LAST UPDATE | 1 Jul 2023
BELFAST’S ALISTAIR McCreery is through to the Kayak Cross quarter-final after an impressive ninth in the qualification round today.
He produced a sensational run to qualify for the next round, finishing 9th out of the 52 athletes who started. Today’s qualification round was a time trial which will form the basis of the seeding for the head-to-head rounds that take place tomorrow afternoon.
“It was really good. It was a good run. We’ve had three or four races this season and I’ve done some good stuff but haven’t quite been able to put a run together in the kayak cross but it all came together nicely there,” he said.
“In some ways it (the time trial) makes the race a little bit easier because you’ve no choice but to go flat to the mat. You either do that or you don’t get in so it kind of takes the pressure off a little bit because you can just send it down and see what happens.”
Tomorrow McCreery will face off against three athletes in the quarter-final. It will see four boats simultaneously pushed off a ramp placed more than two metres above the water, splashing onto the course as one and racing to the finish. The top two in each quarter-final will progress to the semi-finals.
Asked how he will approach tomorrow, he said: “It’s just about staying in the moment and reading it as it unfolds before you. You can’t prepare too much because you don’t really know what’s going to happen. That’s why it’s so exciting.”
Earlier today Noel Hendrick and Sam Curtis were eliminated at the semi-final stage of the Men’s Kayak, while Madison Corcoran suffered the same fate in the women’s competition.
Amy Wall, Conor Johnson McGlinchey and Nathan Tait will all fight for Kickboxing gold at the European Games after winning their respective semi-finals in Krakow.
Bray’s Wall advanced to the Women’s 60kg Full Contact final after defeating Poland’s Kinga Szlachcic 3-0.
“I can’t believe it,” she said after this morning’s bout. “Really tough fight but I’m really happy to get through and into the final tomorrow.”
Norway’s Mariell Gaassan Straume is Wall’s opponent at 2pm tomorrow.
Johnson McGlinchey grabbed the last point to overcome Ricardo Albanese of Italy 19-18 in their Men’s Point Fighting -84 kg semi-final. He’ll face Sandro Gabriel Peters of Germany in his final.
“This means everything,” he said. “It’s 20 years of sacrifice, dedication and hard work. On your own half the time, and it finally pays off in moments like that. Especially with those rings on your shoulder, it’s special.”
Tait overcame Switzerland’s Danylo Mancari in his Men’s Point Fighting -74 kg semi-final, winning 13-6, and he faces Martin Balint of Hungary tomorrow.
“I’m not finished yet. The goal is still to get that gold,” Tait said.
Meanwhile, Tallaght’s Jodie Browne will bring home bronze after losing 11-9 to Slovenia’s Tina Baloh.
Ireland’s last fighter of the day, Nicole Bannon, put in a spirited effort in the Women’s Light Contact 60kg semi-final, but was ultimately beaten by Italy’s Luna Mendy 2-1, to exit these European Games with a bronze medal.
Elsewhere, Team Ireland finished 14th of 15 in the Triathlon Mixed Relay. Norway won in a time of 1:07:29, with Great Britain and Hungary second and third respectively. Ireland clocked a time of 1:10:57, with just Czech Republic finishing behind them after Netherlands did not compete.
James Edgar, Erin McConnell, Luke McCarron and Carolyn Hayes represented Ireland across a 300m swim, 7.65km cycle and 2km run.
- See here for all results and schedules at the European Games.
