Co Kildare brothers hoping to both qualify for Paris 2024 in canoeing and kayaking respectively
Ireland’s Noel Hendrick is aiming to race in the Paris Olympics alongside his twin brother, Robert. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Only it’s not quite over the line just yet. As with other Olympic water sports, including rowing, boats are qualified first, individual competitors then decided later by the national federations. Robert will likely face a Paris race-off early next year against Liam Jegou, who beat him in for the Tokyo Olympics, while Noel is effectively sure of his spot, given the absence of any close competition.
“We did compete in the double for years, the C2, which was an Olympic class right up to Rio. We were fourth in the Junior World Championships in 2015, definitely our greatest result, before the class kind of died away.”Their competitive arena is the same, canoe and kayak slalom primarily a race against the clock and the whitewater rapids. Typically there are 25 numbered gates, around eight of which are upstream, completed in around 100 seconds.
Robert then moved to London two years ago, where he is studying for an MA in physiotherapy, in part to familiarise himself with the Lee Valley course and maximise his chances of making Paris this time around. “It’s the same situation as Robert, in that nothing is announced yet, but because there’s no one else close, there won’t be a race-off, no. So yeah, I’m already starting to prepare for Paris.”
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