The K1 heats brought plenty of action and drama to Penrith’sWhitewater Stadium as athletes battled against the clock and the conditions fora top 30 result and place in Friday’s semi-finals.

The men’s heat was won by Jakub Krejci (CZE), with Martin Dougoud (SUI) finishing second and in an upset, the world champion Joseph Clarke (GBE) did not qualify for the final after he finished outside of the top 30 after he picked up two penalties for a touch to gate seven.

The Aussie fans had cause for celebration as Australia edged closer to winning its first medal at the event, with Tokyo Olympian Lucien Delfour delivering a confident run to finish third.

Delfour led a strong Australian showing on the Penrith whitewater course, with teammates Tim Anderson (11th) and Ben Pope (14th) also advancing to Friday’s semi-finals.

Delfour said windy conditions at Penrith had an impact.

"It was pretty hard. Yeah, it was windy out there so that affects your race, the wind definitely picked up quite a bit," Delfour said.

"Fortunately, some of the gates have been sheltered. It wasn't too bad, but the thing is, when you're on the start line, when you don't know what's going to happen, you can’t really assume the gates are going to move," he said.

In the women’s event Germany’s Olympic gold medallist Ricarda Funk set the benchmark in the women’s K1 heats and shapes as a strong contender for Friday’s final. French duo Camille Prigent and Emma Vuitton also impressed, finishing second and third respectively.

“I was a bit nervous because the course has some tricky gates,” Funk said.

“I had seen some girls getting some fifty second penalties when I was waiting for my turn, so I was nervous at the starting line.

“I feel very happy about my run, I managed to have a solid and clean run. It feels like a good comeback after my trial event because it didn't go very well for me,” she said.

Olympic champion Noemie Fox (AUS) delivered a composed run on her home course, to secure sixth place and a spot in Friday’s semi-final but admitted to feeling shaky and nervous before the start.

“It's a huge confidence boost to know that even when I'm feeling really off, shaky, nervous and feeling a bit on edge out there that I can still produce some really fast times and that can only give me confidence,” Fox said.  

“It's another lesson to know that I don't have to feel incredible on the day of to do a good performance. It feels great to get that run out of the way. I'm really proud of my mental strength, that pulled through there.”

Fellow Australian Kate Eckhardt also went clear, finishing 13th in the heats to earn another chance to compete.

Making her senior world championships debut, Sarah Crosbee was unlucky to miss a gate and incur 50 penalty points, but remained upbeat, embracing the opportunity to race at a world championship on home soil.

“I am proud of myself, I am very proud of my paddling, especially the training. I feel like I've improved and learned a lot being able to train with the seniors and I'm very excited to see what I can do in the future.”

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What the athletes said: 

Lucien Delfour – Australia

 On the heat run:

I think I felt okay. I think I managed the nerves okay. I try to be relaxed.

On the windy conditions and the course:

It was pretty hard. Yeah, it was windy out there so that affects yourrace, the wind definitely picked up quite a bit. So fortunately, some of the gates have been sheltered.

It wasn't too bad, but the thing is, when you're onthe start line, when you don't know what's going to happen, you can’t really assume the gates are going to move.

 On the local crowd support:

We are really grateful for all the supporters.

On the Teams event on Day 3 afternoon:

I think we have a good team. We just going to put the run together, keep it clean and that obviously is quite a challenge on the team run. You've got to focus on yourself, but also pay attention to the others and the gates.

On three Australians into the semi-final:

Yeah, it’s a good start. So one step at a time.  It's red cut-throat because it's top 30. So you don't have to put down the run of your life, but it's got to be really solid and clean.

So going fast means you do have to use up a bit of juice, keep the pace up and not be too loose on the gates, which is hard today because of the wind.

Sarah Crosbee, Australia

On crowd support: 

“It's so special. I could hear (family and friends) the whole run down. It was definitely keeping me going and it helped me push through right to the end.”

On finally competing: 

 “It's terrifying. I was super excited to have the first world championships, have it at home, see all my friends. After watching the Australians yesterday, I was just really excited to have my time to shine.”

“I am proud of myself, I am very proud of my paddling, especially the training. I feel like I've improved and learned a lot being able to train with the seniors and I'm very excited to see what I can do in the future.” 

On teaming up with Noemie and Kate for the teams' event: 

“It's great fun. I'm super excited, they're both very talented and it's definitely going to be a lot of fun to paddle with them.”

“(The teams event) is different, you have other people to be aware of together but also you're still trying to do your own run - follow your lines, do as well as you can. It just adds a lot of fun.”

On brother Mark commentating the event: 

“It's great, it's super cool to have family and have him be a part of the event as well, not just watching.” 

Ricarda Funk, Germany 

“I was a bit nervous because the course has some tricky gates. I had seen some girls getting some fifty second penalties when I was waiting for my turn, so I was nervous at the starting line. I feel very happy about my run, I managed to have a solid and clean run. It feels like a good comeback after my trial event because it didn't go very well for me.

“This afternoon, we will have the team race. So first, I will have a little rest, a little cool down, I will probably have a short nap too. Then it will be time to reset, to refocus. I will come back to the course just before the race. 

“This afternoon, it's a team race. It's not me alone at the starting line. I will have to be aware of my teammates, In the end, we need to take careof each other.  We just try to have a good team spirit, and that's the most important.

“Tomorrow is my day off, which I will use for a little session on the lake, and then I will just think from one run to the other, step by step, raceafter race.

Camille Prigent, France

ENGLISH:

“Ireally focused on my strengths, trying to stay in the right mindset. My goal was to start the championships well, even though I was completely off during my trial on Monday. I told myself I had a chance to be back today. This time, my plan has worked pretty well. Now we're heading back to rest, eat, and discuss the race plan for the team race this afternoon with the girls. We can’t wait todo a run together – the three of us are feeling great.”

“Racing as a team is always different, because you have to handle the gate crossing well with the others. On one hand, it’s super stressful! I will be the first one to start, so what I do up ahead of my teammates really matters — it sets the pace. If I hit a gate, it puts my teammates in a tough situation, so there’s a part of me that is very nervous about messing up the team. On the other hand, it's super exciting, because we really want to succeed together.We’re going to give it all.

“In my plan for these championships, there are moments when I need to be fully focused, and others when I will completely switch off — go for a walk in theBlue Mountains, swim, or do other activities that totally take my mind off racing, so I can come back stronger. That’s really important for me.”

FRENCH:

“Jeme suis vraiment focalisée sur mes points forts, en essayant de garder lesbonnes attitudes. Mon but était de bien commencer ces championnats, même si jesuis complètement à côté de mon trial lundi. Je me suis dit que j'avais unechance de m'y remettre aujourd’hui. Ça a plutôt bien marché. Maintenant on varentrer, se poser, manger, faire le plan d'attaque pour la course en équipe decet après-midi avec les filles. On a hâte de faire une manche toutes les trois,on se sent super bien.

Couriren équipe, c’est toujours différent parce qu'on a les croisements à gérer.C’est super stressant ! En plus, je pars en tête, ce que je fais devant estsuper important, ça donne le rythme. Si je touche une porte, ça va mettre mescoéquipières en difficulté, donc je stresse de faire rater l’équipe. Mais il ya aussi un côté qui est super stimulant, parce qu’on a envie de réussirensemble. On va tout donner.

Dansmon programme pour ces championnats, je vais avoir des temps où je dois êtreconcentrée, et des temps où je débranche complètement, où je vais aller mepromener dans les Blue Mountains, me baigner ou faire d’autres activités quivont complètement me déconnecter du championnat, pour pouvoir mieux revenirensuite. C’est important pour moi.

Kimberley Woods, Great Britain

“I think it's always nerve wracking doing that first round of a championships. I felt like I hit every single wave there was possible on that course, so it was a little bit messy andI got an early touch, but I knew I could just keep my speed and just try to stay calm for the rest of it.”

On the week ahead: 

“It's a busy, busy schedule but a lot of fun. It's every day, but I live for it. That's why I do three classes because I just love to go paddling and it's the greatest opportunity on the world's biggest stage here.” 

On the team event: 

“We won a bronze at the Europeans this year and it's the first time we've come together this year and it's always a new team. I know we're all really good at paddling, we've all proved ourselves to be here and be part of the British team, and we all, as long as we can stick to our own individual plans, just kind of wiggle around each other. We just want to go out there and enjoy it.” 

On the course: 

“It's very underrated. I think it's very tricky to paddle here. I remember when I came here after COVID, I was like, I can see why Jess paddles how she paddles just kind of channel that whilst I'm here. I think the course is a bit different than it was at the start of the year, so it's been a learning curve, especially coming off the back of the success of the World Cup.

Just because I've done that, it doesn't mean I'm going to be good at everything, so I still need to work for it, so it's been a learning curve at the start of this trip. But it's a great course. There's a lot of features, there's a lot going on. So as long as I can focus on the gates and not the water, I'll be grand.”

Tristan Castryck, France

ENGLISH:

My main goal today was qualifying. Given the conditions, with all that wind, the results were really tight — a lot of us were within just a few seconds — so finishing 12th is fine by me. Also, I don’t really like starting last, it’s super stressful, so I don’t mind dropping a few spots if it means starting a bit earlier in the competition.

Now, we’re heading back to the hotel, we’ll get some food, and then we’ll focus on the team race this afternoon because we haven’t really worked on it yet with the guys.

 FRENCH:

Vu les conditions, avec ce vent, les résultatsétaient très serrés, beaucoup se tenaient à quelques secondes, donc finir 12ᵉ,ça me va. En plus, je n’aime pas trop partir en dernier, c’est super stressant,donc ça ne me dérange pas de dégringoler de quelques places pour partir plustôt. 

Maintenant, on va retourner à l’hôtel, on vamanger, et après, on va se concentrer sur la course par équipes de cetaprès-midi, parce qu’on ne l’a pas encore travaillée avec les gars.

Anatole Delassus (FRA - Heats 9th)

ENGLISH:

My goal today was really just to qualify. I waspretty nervous at the start. I tried to warm up a bit, but it was impossible with the wind — all the gates were blown swinging to horizontal.

It was really tough to start a heat in these conditions. It’s the most important race of the year, but everything can comedown to a single gust of wind. It was pretty stressful. I tried to play it safe and do a clean run, and it went pretty well. I ended up finishing ninth, which is actually a start position I like for the semifinal, so that’s perfect.

Now we’re going to head back, chill at the hotel and get some rest. Then we’ll prepare the team race with Benjamin and Titouan. We’re going to try to give the best of ourselves. We’re three really strong boats, and we can definitely make it to the podium. I hope it goes well and we can achieve that goal.

It’s been a bit tricky because our last trainingsession was last Sunday, and we've only started racing today, on Wednesday. Itried not to waste too much energy thinking about the race — I just focused on doing things that make me feel good.

FRENCH:

Le but, c’était vraiment la qualification. J’étaisassez nerveux au départ. J’ai essayé de m’échauffer un peu avant, maisimpossible avec ce vent, toutes les portes étaient à l’horizontale.

C’était très dur de prendre le départ d’unequalifications dans ces conditions. C'est la course la plus importante del'année, mais tout peut se jouer à un coup de vent. C’était assez stressant.J’ai voulu assurer et faire quelque chose de safe, et ça s’est plutôt bienpassé. En plus, je termine neuvième : c’est une position de départ que j’aimebien pour partir en demi-finale, donc c’est parfait.

Maintenant, on va essayer de rentrer, on va seposer à l’hôtel pour se reposer. Après, on va préparer la patrouille avecBenjamin et Titouan. On va essayer de donner le meilleur de nous-mêmes. On esttrois très bons bateaux, on a largement les capacités de monter sur la plushaute marche. Donc j’espère que ça va bien se passer et qu’on va réussir àatteindre cet objectif.

C’était assez difficile parceque notre dernier entraînement était dimanche dernier, et nous on est entrédans la compétition seulement aujourd'hui, mercredi. J’essayais de ne pas tropperdre d’énergie en pensant à la course, mais plutôt à faire des choses qui mefont plaisir.