Two Tauranga paddlers are breaking new ground in the canoe slalom world cup.
Mike Dawson and Luuka Jones returned from the latest event in Slovenia with top ten finishes after enduring penalties in the final to drop out of the major placings.
Dawson qualified in eighth in the 63-boat field with a faultless 100.78s run on the technically challenging Tacen course, but dropped a spot in the final after touching the sixth gate and earning a two-second penalty.
German Fabian Doefler won by just 0.2s, heading off Italian Andrea Romeo with a winning time of 97.12s.
Jones stumbled in her final, with a faint touch on gate 14 throwing off her rhythm.