Kiwi Kayakers Win At Munich

MEDIACOM-RELEASE-JANE-SMALLFIELD
KIWI KAYAKERS WIN AT MUNICH

ATTN : SPORTS EDITOR

Over the weekend New Zealand Kayakers, Terence Vertongen and David Kennedy won the K2 - 1,000 and K2 - 500 finals at the South German Flatwater Kayak Championships in Munich. The event, a warm- up for the World Championships in Milan at the end of this month, was held on the Munich Regatta Course where the New Zealand rowing eight won gold at the 1972 Olympics.

According to Terence Vertongen the South German Regatta has given the kiwi K2 partnership important hard racing in their build up to the world championships and has allowed them to identify areas for improvement. "It is nice to get a victory under our belts against athletes in one of the best kayaking nations of the world with the regatta including some of the German 'A' team paddlers", he says.

Vertongen and Kennedy took the lead early on in the K2 1000 final (Saturday night New Zealand time) and controlled the race to win by a comfortable margin. The K2-500 (raced Sunday night New Zealand time) saw the New Zealanders in a head to head battle with a top German crew over the final 250m with the Kiwi's crossing the line to win by a slim margin.

The World Championships in Milan will be New Zealand's chance to qualify for paddlers to attend the Sydney Olympics and both Vertongen and Kennedy believe this has been a good start to their campaign. Terence Vertongen is sponsored by Englefield Bathroomware in his bid for a place on the Olympic squad.

ENDS....

MEDIA RELEASE FROM JANE SMALLFIELD

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