Australia has claimed silver and bronze medals in the women’s C1 at the ICF Slalom Canoe Kayak World Cup 1, in Pau, France.

The Australian Institute of Sport’s Rosalyn Lawrence finished in second place and the Institute’s Leanne Guinea claimed third, in the first running of the women’s C1 category at World Cup level. Lawrence and Guinea were both competing for the first time at international level

China’s Nanqin Cen took the gold medal ahead of the Australian pair in the final, with a time of 149.56 seconds, ten seconds clear of second place Lawrence (159.92). Guinea was made to pay for a 50 second penalty for missing a gate, recording a time of 204.91 seconds.

Earlier in the day, Kate Lawrence (New South Wales) missed out on qualifying for the final of the women’s K1. Lawrence, who won gold in the final World Cup event in 2008, had suffered a disrupted build-up due to illness and recorded a semifinal run of 125.91 seconds, with two seconds of penalties, to finish in 15th position. Sarah Grant (Victoria) finished in 22nd place after the qualifying runs on Saturday, with Rosalyn Lawrence in 34th.

Robin Bell (Western Australia) finished in 16th place in the semifinal of the men’s C1 to also miss out on a place in the ten-person final. Bell notched a time of 114.71 seconds, recording four seconds of penalties on the tricky French course. Ian Borrows (New South Wales) finished in 22nd place after the qualifying runs and Robin Jeffery placed 25th, both paddlers missing out on places in the 20-man semifinal.

All three Australian K1 paddlers were not able to qualify for the semifinals after their two qualifying runs. Warwick Draper (Victoria), 22nd, Anthony Brown (New South Wales), 39th, and William Forsythe (New South Wales), 60th, must now aim to bounce back in the second World Cup event next weekend.