Congratulations to CANI Development Squad Members who were racing in the Grandtully Division 2/3 Race last weekend. CANI athlete’s Sean McLarnon, Conleth McLarnon, Tiernan Gribbin, Beth Thompson and Zoe Thompson along with Coach Matt McKnight arrived at Grandtully late on Wednesday to prepare for a tough weekend of racing.
They had a day and a half to prepare for the race that would be held on the bottom section of Grandtully. Despite being the middle of summer Tully still had a good level of water on it proving a challenge for all those that had come for the race.
On Saturday in the Division 2 K1M Category Conleth McLarnon finished 5th and Tiernan Gribbin finished in 8th. They both showed great pace during the day but were pushed down the leaderboard by each picking up several penalties. In the Division 3 K1W Category Beth Thompson finished 2nd and Zoe Thompson finished 3rd. On their first run they struggled with the course but pushed hard and improved on their second run showing real determination to finish strong. In the Division 3 C1M Category Sean McLarnon finished in 1st with a quick time that would have placed him 7th in the Division 2 C1M, this was a great result for Sean who has only specialised in the C1 category recently.
On Sunday the squad took to the water with high expectations and the desire to build on their results from the day before. In the K1M Category Conleth pushed hard and came away with a convincing win almost three seconds ahead of second place. After a shaky start in his first run Tiernan composed himself and put down a solid run finishing in 9th position. In the K1W Category it was a change of fortunes for the second day with Zoe coming out fighting and taking home the win ahead of her sister Beth who took second place. This was a great result for the pair really showing how far they have in the past few months. In the C1M category Sean won his category and improved on his performance from the day before as he would have placed 5th in Division 2 this time.
This trip was only made possible by having the support of Brendan McLarnon and Thomas Thompson who helped to look after the paddler’s off the water allowing Matt McKnight to work with the athlete’s and focus them on the task of racing. It was an invaluable learning experience for all involved and the future looks bright for those involved in the Slalom Squad.
