Claire makes further progress in junior world championships

Against competitors from 45 other nations, Spencer powered into the semi-finals of both the K1 and K2 competition where she teamed up with Amoret King of Reading.

In the semi-final of the K1 1,000m competition, Spencer found the going tough and was placed sixth to earn a place in the B final.

Another tough race followed in the final where Spencer was placed eighth to earn a ranking of 17th in the world.

In the K2 500m heats, Spencer and King set a three-second personal best and had their confidence further boosted in the semi-final when another good performance saw them qualify seventh fastest. Expectations for the final were for a sixth to eighth place finish and, at the half-way point, the race was going to form with the British pair in eighth place.

But over the last 150 metres, they flew through the field to cross the line in fifth place, just behind the Austrian boat but just ahead of the Australian crew who had beaten them in the semi-final.

National junior coach David Coulson commented that the girls had raced beyond his expectations to finish so close to the medal winners. He was looking forward to seeing them race in the European championships.

Spencer has been selected for the Junior European Sprint Championships later this month where she will compete in the same classes.

Before that, the Hereford paddler will be taking part in the national marathon championships at Wokingham where she will be hoping to qualify her K1 for the marathon world championships which take place in Gyor, Hungary a week after the Belgrade event.

While daughter Claire was putting in the effort in Racice, parents Tony and Kay Spencer had almost as much of a battle to get to the Czech Republic to watch her take part.

At home in Hampton Bishop, their house was flooded to a depth of four inches and the pair had to paddle themselves out of the village, leaving their home to be watched over by their next-door neighbours.