Good Result for Irish Paddler Rheinisch in Sydney
Good Result for Irish Paddler Rheinisch in Sydney
Feb 2007
The Penrith white-water course in Sydney, a winter training venue for the Irish Canoe-slalom team, brought success for Eoin Rheinisch last weekend. Eoin dominated the qualifying rounds, was pipped for a top 10 final place in the next round, but took silver in the B final. The early season success saw Eoin reap $500 Aus. prize-money and provided him and national coach Han Bijnen with a confidence bonus.
This warm-up event saw 54 paddlers, including Olympic silver medallist Campbell Walsh (G.B.) take to the turbulent waters of the Sydney Olympic slalom course. With many of the top ten paddlers in the Worlds participating, the field resembled a World cup event. Former multiple World Champion Richard Fox organised the event and designed a tough course that emphasised technical ability.
In the qualifying rounds Eoin showed his form setting a pace that left him over six seconds clear over the two runs. Not only was he three seconds clear on his first run, but he displayed remarkable consistency to back it up with an equivalent second run. This gap from his rivals reflects the fact that he had kept his form that gave him a top ten World ranking in 2006.
In the semi-final, our Athens Olympian Eoin Rheinish, had one error that cost him doubly-he lost time as well as taking a penalty for touching a gate, and just missed out on the top ten that qualified for the A-final. In the A-final, Campbell Walsh took gold from Helmut Oblinger, the Austrian who finished fourth on this course in the Olympics in 2000.
The B-final was to provide Eoin an opportunity for redemption and his second place finish, conveyed that the semi-final performance had been an unlucky run. Other Irish paddlers competing included Ciaran Heauteau and Stephen Quinn, both members of the 2012 squad. Ciaran, who was Irelands best performer in the World University Games last year, took a respectable 12th place in the B-final.
Sydney proved attractive for the Irish team, both for warm-weather training on the artificial slalom course and the top class competition available. Eoin included this race as part of his preparation for the Olympic qualification in Brazil in September and next week travels there to familiarise himself with the course. Canoes, paddles and gear will all travel the long haul journey to Sao Paulo, and hopefully his renewed confidence will accompany him throughout this vital Olympic qualification season.
Contact info: canoemedia@gmail.com Tadhg MacIntyre 087-8393630 Photos in gallery on media banner at www.canoe.ie
Results Online: http://www.2007slalomworldseries.canoe.org.au/
What is Canoe-Slalom: http://www.canoe.org.au/default.asp?MenuID=Disciplines/97/0,Slalom/82/2150