Both Finn Butcher and Nick Collier, from the Central Otago school of whitewater excellence, are nicely placed after the latest major event on the canoe slalom calendar.
World championship silver medallist Butcher used the Mangahao Open, at the whitewater park near Shannon, at the weekend to prepare for his final run-in to Olympic selection.
He showed plenty of speed on the water but picked up a few penalties, winning the Saturday race and finishing second a day later.
"I’m happy with where I’m at," Butcher told the Otago Daily Times in an email.
"I had a bit of an illness through the Christmas-New Year period but seem to have recovered OK, and it was nice to get a race under the belt and practise some stuff before our Olympic selection."
Collier, who was third in the senior K1 category at Mangahao behind Butcher and Callum Gilbert, and the leading under-23 paddler, is also bound for Penrith.
He was unsure about competing at the Oceania event but was heartened by his performance at the weekend.
Collier is aiming to be selected for the New Zealand senior canoe slalom team to compete in several world cup events, and will get another chance at the New Zealand Open on February 10-11.
He has already secured his place at the under-23 world championships in Slovakia in July.
Collier had a big week after Christmas when he competed against some of the best paddlers in the world in China.
He was "stoked" with his results, placing fifth, eighth, fifth and second over the four events (short distance, long distance, kayak cross and challenge race) in the elite men’s category.
Competing on several sections of the Salween River, the longest undammed river in mainland Southeast Asia, was enjoyable as it was similar to his home rapids on the Kawarau River, Collier said.
