International Canoe Federation

Ken Wallace (AUS) produced his trademark late surge to win the Men’s K1 1000m final on the final Canoe Sprint day of the 2010 Oceania Open. Racing out of Lane 8, Wallace was a boat length and a half behind Murray Stewart (AUS) and Steven Ferguson (NZL) with just 150m to go. He still managed to power home to win in 3:31.67 ahead of Ferguson in second and Stewart in third place. “It felt good,” Wallace said following the race. “In the 1000, I’m usually semi-aware of what’s happening around me and where the others are so I know what I have to do. I’m usually behind most of the time and believe me, that’s not part of the game plan at all.” He added, “The 1000 is definitely my preferred event although I seem to get better results in the 500.”

New Zealand’s Erin Taylor claimed the Women’s K1 1000m. Taylor dominated the field. Her Australian rival Jo Bridgen-Jones won her semi-final to qualify for the final but pulled out early Sunday morning after winning the Women’s K1 500m on Saturday. “It was a good solid race but I won't get too excited about it,” Taylor said. “It's just a shame that Jo didn't race, we've had some pretty good battles together in the past and you always want to race against the in-form paddlers to see how you go.” Taylor clocked a time of 4:00.67 well ahead of second-placed Hailey McGinty’s (AUS) 4:09.29.

In the Men’s K2 1000m, Kiwis Steven Ferguson and Scott Bicknell raced to a convincing win on the final day of Canoe Sprint racing. Crossing the line at 3:20.56 it is the first time Bicknell and Ferguson have teamed up for the 1000m. “It’s good to get out there and play around with crews and to show the selectors what we can do as a pair,” Ferguson said. “I like racing the 1000m at this venue. You’ve got really good conditions where you can get some good rhythm and timing to put some pressure on and make the other teams suffer.” New Zealand also claimed silver with Darryl Fitzgerald and Chris Nutsford crossing the line at 3:22.86, while Australians, Luke Morrison and David Smith drew third despite winning silver in this event at the 2009 World Championships. Jacob Clear and Murray Stewart (AUS), winners of Saturday’s K2 500m, broke a foot bar early on in the race and finished last.

In the B final the Trans-Atlantic duo of American Tim Hornsby and Italian Mattia Colombi finished first. “We’ve never paddled together before so it’s good experience to paddle with new people and it’s good fun," Hornsby said. “There wasn’t a really solid plan but we wanted to ease into it and relax a bit in the middle then lift at the 500m mark and have a big finish in the last 150m.” He continued, “It’s still early in the season for both of us so this is good training for our big races in April and then the Worlds in August…There are a lot more good guys here than back at home in the States, I mean I’m racing against Olympians and World Champions like Ken Wallace and Murray Stewart. That’s pretty cool.”

New Zelanders Lisa Carrington and Teneale Hatton took gold in the Women’s K2 1000m. The Kiwis were stroke for stroke with the Australian pair (Elyse Yardley and Kristina Jenkins) coming into the final 300m but the Kiwi pair pulled away in the last 200m to win in a time of 3:42.26.

In all Australia just shaded New Zealand to claim seven of the 13 titles. New Zealand’s performance was hailed by Australian Canoeing's National Performance Director and the ICF’s 2nd Vice President, Richard Fox. “We have seen New Zealand rise, particularly in women’s events, and the trans-Tasman competition can only be good for us,” he said.

For full results see the event website www.oceania.canoe.org.au.