The second day of the U23 and Junior Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross European Championships saw the GB athletes back in action today.
First up in the C1 team finals came the junior WC1 trio of Zoe Blythe-Shields (Independent), Jasmine Wilde (Frome), and Darcey McMullins (Lee Valley). Receiving a penalty early on at gate three, the team just missed out on a medal in fourth position with 124.04.
Coming in 9.98 seconds behind the leaders Czechia, the team performed notably well in the final half of the course.
In the U23 MC1 final, Luc Royle (Stafford & Stone), Ed McDonald (Holme Pierrepont), and Philip Smith (Winchester & District) came in sixth with 99.38. A clean run for the gents, who were getting faster as the race progressed but ultimately finished 7.09 seconds behind frontrunners France.
With Lewis Arden (Manvers) leading the junior MC1 team down the course, followed closely by Talu Aysan (Lee Valley), and Leo Miller (Stafford & Stone), the trio finished seventh. A penalty on gate 12 saw them come in at 105.74, 8.48 seconds behind France who won gold.
Sadie Sterry (Llandysul), Rachel Ellis (Lee Valley), and Katie Shattock (Taunton) took on the U23 WC1 team final looking to improve on their times from this morning’s heats. With a penalty on gate five and 11, the trio came in at 123.47, finishing in ninth position.
A strong showing from the GB athletes in C1 heats sees the majority of the team through to semi-finals.
Blythe-Shields put on a standout performance, topping her junior WC1 heat. A quick duck through gate 15 saw Zoe expertly navigating the course in 99.26. She’ll be looking to upgrade her World Championship bronze come Saturday.
Royle took on his U23 MC1 heat, doing exceptionally well in section four to finish in 89.59 in 11th place. He is the only British athlete to complete the course in under 90 seconds for C1.
For the junior MC1, Arden raced cleanly, coming in 15th with a time of 93.97. He performed especially well through section one, completing it in just 33.28 seconds.
McMullins took gate ten really well with a well-timed spin. Her clearance of section four was the fastest in the race and put her in 15th with 108.51.
Smith kept close to gate 15 with a perfectly executed spin giving him a finishing time of 91.15. This puts him through to the semi-finals in 18th.
Another clean race for the U23 MC1, McDonald began his race at a good speed, completing section one in 32.77. He finishes in 23rd position with a time of 92.50.
Now for the U23 WC1, Ellis is through to the semi-finals with a time of 107.33, putting her in 25th place. Ellis took gate ten at a good angle to avoid hitting the rocks, although she was given two penalties through her race totalling four seconds.
Sterry led a clean race with a smooth duck through gate 12 in the first race of the U23 WC1. She completed the course in 108.08, coming in 26th.
Shattock picked up a penalty on the first gate but managed to close the distance between gate three and four quickly. She found her stride in section three and through to four, finishing in 108.62 in 27th, qualifying for the semi-finals.
Also for the MC1, Miller narrowly misses out on the semi-finals after coming in 32nd. After a solid start to his race, the close proximity of the rocks to gate 14 saw him dealt a two-second penalty, finishing with 102.14.
Wilde started section one off in good form but a knock off gate six added a penalty to her time. Section three saw her speed up but a further penalty as her boat clipped a rock, pushing her into gate 14 put her in 35th with a time of 155.57. She will not progress further in the competition.
Also out of the competition, Aysan struggled in the first section at gate five, receiving a 50-second penalty. He took section two and three well before picking up another two-second penalty at gate 14, which has proved troublesome for many during today’s racing. He finished in 155.25 in 44th.
The GB team will be back in action tomorrow morning in the K1 semi-finals, with the finals coming in later that afternoon.
Saturday will see the C1 semis and finals, with kayak cross taking place on Sunday 3 August.
You can watch all the action live on Canoe Europe‘s Youtube channel.
Follow along with the live results here.