Egan seals silver at World Cup
By Daire Walsh
Lucan canoeist Jenny Egan made it a memorable end to her week in Russia by claiming a silver medal at the International Canoe Federation Senior Canoe Sprint World Cup.
Overcoming the disappointment of missing out on this summer’s Olympic Games in Japan – as a result of a ninth-place finish in the K1 200 metres decider on Friday morning – the Salmon Leap athlete secured second spot with an impressive time of 22:41.017 in the Women’s K1 5,000 metres at Barnaul.
She was agonisingly close to the top prize, with eventual winner Paulina Paszek (Germany) a mere 0.087 seconds in front of her at the finish line.
Starting out in lane one, she was already in the top-three positions with two minutes gone in the race.
Sweden’s Johanna Johansson initially provided Egan and Paszek with the fiercest competition, before Norway native Maria Virik also joined the reckoning.
This quartet were effectively out on their own for the second half of the final and there was considerable tension heading towards the home stretch.
There are no guarantees in a field of this quality, but Egan’s resilience shone through in abundance as she added another medal to her impressive collection.
One of Ireland’s most decorated kayakers, Egan has reached the podium at the European Championships and World Cup competitions in the past – as well as the World Marathon Championship in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa back in 2017.