Liam Jegou
Canoe
BIOGRAPHY
Liam Jegou represented Ireland in the men’s C1 canoe slalom at two Olympic Games, finishing 15th at Tokyo 2020 and 7th at Paris 2024 – the best result by an Irish canoeist in Olympic history.
At Paris he was within touching distance of a medal in the C1 final, producing one of his finest ever runs before touching the final gate with less than two seconds left on the course, incurring a two-second penalty that dropped him from a potential bronze medal position to seventh. He also competed in the inaugural Olympic kayak cross event at Paris, finishing 22nd.
Jegou was born in Pabu, Brittany, to an Irish mother and a Breton father who was a canoe instructor. The family lived in Switzerland and then in Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare before moving to Huningue in Alsace when Jegou was seven. He first paddled aged four on Galway Bay. He became the third Irish man to race C1 at an Olympic Games – after Mike Corcoran and Stephen O’Flaherty – and the first Irish C1 paddler to win a World Cup gold event when he triumphed in Pau in November 2019. He also won silver at the World Junior Championships in 2014 and bronze at the Under-23 Worlds in 2019.
He is based in Huningue, close to the Swiss and German borders.
CANOE NEWS
In The News – July 6th 2026
Irish athletes continued to make their mark on the international stage this week, with a junior world title in canoe sprint, a first international medal for diver Jake Passmore, and major victories in cycling and show jumping highlighting another impressive period of success across multiple sports. Sean Butterly Crowned Junior World Champion in Halifax Ireland [...]
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