NSWIS Paddler Riley Fitzsimmons Wins Silver at World Cup in Hungary

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete Riley Fitzsimmons added to Australia’s medal haul on the final day of the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 1 staged in Szeged, Hungary by combining with Yale Steinepreis to win silver in the exciting new Mixed K2 500 event.

The Australian Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe team wrapped up their campaign in style by adding one gold, two silver and a bronze medal to their tally on the final day of competition.

It capped off a stellar opening World Cup campaign for Australia after the team secured five medals on the opening days of the competition, showcasing strong performances with just over a year before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Fitzsimmons – on the far right of the above photo – enjoyed a successful return to international paddling after taking a year off from the sport following the 2021 Games.

“I had a year off after Tokyo and I really wanted to step away from the sport and have a think about resetting and refocusing on what are my goals, what are my values,” Fitzsimmons told Paddle Australia before the World Cup event.

“I think it was really good for me to be out of that environment for a year, get back to working, enjoying life and come back to the sport with a fresh mindset of being really grateful of what we’re able to do every single day.”

Fitzsimmons, a two-time Olympian, joined fellow NSWIS athletes Dylan Littlehales (silver) and debutant Natalia Drobot (bronze) on the podium.

He and paddling partner Yale Steinepreis, from Western Australia, were beaten for the gold by fellow Australians – and reigning Mixed K2 500 world champions – Aly Bull and Jackson Collins.

The Australian duo continued to go from strength to strength, powering down the course to deliver a gold medal in a time of 1:36.11.

Dual Olympian Bull said she enjoys mixing up her racing program and being able to paddle with Collins.

“It’s such a tough race, I feel so lucky to be able to do these Mixed events,” Bull said. “’Jacko’ is amazing, and it feels really cool to paddle in front of him.”

Collins, whose father Dan Collins won two Olympic medals for Australia, said he’s learning so much from paddling with someone of Bull’s calibre.

“It’s lots of fun, it’s a really good event and a tough race,” Collins said. “The K2 500 is one of the hardest races out there so it’s so much fun to be able to do it with ‘Bully’, and be able to get the win today,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Olympic champions Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen won silver in the men’s K2 500.

The pair finished 0.38 seconds behind Hungarian duo Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka in the hotly contested final.

Paralympian Curtis McGrath won his second medal of the regatta, claiming bronze in the men’s VL3 200.

McGrath’s medal takes Australia’s tally to three gold, four silver and two bronze for the first World Cup event of the season.

The men’s sprint team will now turn their attention to the second World Cup event in Poznan, Poland in two weeks (26-28 May).

Australia’s women’s and paracanoe teams will return to Australia to continue preparations for the 2023 Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships in Germany in August.