Canoeists all reach semi-finals

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 30

Canoeists all reach semi-finals

PA Seoul All members of the New Zealand canoe team are through to the semifinals starting today on the Han River Regatta course. The defending Olympic gold medallist in the KI 1000 m and the K 4 1000 m crew, Alan Thompson, gained a berth in the next stage following secondchance repechage races yesterday afternoon. Thompson had an especially hard time, finishing fourth in his morning heat after easing off about halfway down the 1000 m course. “He locked up and couldn’t lift himself again,” said the New Zealand team canoe manager, Bill Garlick. Thompson had a tight race to win his repechage in the afternoon session, leading early but then being overtaken by the Irish and West German paddlers before getting in ahead at the line. With a winning time of 3min 46.20 s he was just 0.26 s in front of the West German, Dirk Ulaszewski. The K 4 1000 m crew finished a well-outclassed fifth in its initial heat, coming up against leading international crews from East Germany, the Soviet Union and Sweden. But the four — Stephen Richards, John MacDonald, Brent Clode and Grant Bramwell — came through in the repechage with a third placing behind Italy and Bulgaria which put them into tomorrow’s semi-final. They led through the first three-quarters of the race after a good start and then after being passed by Italy tactically dropped back behind Bulgaria in the final stage to ensure an easier semifinal draw. “The second race was really good, much better than in the morning,” Richards said. “If we had finished second we would have had a harder semi-final.” Richards described the

first race as a "shakedown.” “But it was a hard heat and not the sort of company to have a shakedown with.” The New Zealanders had also been confused at the start in the early race but had their rhythm for the second. Richards said on Thursday the crew, which being younger and less internationally experienced is the weaker of the New Zealand canoe combinations, would be racing Norway and France for a place in the final. Paul MacDonald and lan Ferguson were back out on the water again yesterday, this time competing in the K2 1000 m heats where they had a tight tussle with the top United States paddlers, Greg Barton and Norman Bellingham. MacDonald and Fergu : son led throughout but the Americans came up very fast on the line in their new carbon-fibre boat. “It was getting rather painful,” said Ferguson of the energy expended in the last 200 m to keep the United States pair from beating them. “We were working hard at the end. It was serious stuff,” he said. “The Americans want to do that to us, they want to try and show that they can outkick us,” MacDonald said. He said the New Zealand pair had been “playing” in the early stages of the race but would have to be careful such tactics did not cost them in later competition. Today the pair go into the semi-finals of the KI 500 m (MacDonald) and the K2 500 m (MacDonald and Ferguson). The first three in each go through to the first session of finals on Friday. MacDonald has in his semi-final the East German Andreas Staehle, who he beat into second place at the Duisburg world championships last year’.