#Canoeing: Under-23 competitor Sam Curtis came frustratingly close to direct qualification on his first run at the canoe slalom World Championships in Krakow, Poland, this morning. The Irish paddler, competing in a K1, completed the course in 84.08 seconds, but he touched the second last gate and was given a two-second penalty. It pushed him above the direct qualification mark.  Eoin Teague set a time of of 89.71, including four seconds in penalties for touches on gates two and 14. However, he dropped out of contention in this run when he was retrospectively ajudged to have missed gate two and given a 50-second penalty. Noel Hendrick was also down the rankings. He was penalised 50 seconds for missing gate 13.

Canoe Slalom World Championships, Under-23 and Junior, Krakow, Poland (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Under-23 K1 (racing kayak) – First Run (Top 30 Qualify): 35 S Curtis 86.08; 69 E Teague 137.71; 70 N Hendrick 138.45.

#Canoeing: Liam Jegou (20) took until his second run to master a tough course at the canoe slaolm Irish Open at Lucan today. The C1 competitor lowered the time of his first run by over 10 seconds, setting a winning mark of 90.81 seconds. Mike Kurt, the Swiss international who set the pace in the K1, also struggled on his first run on a course where two upstream gates below the sluice tested all the competitors. Kurt nailed it on the second run, with the best penalty-free time of the day – 89.08 seconds. Ciarán Heurteau, recovering from injury and a break from the sport, was the best Ireland senior competitor, being credited with 95.01 seconds, which included four seconds in penalties. Sam Curtis was bang in form at under-23 level: his first run was a winning one of 90.56 seconds. He bettered the time in the second run (88.64) but was adjudged to have touched one gate and missed another, so incurring 52 points in penalties.

 Hannah Craig was the top woman competitor in the senior K1, while Caoimhe O’Ferrall set an excellent time of 121.92 in the C1, though she is just 18.  

Canoe Slalom Irish Open, Lucan, Sunday (Selected Results)

Men

K1 – Senior: 1 M Kurt 89.08, 2 C Heurteau 95.01, 3 P Hynes 110.55. Under-23: S Curtis 90.56. Under-18: L Palmer 105.42. Masters: A Boland 114.79. Vets: G Collins 135.86.

C1 – Under-23: 1 L Jegou 90.81, 2 R Hendrick 99.25, 3 J Cochrane 101.34. Under-18: E Moorhouse 124.24. Under-16: F McNally 121.7

Women

K1 - Senior: H Craig 109.13. Under-23: G Ridge 108.5. Under-18: M Hamer Evans 109.06. Under-16: K Davidson 128.4.

C1 - Under-23: C O’Ferrall 121.92.