GB canoeists in show of force at world cup

Great Britain’s 200m men displayed a show of force in the second canoeing world cup event of the year, winning two gold medals and a silver in Duisburg today.

Ed McKeever’s win in the single kayak came just one week after his triumph in the first world cup. Finishing in 35.591seconds, the 28-year-old notably beat 13-time world champion Ronald Rauhe of Germany, who finished fourth.

In the double kayak event, former European Champions Liam Heath and Jon Schofield narrowly missed out on gold, finishing less than half a second behind Russia’s Yury Postrigay and Alexander Dyachenko. The Britons also finished second in the first world cup event last week.

McKeever, Heath and Schofield later joined Ed Cox to compete in the 4x200m relay. A non-Olympic event and a recent addition to the international program, the relay attempts to bring an element of pizzazz to the sport. Finishing in 2minutes 27seconds, the sprinters delivered Britain’s first ever win in the event.

In the 1000m single kayak event yesterday, Olympic Champion Tim Brabants finished seventh to beat compatriot Paul Wycherley and secure his fourth Olympic appearance.

Having failed to qualify for the final in the first world cup event, Brabants was “very happy” with his performance. “Felt more like myself at last!” he tweeted.

With his title to defend in August, the doctor evaluated his own physical shape: ‘Tough final, 65 days to make up a few seconds, easy-ish!” adding, “I'll be straight back into training