Canoeing: Luuka Jones builds for Worlds

Luuka Jones is going from strength to strength on the World Cup canoe slalom circuit. Photo / File

Two-time New Zealand Olympian Luuka Jones scored her best-ever result on the world cup canoe slalom circuit overnight finishing 13th at the latest round in Slovenia.

Tauranga-born Jones showed she is building strongly for next month's world championships, clocking 125.46secs for her semifinal run, which included a 2sec penalty for touching a gate.

Her raw time was just 0.71secs off making her first world cup final, although Jones was more than satisfied with result which comfortably bettered her previous best; 19th in Germany two years ago.

"It felt really good to have a solid run," the 24-year-old said. "I had a mistake at the top and a few time losses but, overall, I am pleased to have had a fairly good race. My goal for the weekend was to put together some solid runs without missing any gates [50sec penalties] or big mistakes, as all the races I have done so far this year have been fast in parts but with big mistakes or penalties."

Jones has represented New Zealand at the Beijing and London Olympics, the first Kiwi female slalom paddler to feature at that level.

Her London teammate and fellow Bay of Plenty kayaker Mike Dawson also had a great result in Tacen, clocking his best finish of the season in 16th.

Dawson was just 4.94secs behind top qualifier, Australian Lucien Delfour, a result which lifts him to 15th overall after four world cups.

The 26-year-old finished 29th in the Cardiff world cup, 24th in Augsburg (Germany) and 27th in Spain, before breaking through into the top 20 in Slovenia. The series finale is in Slovakia next week, with the world championships in the Czech Republic in September.

Jones says she's making big strides under British coach Campbell Walsh. She finished 35th in Cardiff and 28th in Augsburg, before skipping the round in Spain to embed changes in her technique.

"The training with Campbell is definitely paying off. It's taken some time to learn the things he is teaching me but it is coming together and I just need to be patient."