WAIS pair Jesse Phillips (Rivervale) and Steve Bird have picked up two bronze medals at the World University Games in Poland after narrowly missing silver by 0.1 seconds in boththe K2 500m final and 200m finals.
The duo continued their consistent and excellent form amongst a strong field of A and B finalists from the World Canoe Sprint World Championship held on the same course the week before.
WAIS Head Coach Ramon Andersson said, “This really reinforces the step up they have made this season. Due to the Australian team being small in number the boys had to also paddle in three K4 events (200m, 500m and 1000m) which weren’t a priority and would have taken an edge off the them, however, they showed a new found toughness to record these results at the end of the regatta and to be on the dais at an event with some prestige will do wonders for their belief systems and confidence going forward.”
This weekend Phillips and Bird will head to Ireland to compete in the prestigious and iconic Liffey Descent over 29km of flowing water including shooting nine weirs and a couple of sets of rapids.
