Kerr hails 'special' partnership at European Championships

By Will Jennings in Munich

Deborah Kerr believes she’s struck a ‘special’ canoeing connection after a battling two days in the water at the European Championships.

The Motherwell star joined forces with Emma Russell to finish seventh in Saturday afternoon’s women’s kayak double 500m event in Munich.

The youthful duo crossed the line in 1:45.172 as Poland powered to victory in 1:41.418 ahead of Belgium and hosts Germany.

Kerr, 24, finished fifth alongside Russell, 21, at this year’s World Championships and believes the pair have hit it off immediately in their pursuit for success.

This year’s canoe sprint season is now drawing to a close but Kerr, who finished eighth and 26th at the Olympic Games last summer, reckons the duo’s telepathic bond can fire them towards major success next year.

She said: “I really do think it’s quite a special combination with me and Emma.

“We get each other and we really trust each other, especially over that last 200m.

“I’m really excited about where we can go.

“It was good today and exactly how we wanted to do it.

“It was just the margins were slightly different to how they were in Canada [for the World Championships].

“I’m pleased with it and I think Emma is as well.

Kerr and Russell finished third in their Thursday heat at Munich’s 1972 Olympic Regatta Centre to set up a semi-final showdown for a shot at a medal.

And a second-place finish behind Belgium in that bout 24 hours later kept their outside hopes of a podium alive.

The duo started strongly in Saturday morning’s final but were unable to live with the Poles’ punishing pace.

They crossed the line in seventh out of nine competing teams but believe the future is bright heading into the Paris Olympic cycle.

Russell, said: “I’m really happy with today.

“We attacked the start and stayed on with power all the way to the end.

“It’s just great to be out here doing one last competition for the year.

Elsewhere at Munich’s Olympic Regatta Centre, Falkirk star Lewis Fletcher was unable to advance to the men’s kayak four 500m final as he finished last in his semi-final showdown.

Fletcher, 28, combined with Noah Dembele, Thomas Lusty and Trevor Thomson in the opening race of the day but were way off the pace as Slovakia, Spain and Portugal progressed.

British star Daniel Johnson finished eighth in the men’s kayak single 1000m event while Alton Fitzhenry and Bethany Gill were sixth in the women’s canoe double 500m.

And earlier in the day, Katie Reid narrowly missed out on a shot at a medal in the women’s 200m single with a fourth-place finish in her semi-final.

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, took place between 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the German city. Daily live coverage was across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website