Hawke's Bay's Aimee Fisher and Aucklander Caitlin Ryan won silver in their K2 500m final at the World Cup kayaking regatta in Portugal yesterday.
The final was their third race together and they won their heat. In the final they powered their way down the blustery Montemor-o-Velho course and finished just 0.36s adrift of Hungarians Anna Karasz and Ninetta Vad, after qualifying for the final by winning their heat.
"The heats were a bit of a blur but we debriefed last night and came out settled and focused ready to race in the final," Ryan explained. "We weren't too focused on the result in the final; instead we were just making sure we got our rhythm right and using the strength we've been building on in the gym all year and to come away with a silver with a good mate to celebrate with is an amazing feeling."
They didn't have long to celebrate, climbing into their specialist K4 boat with Kayla Imrie and Jaimee Lovett for the afternoon session and immediately picking up where they left off.
In the second heat of the K4 500m, the quartet overcame a sloppy start to haul in the Portuguese team, clocking 1m39.56s to again qualify directly for last night's A final.
