Liam Jegou targeted a medal at the canoe slalom World Under-23 Championships and he took bronze this morning in Krakow, Poland.
The France-based Irishman might even have done better. He had a very fast run down the course, but had a touch on gate 14, which added a two-second penalty. Remarkably, because of his good pace, he still took a place in the top three.
The top two spots went to Frenchmen. Nicolas Gestin won gold and Lucas Roisin silver. Had Jegou not had a touch his raw time would have seen him take the gold.
Jegou, who grew up in Clare but moved to France as a child, was competing at this level for the final time, having reached finals in 2016 and 2017. He was an outstanding junior for Ireland.
He hopes to qualify this boat for the Olympic Games.
Canoe Slalom Under-23 World Championships, Krakow (Irish interest)
Men, C1 Semi-Final: 4 L Jegou 93.79
Final: 3 Jegou 91.97.
