The 2011 Australian Open provided a stacked field of Internationals and a great venue here on the Olympic Stadium just out of Sydney. A nice flowing qualification course that weaved its path around the features was set and the pace was demonstrated by the C1Men that were 1st off the start for a full on day of racing. The women were up next and it was time to cut the 51 strong field to see 30 into the Semi-Final. I was feeling okay for my 1st run, just very mellow. I had no real urgency and was lacking strength. I finished with a 123+2 placing me into 23rd position. I knew I had to lay it down in my 2nd run in order to go through to the Semi-Finals. So I set a new plan and got myself into a better and more competitive zone. My 2nd run was 9seconds faster with better lines and more aggression. I picked up two touches that set me back a bit but otherwise it was solid. I finished with a 114+4 in a safe 25th position, 13seconds off speedy Ursa K from Slovenia who led the K1W class. Luuka was also through in 21st and Ella N in 30th.
SEMI-FINALS: The Semi-Finals course was set late on the Thursday night leaving little time for familiarization with the course for the K1W and C1M. The new course like the first included some good sections that used the features well but provided a bit more technical trickery. I was feeling good and ready but this was not reflected in my performance. I put down a slow and offline run that well clear of penalties was not clear in action! I finished with a 133+0, around 20secs off the winner. I was quite disappointed that I did not pull it together for this run but hopefully with time I will learn to race better. I placed in 22nd position which for me is an okay result considering the field. Luuka finished in 16th after taking a Eskimo roll halfway down the course. Aaron O was the only Kiwi K1 man in the Semi, finishing in 30th. Ben Gibb finished the best out of the NZ C1M.
For a full list of results checkout: Here
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