Kayakers give up on selection battle fight

Zac Quickenden (left) Photo / via Facebook. Darryl Fitzgerald. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Two Olympic hopefuls have withdrawn their legal battle to represent New Zealand in kayaking.

The spat began when kayakers Darryl Fitzgerald, 20, and Zac Quickenden ,24, were not selected to race together at the World Cup series regattas this year.

Fitzgerald was selected by Canoe Racing New Zealand (CRNZ) to race with Zac Franich instead and Quickenden appealed his non-selection.

However, Fitzgerald refused to partner with Franich until his preferred partner's case was heard and due to his continuous refusal, CRNZ withdrew the K2 1000 boat from the World Cup.

The pair initially lost sports tribunal appeals against CRNZ and their case was heard in the High Court at Auckland in May.

Fitzgerald and Quickenden have now agreed to withdraw their court proceedings as part of an agreed settlement with CRNZ.

They have agreed to enter the originally selected crew of Zac Franich and Darryl Fitzgerald in a MK2 1000 crew into the World Championships in Italy in August this year, subject to the pair meeting defined performance standards.

CRNZ Chief Executive Mark Weatherall said the organisation would now focus on building up the men's kayaking programme, including appointing a coach and establishing a "world class daily training environment" for the crew.