Brother and sister Dane and Emily Jackson came out on top their respective classes in preliminary rounds at the opening day of International Canoe Federation Freestyle Kayak World Championships here today.

Emily Jackson, the defending women’s champ put together an impressive routine with lots of high-scoring moves to tally 1043 points, more than 400 points ahead of second place Ebens (CAN), Jackson’s friend and training partner. Claire O’Hara (GBR) came in third with 563 points. O’Hara had a big day as she also was the top scorer, male or female, in the squirt prelims.

Jackson said she was pleased with her rides. “The water level was pretty similar to what we’ve been practicing on for the past two days so it was just a matter of executing the routine I’ve been practicing and not letting my head get in the way.”

Twenty of the 45 women advance to quarterfinals scheduled tomorrow afternoon.

In C1, Jackson’s little brother, Dane, had a bit closer call on his way to finishing on top his division. German C1 Champion Philipp Hitzigrath’s first ride scored higher than either of Jackson’s two rides but the American’s combined score after two rides was higher, 1293 points, to Hitzigrath’s 1140. Rounding out the top three spots was veteran C1 competitor Igor Juanikorena of Spain.

Jackson said he would have to focus on throwing his moves a little more quickly in order to keep ahead of Hitzigrath in future rounds. A total of ten men advance to the next and semifinal round.