Canoe Sprint is the newest addition to the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges) canoe competition calendar, with the first event taking place in Norwich on the weekend of the 18 and 19 March.
After strong performances in the seasons previous events such as Wild Water Racing, the University of Nottingham contingent of athletes had high hopes for the meeting as the Nottingham team would consist of many GB U23 and Senior athletes who will be looking to represent Great Britain this coming year.
Highlights for the men’s Kayak team was winning five out of the 6 Championship events and gaining a silver medal in the other event. Luke Shaw won 5 events, including the K1 500 and K1 5000 with a University of Nottingham lockout of the podium in the latter event with Matt Collinge finishing second, and Finn Cadell third. Matt Collinge also had a very successful competition with 6 medals (3 golds in K2 and the K1 relay with Luke, plus 2 silvers and a bronze). In the men’s Canoe, Thomas Lambert impressively took a clean sweep of all the events.
The women’s team also had a successful competition, medalling in every event. Emma Russell and Zoe Clark both had an excellent weekend with each winning a gold and 3 silvers, whilst Zoe also added a bronze to her collection.
With five gold medals, sports scholar Luke Shaw reflected on the weekends performances by saying; “we all really enjoyed the inaugural BUCS Canoe Sprint Championships, especially as it was so successful for our team. I believe we medalled in every Championship event, and hopefully this an event which the University of Nottingham can continue to dominate in the years to come.”
Next up is the April national selection regatta which will see Senior GB teams selected for World Cups. Many of the U23 athletes will be targeting selections for the U23 GB squad in June.
As well as a reputation for academic excellence, we have a history of sporting success and are passionate about supporting promising athletes during their time at the University of Nottingham. To find out more about our sports scholarships, please click here, and for more on our performance canoe programme, please click here.
Posted on Monday 10th April 2023