The two South African Olympic canoeing crews found the going tough at the opening World Cup sprint regatta of the year with neither the women’s nor the men’s K2 combinations for Paris able to reach a final at Szeged in Hungary over the weekend.
In the women’s 500m K2 race, Tiffany Koch and Esti Olivier cruised into the semi-finals with a solid third place in their heat, but then a slow start in the semi-final meant they ended seventh and just missed a B-Final by one tenth of a second.
The men’s combination chosen for Paris 2024, Hamish Lovemore and Andrew Birkett, were edged out from their 500m K2 heats when their time for 6th position was just not enough to get them into the semi-finals as a fastest loser.
Kyle Friedenstein enjoyed probably the top results for the seven-paddler SA team in Hungary as he grabbed a sixth overall in the 5 000m K1 final and a fourth in the 1 000m K1 E-Final, while Callam Davis did well to reach a 500m K1 C-Final where he finished 9th.
For Koch and Olivier it was a busy weekend as they raced their K2 event and then both also competed in the 500m and 5 000m K1 events. They ended seventh and ninth respectively in the longer event, and both reached the E-Final for the 500m race where they crossed the line eighth and third respectively.
There was however some reflected medal success for South Africa, albeit from two Michaelhouse alumni who are now wearing Australian green and gold. Olympic champions, former South African Jean van der Westhuzen and his partner Thomas Green, claimed the 500m K2 gold medal for Australia, while brother Pierre van der Westhuyzen was part of the Aussie 500m K4 team which won silver this weekend.
Results
SA
Men
500m K2
Heats: 6th Hamish Lovemore / Andrew Birkett
5 000m K1
Final: 6th Kyle Friedenstein
Final: 12th Samuel Butcher
1 000m K1
E-Final: 4th Kyle Friedenstein
E-Final: 7th Callam Davis
500m K1
C-Final: 9th Callam Davis
Heats: 8th Samuel Butcher
Women
500m K2
Semi-Final: 7th Tiffany Koch / Esti Olivier
5 000m K1
Final: 7th Tiffany Koch
Final: 9th Esti Olivier
500m K1
E-Final: 3rd Esti Olivier
E-Final: 8th Tiffany Koch