Perfect preparation is paying off for three-time Olympian Jess Walker after a solid start to her Canoe Sprint World Championships. 

The Brighton athlete crossed the line third in a personal best 39.49 seconds in her K1 200m, enough to ease through to the semi-finals without having to leave first gear in Szeged.

Now the challenge is making it through to the A final in her bid for a maiden world medal, keen to add to the European silver and bronze medals she already has in her collection.

And the 29-year-old believes she’s in a much stronger position to achieve that aim than she was 12 months ago, confident there is plenty still in the tank to launch a medal bid.

“I feel good, I didn’t push too hard, I conserved quite a bit of energy in that last 100m as I was in a good position to go through, so I was happy,” she said.

“Preparation was so much better than last year when coming into a World Championships, I’ve had my eye on this the whole time so things are feeling good.

“Conditions were perfect out there, I wish I’d pushed a little bit harder to see what time I could have got but there’s a lot still to do with the semi-finals and final to come.

“I just need to nail everything and hopefully I can put in a good speed and get through to the A final.”

  • British Canoeing is the national governing body for paddlesports in the UK. Our purpose is to: Inspire people to pursue a passion for paddling; for health, enjoyment, friendship, challenge and achievement. Find out more on britishcanoeing.org.uk