Five from Hawai'i reach world kayak races
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Paddler extraordinaire Lauren Spalding proved her worth on yet another craft last week.
Spalding was one of five kayak paddlers from Hawai'i to qualify for the upcoming 2003 Sprint World Championships.
The others are former Olympian Kathy Colin, Andy Bussey, Jim Farnum and Brandon Woods. They will represent the United States at the world championships, Sept. 10-14, at Lake Lanier, Ga.
They qualified at the National Team Trials last week at Lake Placid, N.Y. The national team was selected based on performances in various K-1 (solo flat-water kayaks) races.
"I think we surprised a lot of people," said Chris Ball, head coach of the Hawai'i Canoe & Kayak Team. "Getting five (paddlers) on the national team is as well as Hawai'i has done in as long as I can remember."
Over the past two years, Spalding has established herself as Hawai'i's best female paddler on a one-person canoe and ocean surfski.
However, last week was her first major competition on a flat-water kayak. Spalding, who is from Kula, Maui, has been training on a flat-water kayak for less than a year.
"I'm just really glad that I made it," said Spalding, 23. "Some of those girls have been training for this for years and years, so I knew the competition was going to be tough."
Colin, a Punahou graduate who represented the USA at the 2000 Olympics, qualified ahead of Spalding and is expected to be one of the top female contenders at the world championships.
Woods, 19 and a 2002 Mid-Pacific graduate, was the youngest qualifier on the men's team.
Colin and Woods were also selected to represent the USA at the Pan American Games, Aug. 2 to 16, at the Dominican Republic.
As national team members, the five Hawai'i paddlers will also get to train at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
