Nottingham Kayak Club athletes won two bronze medals and a silver at the Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In wildwater canoeing, competitors race down a fast moving river, navigating the whitewater to get the fastest time. Classic races take approximately 15-20 minutes whereas sprint races are usually under a minute and competitors can race in teams or individually.
For sisters Emma and Kerry Christie, wildwater racing is a family event. The team is led by their father Jamie Christie.
Emma and Kerry joined forces in the women’s double canoe classic event to take a bronze medal.
Kerry said: “I’ve been quite ill over the winter and haven’t really had a winter’s training so it was a bit harder for me and Emma in the C2 for the classic because I’m definitely not as strong as I was before. So we had a lot of moments so we were going off line because Emma was like overpowering me so I’m really happy that we were third considering all of that.”
Racing together as sisters is something the pair believe is key to their success.
“It’s good because we can be really brutally honest with each other and we’re still okay with each other and we still get along because we’re sisters,” said Emma.
Nick Boreham won two medals in the men’s double canoe team event, bronze in the classic and silver in the sprint. His doubles partner was Jacob Holmes.
Speaking about the aftermath of the sprint event, he said: “There was a bit of chaos and confusion at the end because we had all finished very close to each other. Then eventually the results came through with Jamie shouting from the top of the canyon that we’d won a silver. We just erupted into celebration.”
These medals were particularly sweet for Nick because this is the last year that men’s double canoe team racing will take place at the World Championships. Next year it will be replaced by a mixed doubles event.
The river conditions in Banja Luka were particularly challenging for the athletes. The whitewater was created by a dam release upstream which meant water levels were variable in the days preceding the race.
“Most of the first few days we spent adjusting to the white water there, because it was really big. It was wild. We didn’t quite know what was going to be going on with the river come race day so that was pretty exciting, but also a big learning experience,” said Nick.
The team had to pull together to overcome the conditions.
“We all have video feedback and everyone chips in and we have to figure out what the best line is. So we’re all helping each other to go quicker as a team, even though we’re still racing individually.”
Nottingham Kayak Club is the leading club for wildwater canoe racing in the country.
Nick said: “The training at Nottingham Kayak Club is instrumental to the team’s medal success. It’s just nice to have a really good community as well. It keeps you motivated when you’ve got a good bunch of people coming down at six o’clock in the morning to train.”
Until recently, wildwater canoe paddling in the UK was in decline, with many athletes choosing to specialise in the kayak category instead. This changed due to an initiative started by Nottingham Kayak Club member Nicky Cresser.
“Nicky in particular deserves a special mention for his pushing of the canoe classes and it was really under his initiative that he identified those opportunities for us and really pushed us, as athletes who previously pretty much specialized in only kayak, to start picking up the canoe,” said Nick.
The athletes are now competing in a series of World Cup events before the European Wildwater Championships in Grantully, Scotland in August. The hope is that this home event will inspire the next generation of athletes to take up the sport.