Egans make it a double in 60th Liffey Descent
By Lindie Naughton
IRELAND international kayaker Jenny Egan and her brother Peter made it a family double at Saturday’s 60th Liffey Descent while former European junior champion Ronan Foley enjoyed a winning debut in his first senior race at the event.
Jenny and her fiancé Jonathan Simmons of Salmon Leap Canoe Club emerged the first Mixed K2 in a new best time of 1 hour 51 minutes 52 seconds.
Lucan’s Jenny Egan and her fiancé Jonathan Simmons on their way to victory in the Mixed K2 class.
It means that Egan has an almost perfect record in this category with seven wins in K2 boats alone since her first Liffey Descent back in 2003.
“We finished four minutes faster than in 2015 when we also set a record. It was my 16th Liffey Descent and we’re delighted,” said Egan.
Brother Peter meanwhile captured the Men’s K1 title for the first time in a long career.
“I’ve finished third many times in K1 and had a few wins in K2. I’m 40 now and it’s taken me that long,” he said.
His time of 1:57 43 was enough to see him ahead of runner-up Donnacha Brennan of Thomastown Canoe Club while third and first Over 39 was Dermot Hudson, another Salmon Leap paddler.
Winning the Over 59 class was Malcolm Banks, another prolific winner at the race down the years and another of the Salmon Leap crew who won his first of many Liffey Descent titles in 1978.
The Leixlip-based club was having a good day and accounted for the second place finisher in Mixed K2 in Deaglain O Drisceoil and Aisling Smith, both of them previous winners in various categories.
In the Men’s K2 class, three boats had broken away early on in the race, and halfway through the race at Lucan weir, they were still together, with Foley and partner Nikolai Thomsen of Denmark lying second behind Neil Fleming and Barry Watkins at Lucan weir, and Argentinian pair Sebastien Fergauven and Sebastien Jocano right behind them.
“We paddled pretty consistently throughout the race and then sprinted up and took the lead about a kilometre from the finish,” said Foley, a previous Junior K1 winner in the race, who was paddling K2 for the first time.
Among other winners for the club were Gary Mawer and Simon van Lonkhuysen who carded a third consecutive victory in the Men’s Over 39 K2 class, with their club mates David Francis and Declan Halton finishing second.
Winning Junior K1 for a second year was Senan Forristal of Thomastown Paddlers while, retaining their C2 title were Ken Boland and Roger McClure of Kilkenny Aqua CC)
Winning the trophy for Best Club – based on the combined best times in K1 and K2 – was Salmon Leap Canoe Club while long lost trophy for the first nation, which re-surfaced in the past few months, was awarded to Ireland, with England second.
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