Kevin O’Connor and David McClure, both members of Kilkenny Aqua Canoe Club are competing as part of the Canoeing Ireland Team at the European Freestyle Kayak Championships in Paris this week.
The competition runs from the 7th to 10th October in the 2024 Olympic Slalom course which has just been completed.
Freestyle kayaking is a very technical sport on a Whitewater wave, where the competitors do acrobatic moves in 45 seconds, scoring points for the different moves which see them do cartwheels, full rotations, and many moves which see them upside down, all while remaining in the wave or “Feature”.
For most kayakers, staying in the wave alone would be a good achievement.
Kevin O’Connor is a 5th-year pupil at Kieran’s College is competing in his first international in C1, a Canadian Canoe.
David McClure has been competing internationally since 2013 and is ranked 5th in the world when the last World Championships was held in Spain in 2019.
