Kildare Olympian savours the highs of Paris games

Noel Hendrick is no stranger to the highs and lows that can come with a sport as unforgiving as canoe slalom, but rarely have those emotions contrasted so sharply for the Donadea man as they did on the Olympic Games stage in Paris this summer.

Representing Ireland in the Men’s K1 class at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, the 26-year-old competitor demonstrated great resilience in the face of a number of set-backs, securing his place in the penultimate rounds, only to narrowly miss out on a spot in the final.

Indeed, the Kildare man finished up 15th overall, just three places shy of a top-12 berth that would have seen him through to the final.

While he came up just short in that semi, Hendrick could take some comfort in gritty performance in which he recovered from an early flip to record a very solid finish in a time of 102.46.

It was not the first time he had demonstrated such tenacity at his first Olympic Games, having responded to an error-strewn opening heat with a much improved second run that saw him finish 19th, just inside the top 20 who advanced to the semis.

“That heat was a tough one, because I knew after the first run that that was not going to be good enough” recalled Hendrick.

“I picked up an early mistake in that second run, but after that I said I’m just going to have to go as hard and as fast as I can for the rest of the run, and I managed to pull it off and get into the semi-final.

“It definitely seemed that the competitors who suffered the most were the ones who were taking it easy, almost afraid to make a mistake.

“A lot of people blew out, but you were better to make a mistake and still be fighting to get the fastest time than someone who hadn’t made any mistakes, but were paddling very cautiously.

“It’s something that can be hard to do, but I guess you just had to do it and it’s definitely a lesson I’ll take moving forward” he insisted.

For Hendrick, who is coached by three-time Olympian, Eoin Rheinisch, the pain of missing out on an Olympic Final was somewhat tempered both by the achievement of having secured Ireland this berth in the Men’s K1 class at last year’s ICF World Championships in London, and the experience itself of the Summer Games in Paris.

Hendrick’s brother, Robert had also landed the nation an Olympic spot in the Men’s C1 division last year, but he later lost out to Liam Jegou in the resulting race-off in Australia to fill that slot.

Having, himself, secured the chance to represent Ireland in Paris, Noel, who also gave a good account of himself in Olympic Kayak Cross competition, did his best to savour the moment in the midst of some very intense competition.

“The Olympics is an amazing thing and I’m still trying to process everything” he said.

“It’s an overwhelming experience in that, all your senses are overwhelmed. Everything’s louder, everything’s brighter. When you’re happy, you’re at your happiest and when you’re sad, you’re at your saddest. It dials everything to 11.

“There were some moments when I was so happy with my friends and my family, when I saw them all supporting me. I was like, wow! This is such an amazing dream come true.

“But there were also times when your race didn’t go to plan and you were devastated, and it really stung because it was the Olympics.

“I was gutted after the semi-final and I probably still am.

“It was my dream to be in the final. Something that I’ve always wanted to do in my career is to compete in an Olympic Final, but I knew as soon as I’d finished the run that I’d missed out on that.

“There is part of me that is disappointed with my results and that hurts, but I’ve very proud of the achievement.

“I have some fantastic memories from Paris, my family watching on, and the crowd. It was a surreal experience and I really enjoyed it.

“I hope that, in time, the pain of the result will fade and I’ll appreciate what I achieved a lot more” he said.

A return to the Olympic stage in Los Angeles in four years time remains very much Hendrick’s intention, but he is adamant that he will be taking this challenge year on year.

“I think there’s another Olympic Games in me” he insisted.

“The qualifier for LA is going to be on a course in Spain that I have been very strong on. It’s been like a second home for me and my brother, Robert.

“I enjoy what I do and I’m happy to keep going for now, but I’ve just got to take it year by year.

“The World Championships are in Australia next year and I’ll try and focus on them.

“Then the year after, in 2026, the Worlds are at the course that LA will be on, so I’ll get over and race a bit on that, and then we’ll start to focus on qualifying in 2027” he said.