Canoeing: David Florence wins Australian Open title
The 34-year-old has been training hard Down Under, but had not raced since claiming his third Olympic silver medal in Rio last summer, and he unsurprisingly looked a little rusty when going ninth-fastest in Friday’s C1 slalom heats. Florence was only tenth-quickest in the semis, grabbing the last spot in the final by just 0.46secs. It all came good when it mattered, though, as the Scot produced a flawless run in 95.78 to beat fastest qualifier Matej Benus by almost a full second.
“I was bit lucky perhaps after struggling in qualification and in the semi-final, but I had a good final and I’m very happy to have won the Australian Open!” smiled Florence.
Roslin’s World Cup silver medallist Bradley Forbes-Cryans was an excellent fifth in a high-quality K1 kayak final. “I’m very satisfied with my first race of the season,” declared Forbes-Cryans.