AIS athletes Kate Lawrence and Leanne Guinea have won silver medals in the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup — Race 2, in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Lawrence had a fast run in the final of the women’s K1 event, receiving only two seconds of penalties, to record a time of 107.21 seconds. Olympic champion Elena Kaliská from Slovakia finished 3.5 seconds ahead of Lawrence, while Jana Dukátová, also from Slovakia, claimed the bronze. AIS athlete Sarah Grant finished in ninth position in the K1 after a 50-second penalty.

Kate Lawrence, who won her first World Cup medal in 2008, missed out on competing at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games after older sister Jacqui Lawrence won the 2008 selection trials. But Kate has come back stronger in 2009, reaffirming her status as one of the world’s top kayakers.

‘It’s an awesome feeling to be back on the podium again,’ said Kate Lawrence.

‘It was a really tricky course all week and fortunately I was able to produce my best paddle in the final.’

Fellow AIS athlete Leanne Guinea also performed well, claiming a silver medal in the women’s C1 race — one step better than her bronze in the C1 last week. Guinea’s time of 135.05 seconds was just behind Jana Dukátová’s but ahead of the AIS’s Rosalyn Lawrence’s final time, which earned her fourth position.

In the men’s C1, AIS athlete Robin Bell continued a steady comeback from his extended post-Olympic Games break, finishing in eighth position. Two times Olympic gold medallist Michal Martikán won the race in front of his home crowd.

AIS canoeists will continue to be in the spotlight this week with the third World Cup race in Augsburg, Germany, from 10 to 12 July.