Andrzej Jezierski impresses in Baku on tough day for Irish

Andrzej Jezierski was Ireland’s best performer at day three of the European Games in Baku yesterday.

Jezierski represented his native Poland before switching to Ireland at London 2012. He booked a place in the B final of the 200m canoe singles event having progressed through round one in the early morning.

Jezierski finished sixth in the first heat of the day, posting 42.339 seconds, some three seconds behind heat winner Portugal’s Helder Silva.

In the semi-final, held just after midday, Jezierski improved his time, taking fifth place in 40.277 seconds; the top three qualified for the A final, though Jezierski booked a B final spot, taking place today.

Kildare pair Tom Brennan and Jennifer Egan’s hopes of making kayak semi-final positions came unstuck, both failing to qualify for A or B finals and exiting these respective events.

Egan was the first Team Ireland member in action yesterday. In the 200m kayak heats, She took sixth place, posting 42.843 seconds. Egan registered a marginal semi-final improvement for eighth place.

Brennan, competing in the men’s 200m kayak, progressed with a sixth-place finish in 36.466 seconds, shaving a few tenths of a second away in the semi-final just nine hundredths off a B final appearance.

There was no luck either for double kayak pair Peter Egan and Simas Dobrovolskis in the men’s double kayak over 200m. They missed out on a semi-final place by seven hundredths of a second.

After a strong showing on day two, leaving the men’s gymnastics team in 11th place, the Irish men were unable to replicate their form and finished in 17th position overall.

Kieran Behan’s performance on Sunday, finishing in fifth place on the floor routine, had strengthened Ireland’s hand, though the men were unable to post another top-10 finish in any of the remaining disciplines.

The team of Behan, Daniel Fox, and Rohan Sebastian have raised Irish standards, finishing just 10.7 points off the medals, with East European powerhouses Russia, Ukraine, and hosts Azerbaijan continuing to dominate.

The women’s team produced a solid second day of action to finish in 18th position overall with a total of 96.032, some 20 points off gold medallist Russia. It was a solid performance from the teenage trio of Ellis O’Reilly, Nicole Mawhinney, and Tara Donnelly.

Russia stand atop the medal table after day three in Baku with a total of 15 medals, one fewer than the hosts, but with nine gold medals to their name.

Turkey occupy third place with 12, while Germany have 11. Irish hopes will gain interest today as the boxing begins in the Crystal Hall, the same venue used for the 2012 Eurovision.

Flyweight Myles Casey is Ireland’s first boxer in the ring. He faces Ivan Fihurenka at 8.30am Irish time. Sean McComb is scheduled to begin at the same time in the light division against Ukrainian Tymar Beliak.

Darren O’Neill will be expected to progress to the last 16 when he faces Romanian Ionut Jitaru two hours later, while Kurt Walker and Michael O’Reilly have afternoon bouts against Russian Bakhtovar Nazirov and Croat Sanjin Pol Vrgoc, respectively.

Peter Egan faces a tough challenge in the 5,000m kayak final, where he is one of 29 starters on the line, with Bosnian Darko Savic one of the men to watch.

Jennifer Egan is in a loaded 5,000m kayak final at 12.30pm, getting her morning under way at 7am with the 500m kayak B final. Andrzej Jezierski goes in the 200m B final at 11.15am.

Longford rifle shooter Derek Burnett gets his European Games under way at 6.30am Irish time.