The Road to Paris 2024: Clarke takes European title

Canoe Slalom 20 May 24

The King of Kayak Cross

There's only one kayak cross title that Joe Clarke has left to add to his collection: Olympic gold.

In the past three years, Clarke has become the leading name in the event, which is a whirlwind of fast and furious white water paddling.

And just over two months away from his return to the Olympic stage in Paris, he has stormed to his first-ever kayak cross European title in Tacen.

Already a three-time world champion in the event, Clarke added another medal to his collection in Slovenia, winning gold ahead of Jan Rohrer from Switzerland and David Llorente from Spain, with France's Benjamin Renia making up the final four.

Clarke was last on the Olympic stage at Rio 2016, winning the men's K1 title before missing out on Tokyo 2020 selection.

But he'll be back at Paris 2024 as his beloved kayak cross makes its Games debut in the French capital and all eyes will be on Clarke looking to complete the set.

What they said:

"It means a lot, it's always nice to back it up with the European titles," said Clarke.

"Especially this year, being the biggest race of the season apart from the Olympic Games. It's good to have a season off to a great start."

What's next:

The Canoe Slalom World Cup returns to Augsburg, Germany at the end of May.

Hursey makes history

Great Britain have their first quota spot in table tennis for Paris 2024 after teenager Anna Hursley sealed the deal in Sarajevo.

The 17-year-old claimed one of the five spots avaliable at the European Singles Qualification Tournament and became the first Welsh table tennis player to qualify Great Britain for an Olympic Games.

Having reached the semi-finals of the first of two knockout stages, a win on Saturday against world No. 66 Georgina Pota of Hungary would see her clinch one of the quota spots.

The teenager came from 3-0 down in her quarter-final to win 4-3 against Slovakia's Tatiana Kukulkova and confirmed qualification with a divisive 4-1 win over Pota.

Hursey is only the third female GB athlete to seal a place through the continental qualifying tournament and the first since 1992, a whole 14 years before Hursey was born.

What they said:

"I’m really happy to qualify," said Hursey.

"I was a bit nervous but also excited before the final match. I tried to take the pressure off and play my game but I felt there wasn’t so much pressure because I’m still really young. I played very well."

Atkin aces the 5k

Sam Atkin lit up a thrilling weekend of athletics action of Britain last week.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympian moved to the second-ever fastest ever Briton in the men's 5000m with a time of 12 minutes 54.66 seconds at the LA Grand Prix.

The speedy time was just 1.55 seconds off Sir Mo Farah's British Record and saw Atkin leapfrog from fourth to second on the all-time list.

Farah's national record dates all the way back to 2011 in Monaco but Atkin gave it a rattling scare across the pond.

In a race that saw 11 men dip under the 13 minute barrier, Atkin's time placed him eighth in the field and well-under the Olympic qualifying standard for Paris 2024.

The US-based runner already holds the British 5km record on the road but has yet to topple Farah's long-standing track feat.

What's next:

The Wanda Diamond League will fuel all athletics action in the coming months, with plenty of British athletes heading to Eugene this weekend to compete.

GB shine at Urban Olympic Qualifier

The first-ever Urban Sports Olympic Qualifier saw Britain shine in sport climbing and BMX Freestyle.

Taking to the streets and parks of Shanghai, BMX Freestyle world champion Kieran Reilly finished third in the first of the two-part qualifying series.

Reilly dropped a score of 89.28 in Shanghai to place him in the top three and was closely followed by teammate Jude Jones in fourth who impressed with a score of 88.56.

Reilly's rival and French favourite Anthony Jeanjean took top spot with Australia's Logan Martin taking second.

But it wasn't just in the BMX park where Britain excelled, with Erin McNeice and Hamish McArthur storming the climbing wall.

McNeice clinched an impressive bronze in the women's boulder and lead competition, whilst McArthur took seventh in the men's event.

Bronze marked McNeice's first-ever international medal in what was a moment that she could hardly believe.

What they said:

"If you had told me a year ago that I would be on the podium at the OQS [Olympic Qualifying Series], I would have said that you were lying," said McNeice.

"I would definitely not have believed you. It feels so crazy to be on this stage and feel competent."

What's next:

Part two of the Urban Sports Olympic Qualifying Series takes place 20-23 June in Budapest, with athletes vying for the final spots at Paris 2024.

Sportsbeat 2024

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