Sam Leaver earned kayak cross bronze at the European Championships in Vaires-sur-Marne.
Leaver battled to the very end in the final to snatch a place on the podium after a tense tussle with Mario Leitner until the final gate.
Leaver had powered through his previous three races, where he produced a hat-trick of dominant performances to finish first in his heat, quarter-final, and semi-final to book his place in the final in style.
The World Cup bronze medallist then fought his way onto the European podium with a gutsy performance in the final to finish behind Jakub Krejci and Benjamin Renia.
“It was great,” he said. “I have been waiting to take kayak cross to a senior season for a while. Last year I was disappointed with my selection series and only got two races in cross.
“This year I have the whole season and I am enjoying the opportunity. I am just happy to be in these races and then whatever results come.
“Today there were some consistent ramp starts through the rounds. I found myself in the final and fought a little bit more there than I did in the other rounds and came out with a bronze medal, very happy.”
Nikita Setchell also reached the final in the women’s kayak cross but narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish.
Setchell led early on in the race but was reeled in by French duo Camille Prigent and Emma Vuitton, who completed a home one-two.
Setchell battled hard with Olga Samkova for the final medal, but the Czech paddler just emerged on top from the final gate.
“I am really gutted but happy to have at least got to the final,” she said. “I was looking for my redemption from the World Cup here a few years ago and it didn’t quite happen.
“I fought for it until the end but it just wasn’t quite enough. I was looking to medal again but you win some, you lose some.”
Setchell qualified 19th from the time trial and was placed in the same heat as compatriot Kimberley Woods, who earned a bronze medal for her third-place finish in the time trial.
The British pair safely navigated the heat, with Setchell following Woods before the duo met again in the quarter-final.
This time it was Setchell who crossed the line first, while Woods finished third behind Vuitton to miss out on a semi-final spot.
“I am gutted with my head-to-head stuff but the girls defended well today and there was nothing I could do,” said Woods. “I look forward to getting my own back at the World Cups.”
Setchell then won her semi-final ahead of Vuitton to earn a final berth in imperious fashion.
Elsewhere in Vaires-sur-Marne, defending European champion Joe Clarke missed out on a place in the semi-final after finishing third in his quarter-final.
Clarke qualified ninth from the time trial and the Olympic silver medallist from Paris eased through his heat in first place but was unable to make up an early gap in the quarter-final, eventually finishing third.
Jonny Dickson qualified in seventh from the time trial in a time of 54.77s but finished third in his heat and did not progress to the quarter-final.
Lois Leaver did not progress beyond the time trial following a 37th-place finish, after she picked up a fault on the first gate.
“It’s been a very good week in terms of what we’ve learned,” said Performance Director Tom Duggan.
“All the athletes are at different stages of recovery from the last cycle, preparation for this cycle and the World Championships later this year.
“It was particularly pleasing to see the performances of younger athletes like Luc, Nikita, and Sam.
“Sam has worked hard all week in the background to be ready for the kayak cross so it was good to see him convert his potential into the senior medal.
“Before we head into the World Cup Series one of the key things I’m keen to observe and understand is our process around reflection and debriefing so we can take learnings.
“The next couple of weeks before we head off to World Cup, one will be really important.
“The coaches and performance analysis team have been working on changing some of the processes on the back of the last cycle to improve how we can get information and data to the coaches in between rounds, and it’s been a collaborative effort that’s really paid off today, in terms of being able to support the paddlers in the kayak cross rounds.”