The Hobart paddler qualified fourth fastest for the C1 final, and would have been second quickest if not for a two-second penalty for a gate touch.

Two more touches in the final pushed Eckhardt down to sixth.

"I was really happy with my paddling in general today, I think I really stepped up the pace," she said.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

"Unfortunately, a couple of touches kept me off the podium, but generally I'm really happy with the way I've been paddling. I'm feeling a lot more confident and definitely feel like I've improved from last year.

"Next year will be really exciting, especially on one of my favourite courses in Tacen."

Eckhardt said she had learned a lot from this week, and revealed she had been battling a shoulder injury during the competition.

"Every race like this is a massive learning experience, I'm definitely going to take a lot away from this week," she said.

"I didn't have the best lead-in, with actually hurting my shoulder about three days before the race started, so I've been having physio three times a day to keep that under control.

"So considering that, I was really happy with the way I paddled, even mentally having that at the back of my mind was really hard."

It had been a similar story earlier in the competition when four seconds in penalties put Eckhardt into 15^th place in the final of the women's K1.

"I had two tiny touches that I didn't even realise were there," she said.

Eckhardt is also scheduled to join teammates Noemie Fox and Alexandria Choate in the women's extreme CSL.

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