Jake Cochrane qualified for the semi-finals of the canoe slalom of the World Junior and Under-23 Championships in Ivrea, Italy. Cochrane competes in the under-23 C1. Ireland’s top hope in the C1, Liam Jegou, had an operation last year and has had injury worries since. He is not competing in Italy but hopes to return fully fit, with his eyes firmly set on Tokyo 2020.

Next week features the sprint championships for junior and under-23 competitors (July 26th-29th in Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Ronan Foley, who won gold for Ireland at the European Junior Championships in canoe marathon, will be part of the team.

Meanwhile, Canoeing Ireland have advertised for a chief executive. Paddy Boyd, who took over on an interim basis, is stepping aside. The process is expected to take a couple of months. The organisation is also planning to recruit a high performance director who could oversea both sprint and slalom.