Kayaker faces experts

Press, 1 March 1989, Page 72

Kayaker faces experts

Battling against Olympic gold medallists is a task which does not hold any fears for Christchurch’s foremost kayak paddler, Richard Boyle.

This week-end he will match strokes with three canoeists who have won world and Olympic titles in the New Zealand flat water kayak championships on Lake Pupuke, near Auckland. His rivals will include Paul Macdonald and lan Ferguson, gold medallists at each of the last two Olympics, and Alan Thompson, winner of the KI 1000 m at the Los Angeles Games. Boyle is hopeful of good performances against these legendary men of the paddling persuasion, because it will help in his bid to win selection for the New Zealand team for this year’s world championships, in Bulgaria, in August. His hopes have been boosted by three title-win-ning efforts in the South Island championships on the Avon last week-end. Despite a lack of stern competition he was pleased with his performances — "although I would have liked to go about 4s faster.”

Boyle, aged 27, is in only his third season as a canoeist, compared with Ferguson and Macdonald’s 10 years in the sport. But the Christchurch man has a background of a decade as a ski exponent in surf lifesaving and will go on to the surfing nationals after the kayak competitions.

His chances of world championship selection have been boosted by the retirement from canoeing of Grant Bramwell, a gold medallist for New Zealand in the K 4 event at Los Angeles.