Canoeing: Hatton close to clinching Olympic spot

Teneale Hatton. Photo / Dean Purcell.

New Zealand are still without a medal after two days of the canoe sprint world cup in Poland, but for Teneale Hatton fourth place was as good as gold.

Hatton's fourth in the B final of the K1 500 sees the 22-year-old edge ever closer to booking her ticket to the London Olympics.

Her huge effort into a headwind left Hatton unofficially ranked 13th in the discipline, inside the top-16 cut-off required by the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

The Ian Ferguson-coached paddler will have to repeat the dose next week in Germany to maintain her ranking and seal a sixth and final New Zealand boat at the Games.

"I was pretty happy with that race," Hatton said. "It shows that I've got it there, and next weekend I should be even better.

"I think this weekend's given me a bit of confidence. So, after a week with a bit more paddling, I should be ready to go again."

Hatton has already made rapid strides in the sport she only recently took up. The former surf lifesaver showed her potential in winning the C final at last year's world championships, and her progress since has left her making a late run for the Olympics.

Hatton only began in the canoe as a way to improve her form in the ski discipline in surf lifesaving, and said the lure of London was the main motivation for sticking with the sport.

"It was quite funny - I actually started doing kayaking to help my ski paddling. Then I realised I was actually all right at kayaking and I could go to the Olympics at kayaking, so thought I may as well keep that up. And here I am."

Her experience in the surf left Hatton with a preference for rougher waters, and she found some today in Poznan.

"I think it gives me a bit more confidence. I know those conditions so I just think I'm in a ski and I can enjoy it a bit more."

Hatton's enjoyment would have been enhanced further with an improved start, considering she was only 1.44 seconds off the winner of the race and agonisingly close to being the first Kiwi to reach the podium at the event.

That outcome now lies in the hands of Lisa Carrington and Erin Taylor, who reached the A final in the K2 500 after coming second in their semifinal.

The medal race is tonight (NZT) but, after beating the world champions Austrians to qualify for the final, Carrington was already satisfied with the pair's efforts.

"We were really gunning for that final today, so it was good to secure that spot," she said. "Ultimately, we're just happy with the whole race.

"But you just need to try even harder again. Today we had three big races and we won't have that tomorrow. We just want to turn up the volume even more and just kill it right to the end."

New Zealand's underwhelming performance in Poland is of no concern for the team, who all find themselves squarely in the middle of preparation for August's showpiece.

"This is all a part of the process and London's our goal," Carrington said. "So we're going to be racing as hard as we can tomorrow but we're not focusing on the result, we're focusing on the execution."

In the men's field, Steven Ferguson and Darryl Fitzgerald managed a fourth in the B final of the K2 1000, but also qualified for the A final in the shorter K2 500.

Ben Fouhy finished a disappointing eighth in the B final of the K1 1000.