NZ's Carrington, Hungary's Kopasz fastest as canoe sprints hot up

New Zealand paddlers Lisa Carrington and Aimee Fisher won their heats in the women's kayak single 500-metre event to reach the semifinals at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Wednesday

On an overcast morning, Fisher cruised to victory in the first heat of the day in one minute 49.16 seconds, which remained the best mark in the heats until five-time Olympic champion Carrington finished after 1:48.51 in the fifth heat.

"It's awesome to have another Kiwi (Fisher) representing New Zealand and doing incredibly well," Carrington told reporters.

"It's cool to be out there and this is an incredible Olympics for New Zealand kayaking, so for her to be a part of that is cool."

At 35, Carrington shows no signs of slowing down in her pursuit of Olympic glory and is taking part in three different competitions on the flat water east of central Paris - the kayak single, double and fours.

"I think every boat has its own unique qualities and nerves and what it takes, I think it's just awesome to race all three," she said.

In the men's 1 000m kayak race, Hungary's Balint Kopasz showed he means business by reaching the semifinals with the fastest time of the day in the third heat with 3:26.44.

"I am happy, we are happy. Today was a very good day for me, I am mentally and physically strong and this is very important for a competitor," Kopasz said.

His compatriot and Tokyo silver medallist Adam Varga won the penultimate heat of the day to qualify for the semifinals, setting up the prospect of a meeting between the K2 Hungarian teammates later in the competition.

With temperatures rising throughout the session, there were no surprises as all the favourites progressed in the various classes, leaving the rest to battle it out in the quarterfinals for the remaining spots in the semis.

Refugee athlete Saman Soltani was one of those who took part in an extra race on Wednesday and more than happy to do so.

"(The) Olympics was always my biggest dream and this dream has come true today. I'm really super happy and proud. I can't describe how happy I am and I want to see all the people who support me," she said.

The first medals in canoe sprint will be decided on Thursday.