Aquinas College student Jack Egan has been selected to represent New Zealand at the Junior Worlds competition for C1 Canoe Slalom in Slovakia. At 15 years of age, Jack will be one of the youngest members of the under-18 team is heading off in July this year. Jack will compete against the world’s top junior paddlers from Oceania, Europe, the United States and Russia.
“I’m really excited to compete overseas for a month against some of the best juniors from around the world. The waters are much tougher than where I train here – steeper drops and faster water flow. It’ll be a really good experience,” commented Jack.
Jack’s competition this year has focused on developing further race experience and preparing to race on one of the toughest courses in the world – Bratislava. He is likely to stop off in Pau in France to train prior to the Junior World races.
In preparation for selection Jack competed at a number of races in both K1 paddling and C1 paddling, including the Mangahao Open and Oceania. At the Australian Open in Penrith in February, Jack finished as the top New Zealand Under 18 paddler in the C1 race and 5th overall. After completing the New Zealand Secondary Schools Canoe Slalom competition in April he will take part in the New Zealand Nationals competition.
The Year 11 student trains 10 – 12 hours per week under Coach Pierre Labarelle.
“My dream is to go to the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. If I keep training and competing like this over the next 3 years, my dream might just become a reality” commented Jack.
