Andorran Canoeist Ona Perelegre Advances to C1 Semis at Junior Euros

Andorran canoeists Ona Perelegre and Nil Checa concluded their participation at the junior European championships in Épinal, France, with quarterfinal exits in the K1 canoe-cross event.

Perelegre, representing the Andorran Canoe and Kayak Federation (FACC), recorded the 23rd-fastest qualifying time in the morning descent, 13 seconds off the pace, which allowed her to advance to the heats. She competed in the seventh quarterfinal, finishing last there to end up 30th overall in canoe-cross. Perelegre had previously reached the C1 canoe semifinals in 24th place out of 35 (145.22 seconds plus six seconds in penalties), but placed 24th overall there with 177.13 seconds including 54 seconds in penalties for skipping one gate and touching two others—75 seconds behind the leader and outside the top 12 advancing to the final. She missed K1 kayak qualifying in 32nd (130.45 seconds plus four seconds in penalties).

Checa posted the 12th-quickest qualifying time that morning, just 1.31 seconds off the best mark. In the third quarterfinal heat, he took third place and failed to reach the semifinals, finishing 18th overall in canoe-cross. He had advanced to the K1 kayak semifinals in 26th (99.95 seconds plus six seconds in penalties), but ended 22nd out of 30 with 97.95 seconds plus six seconds for touching three gates—11.22 seconds behind the leader and nearly eight seconds short of qualification. Checa placed 46th out of 50 in C1 canoe qualifying.

The athletes competed on a course featuring a distinctive bend that demanded rapid adjustments, according to FACC technician Adrià Martín. Their events began on Tuesday.