Sprinters fire on the flatwater

The second canoe sprint grand prix of the season took place in Penrith over the weekend, with a number of NSWIS athletes clocking impressive results.

The highlight of the meet came when Jo Brigden-Jones and Naomi Flood teamed with Alana Nicholls and Bernadette Wallace to win gold in the women’s K4 500m. The quartet blitzed the field to win in 1:32.51, setting a new national record in the process.

Brigden-Jones and Flood also teamed to win the women’s K2 500m, while individually Brigden-Jones and Flood won the K1 200m and K1 500m respectively to each bag three gold medals.

Olympic gold medallist Murray Stewart was also in the winner’s circle as he triumphed in the men’s K1 1000m by nearly five seconds, before going on to win the K2 and K4 1000m events. Dave Smith was also part of the K4 1000m victory, with fellow NSWIS athlete Riley Fitzsimmons included in the crew that won silver in the event.

World championship silver medallist Lachlan Tame won silver in the men’s K2 1000m alongside Ken Wallace.