New Zealand extreme kayaker Mike Dawson has made a great start to the Teva Mount Games in Vail, Colorado on Saturday.
The 25-year-old Tauranga paddler claimed back the steep-creek title he won in 2009, albeit sharing it with Czech racer Honza Lasko, after a dramatic finish.
Both paddlers recordedthe identical finishing time of 3mins 34.62secs after their two runs down the Homestake Creek, which drops more than 100m over the 450m course.
"I had a really nice first run and finished with a 3sec buffer but Honza creamed it in his second run and I took a deep line in the 'Leap of Faith' rapid which lost me some time," Dawson said. "I've paddled with Honza and competed with him for a long time so it's cool to be sharing the podium with him today."
Dawson shared the US$3000 first prize with Lasko, while Rotorua's extreme kayaking world champion Sam Sutton finished fifth, 8secs behind the leading pair.
Another Rotorua paddler, veteran Nikki Kelly, was second in the women's race behind Adriene Levknecht (United States), while fellow Kiwis Louise Urwin and Toni George were fifth and seventh respectively.
Dawson will try to defend the down-river title he won last year at the four-day championship later this weekend.
