Ben Fouhy World Champion K1 1000m Kayaking New Zealand

The first world cup of the season in Poznan went very well. I was pleased to get fourth place in the K1 500 fianl which is a very good result for me as it is not my favoured event.

The K1 1000 was probably the best race I have had since the Athens Olympics. I had a strong first 500 then was still able to finish strong enough to go head to head with Adam Van Koeverden of Canada. This race was probably more fun to watch than to be in as it came down to the lunge with only a foot between the two of us over a 1000m of racing.
There was added incentive to win this race as I felt judging by a very comfortable 3.28 in my heat that fast final conditions would mean a Worlds fastest time.So it was with a 3.24.495.

We are now training in the Czech Republic, so far the training has been solid, there will be a lot of work to be done if I want to be competitive at Worlds.

Next week we leave for the second world cup in Duisburg, Germany.

I have now been in England for nearly two weeks and have settled in nicely. I have been training at the Royal Canoe club on the Thames which is said to possibly be the oldest canoe club in the World, founded around the 1870s sometime.

The people have been good to train with, some good laughs and overall training has been really productive and I have actually enjoyed paddling on the river as a change from the lake at home.

Over the weekend I competed in the GB team selection regatta in Nottingham. Not known as a fast course and often a miserable place to paddle, we actually had some sunshine and only a light headwind. I was pleased to win the K1 1000 in a 3.38 over Tim Brabants. A good win but Tim has had a year off following the Athens Olympics.
On the Sunday we had the 500s, I was really pleased to win the K1 500 A final in a personal best time and course record of 1.38.9, with Tim just behind me in a 1.39. A really good race and shows my 1000m competition from the day before was going a lot better than expected.

A sub 1.40 has been a long time coming; although I have beaten a lot of sub 1.40 paddlers in slower conditions I havnt had the opportunity to do it myself. So a good milestone and hopefully an indicator of more to come. Having done two longer endurance paddles duirng the week I definatley have more specific work to do.
Tomorrow I fly out to Poland to prepare for the first world cup regatta of the season.

I am looking forward to trying out my new Vajda supersonic 202 which has a traditional supersonic 02 hull and an Accelero deck.  The new Accelero is very nice but for me the Supersonic 02 hull will always be hard to beat.