WS 2019-20 Race 4: Chelmsford Results

Chelmsford put out their biggest team of the series to date for their home race, bringing the total entries to 126 paddlers. The line up included Chelmsford stars Keith Moule and Emma Russell who each won their respective races and were the fastest paddlers over the 8 and 5 mile courses.

The event was notable for several close finishes. Tim Gannicott-Porter came in just 3 second behind Keith Moule to take silver in the K1 Open race, in his bid to become the first person in twenty years to claim the series trophy for this class other than Keith Moule or Danny Beazley.

There was an even closer photo-finish on the 5 mile course in the girls u16 K1 race between Hannah Gallagher (Gold, 47:41) and Franchesca Williamson (Silver, 47:42).

Wokingham's Ali Kabeer continues to battle it out with Cambridge's Rupert Tideswell for dominance of the Boys U14 K1 class, Ali taking the gold on this occasion.

Chelmsford's Sienna Payne (u16 girls) and Cassian Payne (u12s) each clocked up their fourth consecutive win in their respective classes. The mixed u12s class was particularly well supported, with a total of 15 entries.

Class winners were:
Class 9 (Senior K2) - James Walkinton & Will Stroud (CLM)
Class 8 (K1 Open) - Keith Moule (CLM)
Class 7 (Vet M K1) - Mike Martin (LZB)
Class 6 (u18 M K1) - David Gurney (CLM)
Class 5 (u16 M K1) -  Sebastian Tideswell (CAM)
Class 4 (16+ K1) - Emma Russell (CLM)
Class 3 (u16 K2) - Joseph Galliers & Ollie Power (LBZ)
Class 2 (u16 F K1)  - Hannah Gallagher (IND)
Class 1 (TC2) - Andy Porter & Blaize Green (CLM)
Class Blue (u14 M K1) - Ali Kabeer (IND)
Class Red (u14 F K1) - Sienna Payne (CLM)
Class GP - Mo Moule (CLM)
Class Yellow (u12 K1) - Cassian Payne (CLM)

The medals were presented by Chelmsford's Emma Russell who is a member of the GB Sprint Team.

The event was won by the host club with Leighton Buzzard second and Bishops Stortford third.

The full race results are on the Winter Series results page. There are also a few photos of the race on Flickr, and you can also experience the race in video from the K2 paddled by Chris Sze and Richie Winstanley on You-Tube.

The penultimate race of this series will be taking place at Leighton Buzzard on Sunday 26th January.