Latest news with #U23CanoeSprintWorldChampionships
The Citizen
16-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Amanzimtoti lad to compete overseas
COUNTLESS hours of practise and fierce discipline have paid off for Amanzimtoti canoeist Jimmy Papadopoulos, 18, after he was selected to represent South Africa at the the Auronzo International Sprint Regatta in Italy this month, and at the International Canoe Federation Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Portugal from July 23 to 27. Also read: First race of canoe series done and dusted Jimmy began his canoeing journey at the age of eight under the guidance of his first coach, Brent Chiazzari of the Toti Canoe Club. Currently he is coached by Olympian paddler Tiffany Koch. 'When I saw the official announcement that I had been selected for the South African team to compete in Portugal, I was absolutely over the moon. I couldn't stop smiling the entire afternoon. I immediately started messaging all my friends and family, although most of them already knew, as my mother had proudly shared the news the moment it was released,' said Jimmy. This will be his first time representing South Africa on the world stage, and he is deeply honoured. He is in peak physical condition, having trained around 10 hours per week. 'Four of those hours are in the gym early in the mornings before school, and the remaining six are spent on the water, putting in focused paddling sessions. Mentally, I've been watching as many race videos as I can from previous events held in Portugal on the same course. This helps me visualise the environment so that it feels familiar when I finally get there to compete,' he said. Also read: Warnadoone lifesavers achieve podiums at national sports event Canoeing gives Jimmy the opportunity to challenge himself and push his limits. He said what he loves the most is being able to measure his progress each year at the South African sprint championships, where he races against some of the fastest boys in the country. 'I'm incredibly fortunate to be sponsored for both international trips. For the Italy tour, my parents created a Back-a-Buddy campaign, and I'm immensely grateful to the Toti Canoe Club and all my friends and family who supported me through that. For the Portugal World Championships, I'm fortunate enough to say that KZN Canoeing has sourced funding, and I'm very thankful for their support,' he said. For more South Coast Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox. Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
NZ Herald
20-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Medals galore for Gisborne paddlers at Asia Pacific Sprint Cup
The sprint racing in Japan featured distances of 1000m, 500m and 200m in the K1, K2 and K4. The Kiwi team finished third behind a strong Australia team, with a large host team second. Kennedy backed up her gold-medal win at last year's Asia Pacific Cup in the U16 women's division with the same success in the U18 division. She completed a clean sweep of victories in the K1, K2 and K4 events. Newman, representing her country for the first time, had gold-medal success in the U16 women's K2 and K4, and won silvers in the K1. Webb, representing New Zealand for the third year in a row at the event, proved a valuable member in the U18 women's K4. McKendry, also representing New Zealand for the third year running, did well in the mixed relays, raced the 1000m in a competitive U18 men's division and stepped up to the U21 division to help the Kiwi men win bronze in the K4. Kennedy, brother Maxwell and Webb are back training and fundraising for the 2025 ICF Junior and U23 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, in late July. Gisborne medal success at Asia Pacific Sprint Cup Taylor Newman – Under-16 women: Silver in K1 500m; silver in K1 200m; gold in K2 500m, gold in K4 500m; silver in mixed K2 200m; gold in mixed 200m relay. Jacqueline Kennedy – U18 women: Gold in K1 500m; gold in K1 200m; gold in K2 500m; gold in K4 500m; gold in 200m mixed relay; also silver in U21 mixed K2 200m and mega relay (6 paddlers). Hannah Webb – U18 women: Gold in K4 500m. Matt McKendry - U18 men: Gold in mixed relay; also bronze in U21 men's K4 500m. Hoskin out of the medals at World Cup Double Olympic champion paddler Alicia Hoskin and her K4 crew missed out on a medal at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup regatta in Szeged, Hungary, over the weekend. New Zealand went into the cup without Dame Lisa Carrington, who is taking a year-long break from the sport. The K4 crew of Olivia Brett, Hoskin, Tara Vaughan and Lucy Matehaere were fifth in the K4 500m final, 1.5s behind the winning crew from Spain. The Kiwis had earlier finished second in their heat and semifinal. Hoskin and Vaughan were fourth in their K2 500 semifinal, missing out on the A final and not starting in the B final. Poverty Bay Kayak Club's Quaid Thompson placed third in the C final of the K1 men's 1000m. He was fourth in his heat and eighth in his semifinal. Thompson was also 11th in the K1 5000m in 22m 46.05s. A Norwegian paddler won in 21.28.46. Aimee Fisher won gold in the K1 women's 1000m final – the New Zealand team's only medal of the event, which was dominated by the host nation. Fisher was fourth in the K1 500m final.
