Luuka Jones says she went too hard in the C1 final. Photo/Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media
Luuka Jones says she went too hard in the C1 final. Photo/Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media
Tauranga paddler Luuka Jones has continued her remarkable C1 rise, finishing seventh at the latest round of the ICF canoe slalom World Cup in Italy.
The Rio Olympic K1 silver medallist's decision to race both disciplines is already bearing fruit. She made her second final in as many rounds afterstringing together three solid runs over two days.
Her best run was arguably her semifinal, when she qualified fourth, just 2.93 seconds behind leader Nadine Weratschnig, in a time of 117.97 seconds which included a two-second penalty touch.
She picked up two more touches in the final to finish 22.41 seconds behind runaway winner, Australian Jess Fox.
"I was really happy with my semi but I went a bit too hard in the final and wasn't using the water very well," Jones explained.
It is another valuable lesson for her as she eyes both C1 and K1 at the Tokyo Olympics and she has another chance of improving in tonight's K1 semifinals.
"Having already paddled the course twice is an advantage for sure and I'm looking forward to the K1, as paddling it with two blades will be easier in a lot of places."
Fox brought up her third consecutive C1 World Cup title of 2017 in stunning fashion, posting a time of 100.83 to finish well ahead of Wolffhardt on 111.57, with Czech Tereza Fiserova third.
Czech Vit Prindis also added his third title of the year, winning the K1 men's final, with his 87.15 time just enough to edge out Michal Smolen (United States) on 87.44. Both paddlers competed in New Zealand last summer at the inaugural Whitewater XL.
Tauranga's Mike Dawson had a few issues in his semifinal, finishing 33rd, as a number of top paddlers failed to fire on the tough Ivrea course.
Dawson will also have another chance at redemption, lining up in the extreme slalom heats alongside fellow Kiwi Finn Butcher, with Dawson having won a gold and bronze in his two World Cup outings in that discipline so far this season.
