Philip O'Connor

PARIS, August 6-8 - New Zealand’s five-time Olympic champion Lisa Carrington won the first race but Denmark's Emma Jorgensen (world champion) and Frederikke Mathiesen (world champion) were eliminated as the canoe sprint races got underway at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium Tuesday.

Carrington, known back home as the "GOAT" in the boat (Greatest of All Time), led her four woman crew to win the 500 metre kayak heat. She then won the double kayak heat two hours later.

The biggest shock of the day was the exit of Danish duo Jorgensen & Matthiesen from the quarterfinals after finishing 5th in their heat, behind Germany & China.

The four-man canoe race was held at the same location east of Paris where the rowing competition ended Saturday. Serbia set an Olympic record in 1:20.99, beating Spain's best time of 1:21.65 during the Tokyo Games.

The second heat saw the reigning champions Germany break the record with a time 1:20.51 under perfect conditions. They qualified for the final along with Spain who finished second, while the remainder of the field went to the quarterfinals.

It included a mixture of canoe and kayak races over 500m for four and two person crews. Athletes sat in canoes and used a paddle with two sides, while those in kayaks sat with one side.

The Chinese women Olympic canoeing champions Xu Shixiao & Sun Mengya beat the Ukrainian team of Liudmyla luzan & Anastasiia rybachok by over a second.

The fastest time was set by the Canadian duo of Sloan Mackenzie & Katie Vincent, who achieved a record of 1 minute 54.16 seconds.

The Australians Tom Green, and Jean van der Westhuyzen who both won kayak heats, captured the intensity needed to succeed in the intense, short races on the flat water venue.

We have our own little slogan. Van der Westhuyzen stated that they wanted to "go for it" like dogs on a bony bone.

We have started this race at the rear to give us a better chance. We will try our best, whether we are first or last.

On Wednesday, the sprint races will continue. The first medals are expected to be awarded on Thursday. Reporting and editing by Christian Radnedge, Ken Ferry and Philip O'Connor

(source: Reuters)