LAST UPDATE | 29 Jul 2024

IRELAND’S LIAM JEGOU has narrowly lost out on an Olympic medal after making it to today’s canoe slalom final.

The 28-year-old hit the final gate, suffering a penalty that kicked him back to seventh place.

He finished with a time of 98.52 seconds, including his two-second penalty, which cost him a silver medal.

France’s Nicholas Gestin earned the gold medal with a near-perfect run and a finishing time of 91.36, nearly a whole six seconds faster than Great Britain’s Adam Burgess, who came in second.

Slovakia’s Matej Beňuš earned bronze with a time of 97.03 seconds.

For Jegou, seventh place is an improvement on his performance in Tokyo in 2021, where he came 15th.

Earlier today, he safely cleared the C1 semi-final with a brilliant run, placing sixth of 16.

The top 12 from the semi-finals advanced to the final.

“I haven’t made it to a final in a while so getting into the final was great,” Jegou told The Journal.  

“I can’t really ask for more. You know – you can think all your life about the what ifs and all that, but I competed to win the Olympics today and took the risks all the way to the end.”

The atmosphere at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre was electric, Jegou added. 

“You know coming from a sport like canoeing, we don’t get this too often. There’s only one or two venues in the world where you get a lot of people and never this amount.

“I’ve been dreaming of moments like this,” he added.