NOEL HENDRICK MISSED out on a place in the final of the Canoe Slalom after his 15th-place finish in today’s men’s K1 semi-final.

Hendrick rued two brushes – one of which had to be checked – at gate 10 and 21 which meant he finished outside the top 12 requirement.

He admitted disappointment with his performance, especially when he capsized during what he described as “a really critical move.”

Hendrick finished with a total of 102.46.

“I’m obviously very disappointed. I felt like it wasn’t my best performance. Yeah, I just, I leant on my paddle in the middle of it and just capsized in a really critical move. After that point, I was really fighting to get back on track and I delivered a neat enough run afterwards,” he said.

“But I think I knew the damage was done at that point and physically you are just very shattered after a hard mistake like that. So it was a difficult one and it’ll be a hard one to swallow.”

Hendrick was unsure where the two touches happened in the immediate aftermath but said he “struggled” with the gates, adding that becoming an Olympian is an achievement he cannot fully appreciate at the moment.

“It’s nice, it’s great to be an Olympian. It was a lifelong dream of mine. And I think my dream has always been to compete in the Olympic finals. So I’m bitterly disappointed.

“I’ll have to wait another four years to get a chance at that. But to be an Olympian is an incredible achievement and it’s something I am very proud of. I hope when a bit of time has passed I’m able to look at it for the achievement it is as opposed to the disappointment I feel now.

“There’s obviously a lot of really nice and positive things to take from it,” he said. “And the sport feels like it has a lot of momentum. We’ve a very strong team, and it’s going in the right direction. So there’s a lot to look forward to in the future, I guess.”

Tomorrow brings a new event for the Olympics when Hendrick takes part in the men’s Kayak Cross Time Trial.

“It’s been in our International Circuit for a few years now,” he explained. “It involves different types of boats, they’re plastic, more robust boats, and you compete against other competitors at the same time as opposed to everyone competing at separate times.

“Yeah, four people start on the ramp together. You go in off the ramp and there’s only two upstreams and they’re inflatable. You’re allowed to hit them. So it’s just meant to be a more exciting sport. And it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. But I think most people are looking forward to seeing it in the Olympics for the first time.”

With reporting from Sinead O’Carroll in Paris