PATRICK O’LEARY QUALIFIED for the semi-finals of his men’s Va’a Single VL3 200m Heat 1 race today after battling back spasms over the past 24 hours.
O’Leary finished fifth of six in his heat with a time of 1:03.838, which was 15 seconds behind leader Jack Eyers of Great Britain.
O’Leary will return for the semi-finals tomorrow.
“Not my best race today at European championships,” he tweeted. “Back spasms after training yesterday meant a conservative race to get to semifinal tomorrow in the hope it eases overnight. We’ll do what we can.”
Not my best race today at European championships. Back spasms after training yesterday meant a conservative race to get to semifinal tomorrow in the hope it eases overnight. We’ll do what we can pic.twitter.com/NXzeG0lecL
— Patrick O'Leary PLY (@eentjebeen) August 18, 2022
Earlier today, Jenny Egan-Simmons booked her place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Kayak Single 500m.
In Heat 2, she clocked a time of 2:01.205 to finish in seventh.