LOCAL canoeist Thomas Lusty enjoyed a successful World Cup as part of the Great Britain team at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Sprint World Cup over the weekend.
The 20-year-old, of Catherine De Barnes, competed in the K1 Senior Men 5000 and K2 Senior Men 1000 races in Montemor-o-Vehlo in Portugal on May 15-17.
Canoe Sprint became an Olympic discipline in 1936 and its programme includes events over 200m, 500m and 1000m, in single, double and quadruple boats.
“I was thrilled to be part of Team GB at the ICF Sprint World Cup,” said Lusty, who has been canoeing for six years.
“It was a fantastic experience and reaching the A Final for the K1 Senior Men was a real highlight for me.
“I’ve already learned a lot from the experience and am looking forward to using that experience in future competitions.
“None of this would have been possible without the help of my family, friends and employer Couch Perry Wilkes, so I’d like to say a big thank you to all of them for their support.”
Lusty’s next major competitions are the ICF Canoe Sprint U23 World Competition in July, which is followed by the European Canoe Association, Canoe Sprint U23 European Championship in September.
He also hopes to be joining Team GB at the ICF International Canoe Federation, Canoe Sprint Senior World Championship in August and the ICF Canoe Marathon World Competition in September, while also having one eye on Rio in 2016.
“We are all very proud of Tom’s success,” said Simon Seaton-Smith director, Couch Perry Wilkes.
“Tom has always been open with us, as his employer, of his sporting goals. We offer a flexible and supportive workplace to all our employees.”
