Big positives for Egan after World C’ships
By Stephen Leonard
JENNY EGAN had plenty of positives to draw from last week’s ICF World Canoe Sprint Champion-ships in Szeged, Hungary.
Focusing more on the shorter distances of 200m and 500m in her preparation for the global contest, the Lucan kayaker made the C Final in both, setting a new PB and national record of 40.64 in the 200m.
Jenny Egan with her father Tom, the Irish Canoe Sprint Team Manager, at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships which were held in Szeged, Hungary.
Sixth in that particular C Final, Egan told The Echo “I was really happy with my 200m because it was a big improvement for me in such a short space of time.
“The 200m had been my main focus from Minsk [European Games in June] to the Worlds, and to take almost a second of my PB was great.
“My previous best was set back in 2016 at an Olympic qualifier in Duisberg and I hadn’t really come close to improving on that since, so I’m really pleased to have done it now.”
The first time Egan had made it to a 200m Final in the World Senior Championships, she finished sixth in that race and eighth in the 500m equivalent.
She did line-out in the 5000m also, but severe cramping in her forearms hindered her efforts here and she consequently had to settle for an 11th place finish, just 58 seconds off the gold medallist.
Next up for Egan will be the International Liffey Descent which will be celebrating its 60th year on September 14.
Following that will be the Marathon World Championships in China to which she will be travelling with her brother Peter who will compete in his 40-44 age group as well as in the senior men’s event.
Jenny, the first Irish woman to ever medal in this competition when she won bronze in South Africa in 2017, will compete in the senior women’s 26.2km race as well as the newly-introduced 3.6km event.
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