Christian Fabris has successfully defended his men’s C1 title at the Australian Slalom Championships in Tasmania today.

The Melbourne Canoe Club paddler recorded a clean run down the 18 gate Mersey River course to finish 1.04 seconds ahead of Robin Jeffery in a time of 84.74.

Penrith’s Ian Borrows finished third in 85.87.

“I am just really chuffed,” Fabris said.

“I did what I wanted to do out there, it was tricky as there were quite a few fiddly moves out there but I guess I just held it together and executed a good race plan.”

The victory gives Fabris a confidence boost ahead of the selection trials in Penrith next month.

“It is always nice for that to happen I guess, whether you win or not, getting that feeling that you did what you wanted to is always a good one,” Fabris said.

“It is nice to see that some of the stuff that I am working on is coming together. I guess I need to go home and build on it the next few weeks leading into selection in February.”

The first selection race will take place at the Australian Open from the 5 to 7 February.

Australian Canoeing Press Release