Heartbreak for Liam Jegou as he agonisingly misses out on medal

A mistake at the final gate of his run cost Liam Jegou dearly in the canoe slalom final. 

SO CLOSE: Liam Jegou reacts after finishing his run in the men's C1 canoe slalom final at the Olympic Games. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Liam Jegou agonisingly missed out on a silver medal in the canoe slalom at the Olympic Games.

The 28-year-old, who grew up in Clare, was having one of the best runs of his life at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium when he hit the final of 23 gates on the course. He was given a two-second penalty, taking him from what would have been a leading position to third. By the time all 12 finalists had completed their runs, Jegou was in seventh. 

France's Nicolas Gestin won gold in a remarkable 91.36 while Great Britain's Adam Burgess took silver in 96.84. Slovakia's Matej Benus claimed the bronze in 97.03. Jegou had a total, including his two-second penalty, of 98.52.

"I've messed up a lot of runs towards the end because I've thought I'd finish up safely," Jegou told RTÉ.

"Today, I wanted to win the Olympics. To win the Olympics, you have to go from 1 - 23. I pushed hard, got a little bit too close and that's it."

Jegou endured the "hardest day" he's had in the sport on Saturday, narrowly qualifying for the semi-final as the 16th and final man. His performance in Monday's semi-final was much better, easily qualifying in sixth.

Despite the frustration of missing out on a medal, Jegou said he'd had a "blast".

"We spoke two days ago and I was ready to retire. No, maybe not that far," he said.

"Today was brilliant. I put down a really brave semi-final.

"That final was superb. That's what I've been looking for, for years, years, years. I got it at the right moment. I can stand here and talk about the what ifs and this and that but the fact is two days ago I almost got eliminated in the heats and today I almost medalled at the Olympics. That's what I've been working for over the past 15 years.

"In slalom, it's really hard to get that balance between brute power and finesse. In the heats, I was just trying power too hard because that's where you get your confidence from, training hard so you can push hard in the races.

"Today, I just found that balance and pushed really hard. I really let the boat flow. I didn't fight for anything and it was the best time ever."