The Irish canoe slalom team had one of its strongest outings of the year in the fourth round of the Canoe Slalom World Cup in Pau, France — the first race back after the World Championships at the end of July.
In the qualification round on Friday (26 August), four out of five athletes qualified through to the semi-finals, including Samuel Curtis in the K1 Men appearing in his first semi-final of the season, and all 3 C1 men, continuing their impressive form in 2022 thus far.
In the C1 Men semi-final itself was Liam Jegou who rose most highly to the occasion, putting in a measured performance on a tight and technical course to qualify through to the 10-boat final in ninth.
Jake Cochrane showed some promising pace with only a two-second penalty incurred on his run keeping him out of the final.
The C1 Men final was packed with the heaviest hitters in the category, with every athlete in the final being an Olympic, World or European medallist.
Going off second in the final, Liam had a great opportunity to lay down a marker to pressure the rest of the field. The Tokyo Olympian did exactly that, improving his time from the semi-final by two seconds in a great display of racing.
The class of the field became clear though, with Liam slipping out of contention for the medals to eventually finish in sixth, his best result of the season. Local favourite Denis Gargaud Chanut claimed his second consecutive gold.
Next week the Irish team will compete in the World Cup Final in La Seu D’Urgell, Spain where double points will be awarded, meaning there could be some big reshuffling in the overall standings.
Results
- C1 Men: Liam Jegou, 6th Final; Jake Cochrane, 16th; Robert Hendrick, 29th Semi-final.
- K1 Men: Samuel Curtis; 38th Semi-final; Alistair McCreery, 48th Qualification.
- Extreme Slalom: Alistair McCreery 22nd, Heats.
