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Clare man Liam Jegou in action at the World Cup event in Pau

Clare’s Newest World Champion Proud Of Banner Roots

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Derrick Lynch

Ballyvaughan will always be on the map for its place in the famed Burren landscape, but another string can now be added to that bow.

The North Clare village can now proudly boast to have played its part in developing a world champion, who first developed his skills as a young boy in the area.

It’s after Liam Jegou became the first Irish paddler to win gold in the canoe slalom at the World Cup after a brilliant performance in Pau on Sunday.

24-year-old Liam spent the first seven years of his life in Ballyvaughan, before the family decided to make the move to his father’s native France. His mother, Denise Sheridan, is a native of Shannon with Liam being a regular visitor back to Clare prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.

2020 has already been a hugely successful one for Jegou, having become the first Irish athlete to formally qualify for the now postponed Tokyo Olympics. He is just the second ever Irish competitor to reach that stage of the C1 category and the first since the 1996 Games, which was ironically the same year he was born.

It is not his first major success having captured the silver medal at the 2014 Junior Championships and bronze at the U-23 World series last year. Along with achieving Olympic qualification this year, he was also part of the Irish team who claimed silver in the European championships.

He says that being crowned world champion was a special moment.

“It is an incredible result for me and I am really over the moon with it. I have been pushing myself hard for a while now and particularly over the summer. We did not know if there would be an event this year so I am delighted all my hard work paid off. 2020 was certainly not what I expected but we just had to make the most of what we could with it and train whatever way we could to be ready for next year. I am based in Pau for three years now and train here so it is pretty much my home course now. I was excited to race here and I had a great qualification run. I came first in qualifying which is always a good sign. I was nervous in the semi-final run and was quite rusty at times but managed to get into the top 10 to qualify for the final. I was happy I was in a good place heading there, so I was able to let the handbrake off and just go for it which thankfully paid off. I set myself high ambitions and I have been working on this with my coach for nearly two years now so I was racing to win. I said it before the final run that it was a case of coming first or last and thankfully it was first” he said.

With his Olympic dream on hold until at least next summer, he is hopeful of carrying the momentum of 2020 if the event does go ahead.

“It is a huge confidence booster for me. It is great to have a medal in the bag heading into the big season of 2021. I am very lucky to have that and it is great for my confidence ahead of winter training. It is going to be a long off season not having had many competitions this summer so it is brilliant to have that. This year has just been mad and I think that is the only way to describe it. We had the first lockdown in March and sport was totally put aside. It was tough to train inside in a tight confine. I kept trying to push myself hard right up until the Olympics were postponed and even after that I kept on working hard. We had a relatively normal summer and got to compete at the Euros in Prague. We were travelling a little bit again and obviously observing government guidelines wherever we went. Things are back to lockdown in France again since last week but sport has thankfully been given a pass with high performance and professional sports continuing without any spectators. It is just all very strange, but all I can do is keep on working as hard as I can while respecting the public health advice” he said.

Liam’s parents met in Switzerland before coming to Ballyvaughan, and he outlined that his time in Clare still holds special meaning for him.

“I played GAA when I was there and have some great memories from that time. I went to Ballyvaughan National School before we moved to France in 2003. I always kept that part of my life in my heart and am very proud to have spent that first part of my life there. The first time I paddled was in Ballyvaughan where my father owned a sea kayaking shop in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. My first paddling strokes were done in Ballyvaughan so it is a very special place for me. My grandfather is still in Shannon and we have family in Newmarket too who we usually get to see every year but we haven’t gotten to do that this year which is disappointing. They are my biggest fans and it is brilliant. I always feel great support from that side of the family. I got so many messages over the weekend from all the family and it is great to know that they have my back” he said.

His Clare roots are even more evident when asked what he thinks about being referred to as ‘Clare man Liam Jegou’, with the simple reply of “Up The Banner” enough to tell where his loyalties lie.

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