2 and K4 in Beijing, but failed to make either final.
2012: After a long hiatus, returned to competition to attempt to qualify for the London Olympics, but finishes 6th in the Oceania Championships, the first qualification event for the London Games. Failed to make the final of the Australian Championships and his dream of a sixth consecutive Olympics ends.

Top 3 Results

The men’s K4 1000 crew of Gold Coast trio Tate Smith, David Smith and Jacob Clear, and Manly’s Murray Stewart have met the criteria for Olympic nomination winning their second consecutive Olympic trial and will now be nominated to the AOC for selection.

The 2011 World Championship silver medallists held off a fast finishing and spirited Western Australian crew of Reece Baker, Daniel Bowker, Brodie Holmes and Brendon Sarson in the closing stages to finish just 0.70 clear in a time of 2:54.15.

David Smith, who missed the victory in the first selection event at the Oceania Championships through a bout of acute glandular fever, earned his nomination through his performance today and at the world championships.
Tate Smith was delighted with the win.

“It was a solid hit out. We got the win and got the nomination for the Olympic team so it was good,” he said.

He complimented the Western Australian crew on their performance.

”I was pretty confident we had it under control. We stuck to our race plan and expected them to have the race of their lives and they did that and pushed us all the way,” he said.

He said the Olympic nomination was “all part of the job”.

“It’s all small steps towards London and it’s good to get the nomination out of the way so we can focus on London and get back to where we were last year.”

2009 Nutri-grain Ironwoman champion Naomi Flood and Beijing K4 bronze medallist Lyndsie Fogarty moved a step closer to Olympic nomination following a second place finish behind New Zealand paddler Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor in today’s K2 500 final.

The kiwis were too strong leading from start to finish winning in an impressive time of 1:41.18, 1.04s clear of Fogarty and Flood, with fellow Australian’s Hannah Davis and Rachel Lovell finishing third, in a repeat of the same result at Oceania Championships a fortnight ago.

Despite their second consecutive K2 victory, their Olympic fate still rests on other results at the five day national championships.

“We’re close, but we’re not there yet,” said Flood.

“I am pretty happy with how we raced, with our time, considering that’s only the second time we have raced together.”

Fogarty was also delighted with the performance under hot and steamy conditions at Penrith.

“It was a good start to the regatta, for a first hit out. It was a good, strong race and definitely something to build off,” she said.

She said she was now focussing on the Women’s K4 500m on Thursday.

“That’s the gold event for me at the moment and I’m very confident in my crew,” she said.

Five-time Olympian Clint Robinson dream of a record equally sixth Olympics has ended after he finished a disappointing 5th in today’s K1 1000 semifinal, after placing 3rd in the heats earlier in the day.

Robinson was no match for emerging U23 paddler Glenn Rypp who dominated the semifinal winning in a time of 3:45.11, 1.28s clear of WAIS athletes Reece Baker and Brendon Sarson who also moved through to tomorrow’s final.
Earlier in the day as expected Beijing bronze medallist Ken Wallace, Stewart and Clear qualified directly for the men’s K1 1000 final following victory in their respective heats.

Tomorrow’s final is scheduled for a 10:20am.

In other results Gold Coast’s Bernadette Wallace won the women’s K1 1000 final in 4:13.60, while Mitta Mitta’s Amy Peters blitzed the field in the women’s U23 K1 1000 final, a remarkable 8.66s clear of Samoa’s Rishan Po Ching, with Fairfield’s Marlena Ahrens in third.

The men’s U23 K1 1000 semifinals concluded an exciting day 1 of racing with Illawarra’s Scott Smith, Holdfast Bay’s Luke Haniford and West Lakes Callum Dunn posting wins.

The women’s K4 500 final will kick off proceedings tomorrow from 9am Penrith local EST, where Queensland duo Lyndsie Fogarty and Rachel Lovell, Manly’s Jo Brigden-Jones and SASI’s Hannah Davis will look to secure Olympic nomination.