New Zealand's Olympic Canoe champion Lisa Carrington has claimed gold in the K1 500 metres at the year's first World Cup event in Milan.
Carrington paddled a seamless race in ideal conditions, leaping ahead at the start and holding on to that lead throughout.
At the half way mark she led by half a boat length and although that gap was challenged briefly she finished with her trademark burst of speed to finish a full length ahead of the field.
Her time of 1.51.849 was almost a second ahead of Germany's Franziska Weber (silver) and Austria's Yvonne Shuring (bronze).
This is only the second season that Carrington has raced the 500m, adding the longer distance to her programme last year after winning gold in the K1 200m at the 2012 London Olympics.
She proved that she was well up to the task winning gold in both World Cups and bronze at the ICF World Championship.
Carrington also dominated in the 200, claiming gold in every race throughout the World Cup and World Champs campaign, something she hopes to repeat this season.
The new men's K4 combination of Zac Quickenden, Jarrod Fitzgerald, Martyn McDowell and Darryl Fitzgerald raced a strong final after qualifying direct from their heat yesterday. They placed a creditable sixth in their final tonight in a time of 3.02.344
Lisa races again tonight in her favoured K1 200m and the rest of the New Zealand team also takes to the water, including the new combos of Jamie Lovett, Teneale Hatton, Aimee Fisher and Caitlin Ryan in the K4 500m and Scott Bicknell and Andrew Roy in the K2 200m.
