Canoeing: Scott Bicknell just fails to foil Aussie

Lisa Carrington paddling her way to a win in the K1 500m. Photo/Ben Fraser

Scott Bicknell was left rueing a giant missed scalp at the New Zealand canoe sprint championships in Rotorua yesterday, as Australians Ken Wallace and Lachlan Tame completed a clean sweep for the second year running.

Between them, the Aussie pair won 200m and 1000m races across both K1 and K2 events on Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake), although Bicknell came within inches of beating 2008 Olympic champion Wallace in yesterday's K1 200m.

Tame, the world surf ski champion, won in a slick 36.10secs, while Wallace headed Bicknell by a mere 0.2s, although the Hawke's Bay paddler's 37.93 time was still good enough to defend his national title.

"I would've liked to have beaten Kenny so I'm a little bit gutted but there are a lot of things I can take out of this," Bicknell said. "Lachy got off to a great start and was probably half a boat length clear. I pulled him back a little bit mid-race but couldn't make any more impression, while Kenny just pulled through in the last 10m, around the time the wheels were falling off for me and I was getting the shakes."

A false start didn't help nerves, with even Wallace admitting his heart was pounding as they lined up for the second time. North Shore's Jamie Banhidi was the bolter in the K1 200m, finishing fourth overall in the open men and winning the under-23 final, just a year after major back surgery.

It was a similar story in the K2 200m, where Bicknell and Bay of Plenty's Andrew Roy actually led the illustrious Australians midway through the race. It was only the final few metres which proved the difference, Tame and Wallace posting 33.57 to the New Zealand pair's 33.88.

Wallace won the K1 1000m earlier in the regatta and the pair also took out the K2 1000m, although even their sweep couldn't match New Zealand's golden girl Lisa Carrington.

Even by her own lofty standards, the Eastern Bay world and Olympic champion had a great tournament, capturing five of the six open titles. She didn't race the K4 1000m but was otherwise peerless, again combining with Kayla Imrie to win the K2 200m and helping Eastern Bay win the K4 200m on the last day.

Carrington is aiming to take her 200m dominance into the 500m ranks this year, after picking up world championship bronze in the longer distance last year.

"I need more base for the 500m so I'll be doing more longer paddles, whereas the 200m is just lots more repetition of good technique and practising good starts," Carrington said.

"It's a big goal for me to have the same confidence and mindset in the 500m as I do in the 200m."

Wallace, meanwhile, believes the sport in New Zealand could be on the verge of another golden era, based on what he's seen at these nationals, which attracted nearly 300 competitors.

"New Zealand has had a great history in paddling and there are some class paddlers here - having Lisa as a role model is obviously working because I haven't seen so many girls paddling for quite a while," Wallace said. "The depth is really good and I've been especially impressed with the depth in the junior ranks."

Other highlights of the final day saw Zac Quickenden (Arawa), Marty McDowell (Mana) and Poverty Bay's Fitzgerald brothers, Darryl and Jarrod, combine to win the K4 200, adding to their K4 1000m title on Friday.

That quartet will be among six males and seven females invited to a national trial at Lake Karapiro next weekend, where teams for the upcoming world cup circuit will be assessed.