Sam Sutton has continued New Zealand's astonishing recent kayaking success by winning the world extreme whitewater title in Austria.
The 23-year-old Rotorua paddler won the adidas Sickline championship down the Wellerbrcke rapids in Austria's tztal valley, defending the title he won last year.
And Sutton needed the fastest-ever time down
the tumbling section of the river to head off fellow Waiariki Institute of Technology teammate Mike Dawson, clocking 55.84secs.
"I knew Mike had done a 58 but I just kept telling myself, 'you can beat it, don't be a pussy, you can win' and we managed to make it a New Zealand one-two," a jubilant Sutton said. "Mike and I have been racing for a few seasons and it's great to have two Kiwis up there."
Dawson's podium placing comes just three weeks after he qualified for the London Olympics in canoe slalom, joining yet another Rotorua white water paddler, Luuka Jones.
A month earlier, Ohope's Lisa Carrington kick-started the Bay of Plenty brilliance by winning the 200m K1 title at the world flatwater championships in Hungary.
Dawson, who also finished second at the Sickline titles in 2009, is delighted by what he and his compatriots have achieved.
"Qualifying for the London Olympics was a huge buzz for me and I've found it hard to get fired up for Sickline although, at the same time, I wanted to redeem myself and try to take this title that has always eluded," the 24-year-old explained. "But this is definitely Sam Sutton's stomping ground - his final run was perfect and he was in a league of his own. It's great to share the podium with another Kiwi. We've managed it twice in the last two major extreme races this year, which is great for New Zealand and for kayak sport in our country."
Dawson, who also won the Teva Mountain Games steep creek title in Colorado earlier in the season, posted a 58.00sec run in his final and watched as the next four paddlers failed to better that mark.
But Sutton, who'd broken the course record by clocking 56.41 in his semifinal run, kept his head together and went even faster in his final.
"I'm pretty happy. I was pretty surprised I was able to beat my qualification time but I've got a new kayak designed by a friend of mine from Bliss-stick and it's just working so nicely."
German Paul Bockelmann was third in 58.03, with second to seventh positions all separated by less than a second. Sutton's younger brother Jamie finished 17th, with the siblings squaring off in the quarter-finals.
