Western Australian Institute of Sport kayaker Shannon Reynolds has been selected in Australia’s U23 squad to contest this year’s World Championships after earning qualification at the weekend selection regatta in Penrith.
The 2014 NSW State titles, doubled as the Oceania Championships and further branched as the official selection regatta for the 2014 Australian U23 squad.
First-year U23 paddler Shannon Reynolds earned herself selection in the Australian team for the World Championships (Junior and U23) to be held in Szeged, Hungary in July after a consistent series or racing that ranked her within the top five women to earn selection.
Reynolds’ coach at the WA Institute of Sport, Ramon Andersson hailed the Wembley resident’s selection as a significant achievement, with the 19 year-old in her first year of U23 competition.
“This was a great result for Shannon,” Andersson said. “She has made solid improvements over the last six weeks, which have been justly rewarded,” he added.
With Canoeing Australia sending a smaller women’s squad for this year’s championships than they did for the inaugural championships in 2013, WAIS narrowly missed out on gaining a second athlete in the national U23 squad.
“The team of five women is a bit smaller than what they went with for last year’s Worlds, so Phoebe George can consider herself unlucky as she was next highest ranked paddler,” Andersson remarked.
The exact make-up of athlete events in the Australian team is yet to be finalized, but Reynolds is considered likely to be trialled for a seat in the women’s K4 500m.
