Crieff’s Fiona Pennie selected in GB canoeing squad

May 11 2010 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

CANOEING talent Fiona Pennie will fly the flag for Great Britain after being selected in an elite squad set to take on the best in the world.

The 27-year-old slalom paddler, originally from Crieff, will be joined by two other female athletes and compete at this month’s European Championships, the World Cup series races in June and July and the World Championships which take place in September.

Fiona flew out to Slovakia yesterday (Monday) to prepare for the Euros and will return to eastern Europe later in the year, as the worlds take place in neighbouring Slovenia.

Before departing, the former Olympian told PA Sport she was looking forward to negotiating the World Cup series courses, in the Czech Republic and Spain, the most.

She said: “I missed out on making the squad last year so, obviously, I’m delighted – knowing what it’s like to sit on the sidelines makes it all the more sweeter.

“One of the other girls was already guaranteed a place, so when we were in Nottingham at the beginning of May for the qualifying, there were three people going for two places.

“There was a lot of close-fought racing but thankfully I made the team.

“I’ve won a world championship silver medal in Prague before, so I know what the course is like and it’s good for your confidence to know that you’ve been successful on it in the past.

“I’m only competing in two of the three world cup series races because the travelling takes its toll – but I was never going to miss Prague.

“The Spanish course at La Seu d’Ugell is a challenging one too.

“All I can do is concentrate on my own game and hope I do my best really.”

Now based in Nottingham, the former Loughborough University student was part of the British canoe slalom team that competed in 2008’s Beijing Games.

Fiona continued: “Training in the winter is mainly done indoors and we concentrate on keeping ourselves as fit as possible in the gym.

“We’ve been back on the water for a few weeks now, and it’s about building up a head of steam to make sure we’re in top condition for the summer.”