Anderson starts season with gold rush

Olympian Tim Anderson has started the season on top of the podium, winning the Men’s K1 Final at the 2026 Oceania Championships held in Auckland, New Zealand from 31 January to 2 February. 

Anderson, a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder, qualified fastest for the final and handled the pressure in going last down the rapids to take out the gold medal by 0.26 seconds. 

“It’s a great start to the season. It wasn’t the easiest race considering I haven’t raced on the course for a while. It felt really good to put a solid run down. It was good practice to go off late and take on the pressure with all eyes turning to. I’m happy with the result,” Anderson said. 

Anderson also finished third in the Men’s Kayak Cross where he went toe-to-toe with the Olympic Champion, Finn Butcher.

“I hadn’t done a Kayak Cross race for a while. We were lucky that the New Zealand crew let us borrow boats for the event as we couldn’t bring ours over. In the race, it was good competition racing against the top New Zealanders, Finn Butcher, Nicholas Collier and Oliver Puchner,” he said.

Next on the agenda is the upcoming domestic events with the Penrith Open and Australian Open on back-to-back weekends at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.

“It’s a real confidence booster. I had been quite low on confidence, that I hadn’t felt the speed leading into the season and was a bit worried. Thankfully, it turned out okay this weekend. I’m feeling good and hoping I can translate the same results onto the home course,” Anderson said. 

Among the other Aussies competing in New Zealand, Freja Boocock also made it to the Women’s Kayak Cross where she finished 4th against Olympic medalist Kimberley Woods. 

For all the results for the 2026 Oceania Championships, click here. 

Paddle Australia