K1M and C1M Qualification Results Day One Brazil

Worlds underway in Foz do Iguassu - day 1 report from Brazil

Whitewater Slalom NZ, Thursday, 20 September 2007
























Above Top:Aaron Osborne paddling from the upstream gate at 13 into 14

Above:Mike Dawson in gate 14

Mike Dawson qualifies in 16th and Aaron Osborne in 27th positions in qualification races securing them a berth in the prestigious semi finals on Saturday and the race for Olympic qualification quotas allocated in Brazil. Mike Dawson after qualifications held 9th country place out of the allocated 16 country positions to be decided at this event in K1 M .
Dawson and Osborne were the only two New Zealanders to progress to the semi finals after the first day of competition at the 2007 slalom world championships in Foz do Iguassu, Brazil.

Mike Dawson led the way with a 16th place finish in the K1 event despite collecting two seconds of penalties over his two runs on the course. After sitting in 29th position after first runs he pulled out a blistering clean run to secure his spot in the semi finals. Dawson’s total score of 189.95 was 6.42 seconds behind current World Cup champion and top ranked world paddler, Scott Parsons of USA, who finished with two clean runs and a total of 183.53 seconds. “I controlled and paced my runs much better and it paid off on the bottom section” Dawson said. Cipressi current World Champion was 14th two places ahead of Dawson while Roethenmund SUI and Sajbidor SVK 17 and 18th positions respectively were separated by less than 100th /s showing the calibre and tightness of the competition. Osborne in 10th position after run one with 94.05 clean had another fast run 93.02 but with 6 penalties 193.85s taking him into 27th position and into the line up for Saturday’s racing. Roozenburg 54th after first runs 101.13 plus 2 penalties didn’t find the form and pace necessary to make semis but put down a consistent second run 101.21 plus 6 penalties finishing outside the cut in 60th place,

Michal Martikan C1 moved up from 8th position after the first run to finish second overall with a total of 193.12, producing the fastest single run of the day on his second run. James Dawson C1 put down a solid run 1 sitting in 39th position and knew he had to pull something out of the box run two to make the semi cut. He was frustrated with the unpredictable and swirling waters pushing him off line on the top of the course and never quite found his rhythm again, losing twelve seconds through the top and end sections section of the course. This left him just out of the cut in 42nd position. Mark Yungnickel will want to forget the split second on his first run when he rolled at gate 15, incurring a fifty second penalty and effective elimination from the competition. Yungnickel pulled back showing his mental strength and put down a fast second run but finished well outside the top forty in 55th. The C1m are awaiting final results due to a protest. Results at this stage are provisional.

The men’s C1 and K1 will have a rest day tomorrow while Andrew Robinson, Bryden Nicholas and Tania Perrett compete in the C2 and K1 women's qualification heats.