{"id":4162,"date":"2021-08-04T01:05:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T07:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canoeracing.org.nz\/?p=4162"},"modified":"2021-08-04T01:05:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T07:05:39","slug":"carrington-regal-roll-on-while-kiwi-men-impress-in-olympic-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uptest.co.nz\/canoeracing\/carrington-regal-roll-on-while-kiwi-men-impress-in-olympic-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Carrington, Regal roll on, while Kiwi men impress in Olympic debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lisa Carrington and Caitlin Regal have continued their stellar work in Tokyo, progressing to the semi finals of the K1 500m.
\nAfter the emotional high of Tuesday, where Carrington added another golden layer to her legacy and Regal became Kayaking\u2019s latest Olympic champion, the pair had to come back down to earth quickly on Wednesday, reverting to the solo event. They\u00a0both managed automatic qualification for Thursday\u2019s semi-finals, avoiding the potentially draining prospect of taking the longer route via the quarter finals.
\nThe semi finals are set to go from 9:58am local time on Thursday (12:58 NZT), with the A final scheduled for 3:29pm (NZT). The B final will be raced at 3:22pm (NZT).
\nTopping off another exciting day, the men\u2019s K2 1000m combination of Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie took to the water for the first time, qualifying for the semi-finals after a mature, powerful performance in their quarter final. The semi-finals start from 1:26pm (NZT) on Thursday.
\nRegal was first in action on Wednesday at the Sea Forest Waterway, in heat three of the K1 500m.
\nConditions were again tricky \u2013 shown when a top Belarussian paddler completely mangled her start in an earlier heat \u2013 but Regal was in a good spot in lane one.
\nThe 29-year-old had to regather herself, after a false start by Frenchwoman Manon Hostens, but began well, after a powerful start.
\nShe clocked 52.37 for the first 250m, just ahead of Australian Alyce Wood, with experienced Swede Linnea Stensils half a second further back.
\nRegal was comfortable from there, knowing that a top three finish was enough, though Slovakian Janic Ponomarenko made it tight at the finish with a late burst.
\nRegal clocked 1:50.297 in third, behind Stensils (1:48.144) and Wood (1:48.572).
\nRegal, who set a world best time for the distance in 2018, wasn\u2019t entirely satisfied, illustrating the high standards that have been set within the high performance program at Canoe Racing New Zealand.
\n\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t good enough,\u201d Regal told Sky Television. \u201cWe had a big day yesterday but it was messy [today] and I\u2019m going to have to do better for the semi-final and I\u2019m capable of better than that. We\u2019ve seen the men\u2019s [rowing] eight turn it round and I can do the same.\u201d
\nRegal admitted the exertions of the K2 500m had taken a toll but wasn\u2019t making any excuses.
\n\u201cThere is the challenge of getting your head back in the game,\u201d Regal told Sky. \u201cIt takes a lot more energy than you think. But back to base, back to do some work and get my head in the right place to be able to put down a better performance on [Thursday].\u201d
\nCarrington featured in the sixth and final heat.
\nIf there was any residual fatigue from Tuesday\u2019s heroics it wasn\u2019t evident, as the 2019 world champion produced an imperious performance.
\nShe stamped her mark early \u2013 building a lead with her familiar acceleration pattern \u2013 and breezed through the halfway point at 51.48, almost a second ahead of her nearest rival.
\nThe 32-year-old, who claimed K1 500m bronze in Rio, found a strong rhythm in the second half, before tapering down slightly before the finish.
\nDespite that, Carrington stopped the clock at 1:48.463, the third quickest time of the day.
\n\u201cIt was really important for me to get out there and run through the race,\u201d Carrington told Sky Television. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit different to the 200m and to being in a K2 500m.\u201d
\nCarrington will be one of the favourites on Thursday but wasn\u2019t getting ahead of things.
\n\u201cTomorrow\u2019s a new day,\u201d she added. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s taking one race as it comes. These girls are all here to win so I have to step up with that.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Brown (26) \u00a0and Imrie (27) made their Olympic bow on Wednesday in the K2 1000m \u2013 and did so in an impressive fashion.
\nThe emerging combination, who have earmarked the 2024 Games as a long-term goal, progressed to Thursday\u2019s semi-final after achieving second place in their quarter final.
\nThat bare statistic doesn\u2019t do justice to their performance, as they dominated for much of the race, pushing the highly experienced Belarussian crew to the limit.
\nThey set the pace through the first 250m then lit it up, clocking 1:32.95 at the halfway point.
\nThe Kiwis were comfortable from there \u2013 with the top three progressing \u2013 but found a late burst to almost surprise Belarus on the line, finishing second by 0.094 in 3:10.220.
\nAs Ben Fouhy noted in commentary, the effort seemed to take more out of the Europeans, who were in obvious pain after the race.
\nEarlier Brown and Imrie had finished fourth in their heat, which was always going to be a challenging affair, with the crack German and Australian crews.
\nBut the Kiwis, who finished 15th<\/sup> at the 2019 world championships in Hungary, acquitted themselves well.
\nThey were third after the first quarter and maintained that position until the halfway point.
\nBrown and Imrie crossed in fourth (3:17.210), ahead of Belarus and Canada, as they conserved energy in the second half of the race, sticking to the race plan of coach Tim Brabants.<\/p>\n