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Liam Jegou makes history with first Irish gold medal at canoe World Cup

Clare native will represent Ireland at next year’s Tokyo Olympics

Liam Jegou with his gold medal.

Sun Nov 8 2020 - 18:33

Canoeist Liam Jegou made history on Sunday by winning Ireland’s first ever World Cup gold medal in the C1 men category in Pau.

Jegou put down a stunning run of 100.35 seconds to take the top spot and secure his first ever World Cup medal, 0.73 seconds ahead of the Czech Republic’s Vaclav Chaloupka.

Jegou had previously posted the fastest time in qualifying on Friday and secured his final place with a sixth place finish in Saturday’s semi-final.

The 24-year-old recently relocated to Pau, meaning he was racing on home waters, and the Clare native will represent Ireland at next year’s rescheduled Olympic Games.

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“I’ve been pushing myself really hard now for several years, and all summer, preparing for events like this. So I’m absolutely thrilled to put down a big run like this in the seniors, it means a lot,” Jegou said afterwards.

Hannah Craig finished 13th in the women’s K1 race. Craig represented Ireland in the 2012 Games and still has eyes on making it to Tokyo.