Tom Collings | Australian Canoeing - Jo Brigden-Jones and Naomi Flood reaped the benefits of a three week training block by recording some impressive results at the Blue Lakes Regatta in Rotorua, New Zealand on Saturday.

The experienced NSWIS pair have spent the best part of the last month training alongside the New Zealand national team featuring Olympic and world champion Lisa Carrington.

Brigden-Jones and Flood knocked off the talented New Zealand pairing of Carrington and Jaimee Lovett to win the K2 500 final in 1:44.67.

While in the K1 500 they pushed Carrington all the way with Flood finishing just 0.78 seconds behind the Kiwi, with Brigden-Jones only a second further behind.

Flood and Brigden-Jones have also signalled their intention to come back and race in the New Zealand national championships in February, emulating another Australian pair, Lachlan Tame and Ken Wallace, who have been to the last two New Zealand championships.

"Whatever the boys do, it seems to work for them," Flood said.

"We're so close to each other - I don't know why we don't join forces more often and this is definitely the start of something for us leading into the next two years."

Both Australian women have benefited from training alongside the world champion.

"Lisa's the greatest paddler in the world at the moment in the women's ranks and she lives a couple of hours' flight away so it's a no-brainer to jump on a plane and try and get sucked along with her momentum and take on something different," Flood said.

"It's been a good insight to see how she trains and what works for her. The whole set-up is pretty different to what we do at home and we're benefitting from being here and hopefully she's benefitting from us being here too."

Event website: canoeracing.org.nz

Photographer: Jamie Troughton