NSWIS versus NSWIS in canoe sprint off

The Rio Olympic future of NSWIS canoe duo Jo Bridgen-Jones and Naomi Flood will be decided this weekend as the former K2 500 paddling partners race off for the third and final canoe place on the Australian Olympic Team at the Canoe World Championships in Duisburg, Germany. 

Both Bridgen-Jones and Flood were members of Australia’s London Olympic team, however four years on only one will be selected for Rio after they were upstaged by Queenslander’s Alyssa Bull and Alyce Burnett in the K2 500, who booked the first two places to Rio. 

After Bridgen-Jones and Flood finished the domestic qualifying season on equal points, the race off became a necessary evil to complete the Olympic selection process. With everything riding on this weekend’s racing, Bridgen-Jones will line up for the heats of the K1 200 tonight, while Flood will contest the heats of the K1 500 on Saturday. 

Although racing in separate events, the paddler with the best finish in their event will likely have their name forwarded to the Australian Olympic Committee to join Bull and Burnett in the Australian women’s canoe representation in Rio. 

Meanwhile Bull and Burnett will also be competing from tonight in the K2 500, as will two-time world championship silver medallists Lachlan Tame and Ken Wallace as they line up for the heats of the men’s K2 1000. 

Australia will also have a new-look men’s K4 1000 crew competing this weekend, as Jacob Clear teams up with Wallace, Jordan Wood and NSWIS paddler Riley Fitzsimons. It is expected that there will be more changes to this crew before the final line up that will defend London’s gold medal is decided.