Youth Olympic Games 2018
Talented Llandysul canoeist Lili Bryant has been picked to represent the Great Britain Team in next years Youth Olympic Games.
Lili who studies at Ysgol Bro Teifi has made the team which will travel to Barcelona on the 6th -15th April 2018 and then if selected on to Buenos Aires Argentina for the Youth Olympic Games finals on the 6th to 18th October 2018.
Lili had a tremendous season in 2017 finishing top of the British J16 Slalom rankings and 11th overall in the UK. She competed in the European cup races at Flattach Austria, Augsburg Germany, Krakow Poland, Ceske Budejovice Czech republic and Bratislava making the podium in most of the races. She also attended the Mezzana International in Italy finishing 3rd in the finals. These outstanding results meant that she finished her European tour 5th out of 88 competitors.
The Llandysul Paddlers club took a team to the Youth Olympic Games World Qualification Selection Race at Holme Pierrepont Nottingham on Saturday November 25th and after braving some very challenging conditions they managed to get one member of the team in to the Olympic team.
The youth Olympic Games is set up slightly different from what Lili is used to and the competition not only tests the competitors in slalom her natural discipline but also sprint kayaking. Each competitor must race head to head along a designated course with an eskimo roll gate on the slalom then switch boats to the faster but less stable sprint kayaks giving an overall time for both disciplines.
Llandysul Paddlers Club spokesman Gareth Bryant said that Lili would now have to step up her training especially in her weaker disciplines and added :”Lili can train about eight to ten times per week in Slalom but now has to try and fit in some sprint sessions to strengthen her weaker discipline and Llandysul does not lend itself to flat water too much with the rapids making an ideal slalom site.
“Luckily Llandysul paddlers have the use of a small lake that can be used as well as some slower stretches of the Teifi which will become her new training ground to help build up her sprint performance.”
The other members of the Llandysul Paddlers team that narrowly missed out on GB selection were – Daniel Rees, Matthew Elliott, Fin Yates Jones all from Ysgol Bro Teifi and Catrin Schrouder from Ysgol Bro Peder.
The British canoeing Team selected for the Youth Olympics are Lili Bryant (Wales), Lois Leaver (Scotland) Thomas Mayer (England), Jack Brockway (Scotland).
Llandysul Paddlers has a great history of training paddlers up for Welsh and GB squads and would like to wish Lili and the rest of the team success in Barcelona.
