Canoeing: Fouhy wins World Cup race

New Zealand's Ben Fouhy paddled to victory last night (NZ time) when he outshone a tough field to win the K1 1000m at a World Cup flat water regatta in Poland.

Fouhy beat Olympic rival Adam Van Koeverden (Canada) in a stunning performance that saw him finish in a fine time of 3min 24.495sec. Van Koeverden finished 0.096 seconds behind Fouhy, and Sweden's Markus Oscarsson finished third, more than four seconds behind Fouhy.

Fouhy was also fourth (1min 41.808sec) in the K1 500m, only 0.9sec behind race winner and defending Olympic champion Van Koeverden.

The depth of competition at the regatta was as strong as the Olympics, and the result was the best over the distance for Fouhy at a World Cup, showing he has made good progress and improvements over the last year.

"I've been training hard over the last few months and feel I'm in the best form I've ever been in," Fouhy said.

"I've had to face a tough line-up at this regatta, and the K1 1000 win and my fourth placing in the K1 500 has given me a lot of confidence for the world championships in Hungary later this year."

The next challenge for Fouhy, Olympic silver medallist and New Zealand kayak champion, is a second World Cup regatta in Germany in two weeks when he hopes to maintain his good form.

- NZPA