Their heat time of 1:47.98 overnight was good enough to hold off the fast-finishing Hungarian crew of Anett Szilágyi and Fanni Simán, who were 0.7secs behind. Fisher and Ryan have earned a rematch with top Australians Jo Brigden-Jones and Naomi Flood, who they beat at the New Zealand nationals in February, although the Australian pair had to qualify through the semifinals after finishing second in a fast second heat.
That was also the route taken by Marty McDowell, the other New Zealander in action, as he also qualified for tonight's A final in the K1 1000m.
McDowell finished fifth in his heat, won by Portugal's Fernando Pimenta in a slick 3:35.13, but stepped things up in his semifinal, where he clocked 3:44.10 and finished second, 2.8secs behind Australian Murray Stewart. The New Zealander also had to battle the worst of the wind, which gusted up to 45km/h at times, out in lane seven but finished strongly.
As well as tonight's finals, the Kiwi K4 boat will also begin its campaign, along with K1 200m specialist Scott Bicknell, while Carrington and McDowell will also move in distance.
