A TALENTED teenage canoeist has proved he is one of the best for his age in Europe.
David Bain, 18, from Great Broughton, progressed through the heats at the European Junior Canoe Slalom Championships and went on to finish 10th in the final.
The natural river event was held at Banja Luka, Bosnia, and featured 60 entries, all aged 18 or under. They came from 25 countries in Europe, competing in daytime temperatures as high as 40°C.
After two good runs during the qualifying heats, in which he finished in 11th place, David saved his best performance for the semi-final. He finished fifth out of the 20 starters, with places at the top separated by the narrowest of margins.
In the final all the paddlers were closely matched until an error on the final sequences caused David to drop out of medal contention into 10th place.
David’s father, Ken Bain, said: “Making a final at this level is a great achievement, and David has demonstrated that he can compete with Europe’s best under the most challenging conditions.
“David’s goal of winning international medals for Team GB surely cannot be far away.”
David is the only British canoeist to compete for Team GB in both the slalom and wild water racing canoeing disciplines.
He is now preparing to represent his country again at the World Junior Wild Water Racing Championships in Opava, Czech Republic.
