After a difficult race at the first World Cup round in Prague, Team Ireland lined up again in Germany for the next World Cup. As the last major race before this summer’s Olympic Games, it was an important benchmark for Liam Jegou to test his form in the C1 Men before getting on the plane to Tokyo. After a solid performance in the qualification round to progress through to the semi-final, Liam opened up in the semis to qualify through to the finals in 7th. Showing some great attacking racing which we can look forward to in Tokyo, Liam went on to finish 6th in the final, incurring time penalties down the course which kept him from a spot on the podium. This great marker of raw pace is a perfect boost of momentum heading in to the Olympics, with the stage being set for a great result for the Irish paddler.

Also racing in the C1 Men, Jake Cochrane emphasised his current good form making his second consecutive semi-final, finishing eventually in 28th. James Gibbons finished in 40th in the heats. In the C1 Women Michaela Corcoran, daughter of Irish Canoeing Olympian Mike Corcoran, made her first ever Senior Semi-final finishing in 23rd. For the Irish K1 team it was another difficult weekend of racing, with Noel Hendrick and Alistair McCreery missing out on the semi-final.

Alistair McCreery also raced in the Extreme Slalom event. Qualifying through the time trial event, finishing 4th in his heat, so not progressing to the next round.