Great Britain won two medals on the opening day of the U23 and Junior World Championships in Foix.
Upgrading the silver they won last year Sam Leaver, Thomas Mayer and Jonah Hanahran put down an exceptional run in what was a gripping final in the U23 K1 men's team event. The Brits clocked in with a time of 86.29 and had the wait to see if home favourites could beat their time. The French gained a touch near the top of the course but were still 0.41 ahead on the third split; however, they crossed the finish line 0.05 behind the Brits making Leaver, Mayer and Hanrahan the new 2025 U23 K1M World Champions, a first in British canoe slalom history.
Mayer said “We practised some crossovers on the warm ups and they were pretty good and we nailed them in the run. Sam said all we had to do was deliver 7 & 12 and I'd say we did that pretty well.”
The K1 U23 women's team of Lois Leaver, Ellis Miller & Macy Kang had a fast run and despite two touches at the top they still were in a good position for a medal. At the end of competition they were in the bronze medal position however an exceptionally late enquiry for a 50 second penalty on gate 13 meant sadly they were pushed off the podium and into 12th Place.
The day – and championships, started off with the women's U23 kayak heats where we saw fast times but a lot of penalties. Lois Leaver was comfortably through in 13th place with a sub 100 time alongside Macy Kang in 17th with a 100.62. Unfortunately missing the top 30 cut off, Ellis Miller finished in 34th place just 2.38 off the qualifying time. She will be back in action for redemption in tomorrow's C1 race.
In the U23 men's kayak Sam Leaver sits in fifth place with a 84.91, just 1.31 seconds off the lead with a 2 second penalty.
He said: “I wanted to start the championships with a solid run to make me feel comfortable, I made some tactical decisions within the run to kind of practise for the semis and finals. I thought there was a little bit of time in it here and there, it wasn't perfect but it is only heats so there's lots to work on and look forward to for the rest of the week.”
SHARE YOUR STORY
If you have a story that would be of interest to the Paddle Scotland team please get in touch with us...
Share Post
RECENT NEWS
