The United States impressed in the heats for the Pan Am Slalom Championships ©Getty Images

Pan American Games gold medallist Zachery Lokken shined on day one of the Pan Am Slalom Championships after topping the heats for the men’s canoeing in Oklahoma City.

The United States canoeist recorded a time of 80.62 seconds to edge two-time Pan American Games champion Casey Eichfeld.

Eichfeld finished 2.48 seconds behind his compatriot.

Kauma Da Silva of Brazil breached the top three after a successful second run but remained 5.88 seconds behind the leader.

Brazil also impressed in the women’s canoe heats following Omira Estacia Neta's performance to claim top spot.

She ended the day with a time of 95.12sec, which was 4.03sec faster than the United States’ Olympian Evy Leibfarth and 8.56sec quicker than Canada’s Lois Betteridge.

Evy Leibfarth finished in the top three for the women's kayak and canoeing events ©Getty Images
Evy Leibfarth finished in the top three for the women's kayak and canoeing events ©Getty Images

The men’s kayak event saw Joshua Joseph of the US securing the best time.

He recorded 78.27sec to come 0.64 clear of Argentina’s Lucas Rossi and 1.47 in front of Brazil’s Guilherme Rodrigues.

The host nation also made their presence known in the women’s kayak heats with Ria Sribar and Leibfarth filling the first and second positions.

Sribar crossed the finish line after 87.18sec, which was just 0.02 quicker than her compatriot.

Brazilian Estacia Neta claimed third place after coming 4.90 behind Sribar.

The competition is due to continue tomorrow with more heats in the two disciplines as well as the extreme cross finals.