Leah looking to make a splash in Georgia

It's four years ago now since Leah Hough started kayaking. She remembers with great clarity the first time she went out on the river because it was a very significant moment in her young life. It could even be described as a life-changing moment.

It was a cold, March day. She and a number of other kayakers went out on a stretch of the Boyne. The experience could have put the teenager off. It didn't. It had the opposite effect.

"It was a really cold day on the Boyne but it didn't matter I loved it so much I wasn't even aware of the cold," she recalls. That little trip turned out to be a voyage of discovery. "It's unlike any sport I've done before, it's so different, you go on different rivers, different rapids, than there is the adrenaline rush it gives you."

Over the past three years the 17-year-old from Johnstown - who is a student of St Michael's, Loreto in Navan - has excelled in the sport to such an extent that she is now ninth in the world junior rankings. The term meteoric rise doesn't even go close to describing just how rapid her ascent has been.

A member of the Trim Canoe Club, Leah will, in October, represent Ireland at the ICF Freestyle Kayaking World Championships in Columbus, Georgia. She's clear too on what she wants to achieve too Stateside - win a medal and improve her standings in the world. That's her targets.

She qualified for the World Championships after finishing first place on the Curragower river wave in Limerick, another success that highlighted her undoubted talent in the sport has has discovered almost by accident. She particularly enjoys taking part in the freestyle category. She is a member of the Irish freestyling team.

"Freestyle is a discipline of kayaking that is best described as gymnastics in a kayak," she explains. "A freestyle kayak is a smaller than usual kayak and is designed to do tricks. There is a large variety of tricks you can do, each one scoring different points and obtaining different bonuses, depending on factors such as height or difficulty.

"The most popular trick is by far the Front Loop which is essentially a front flip in a kayak. You need a lot of courage and endurance to be freestyle kayaker as the competitions take place on a very powerful river features that usually work best when the river is in flood conditions."

Her biggest influence in her fledgling career include members of her family. "Scout leader Greg Boyd and my three older brothers Killian, Kevin and Sean played a huge part in teaching me how to kayak. I discovered freestyle kayaking in 2020 and managed to pick up first freestyle boat before the hard lockdown kicked in.

"Since then I have fallen in love with the sport and the adrenaline rush it brings. My coach is Tom Dunphy who is also a member of the Irish Freestyle Kayaking team."

This year Leah has taken part in a number of competitions both in Ireland and abroad. She has also succeeded in securing first places finishes including at the Galway fest and the Canoe Kayak Cross events. Another big achievement was securing the silver medal at the European Cup in France in July.

Aside from the obvious, innate talent she has for the sport, Leah's progress to-date is built on something that is common to all high-achieving athletes - a willingness to work on work on her sport. During the summer especially she will be found out on the river, honing her talents. It's all part of ambition to be the best she can be although she doesn't do more than two hours on the water.

"We train in Galway, Dublin, on the Boyne sometimes along that stretch from Stackallen to Slane. When it comes to kayaking the saloming between the poles, that's what makes it fun for me. Two hours on the water is enough, it can be demanding on the body."

One downside of the sport is that it can be expensive. There is the equipment for starters but when she qualifies for competitions in countries like France and the United States she and her family have to finance the trip themselves. "That's the most difficult part, " she adds. "When everything is added up it's a lot of money."

Sponsors are vital, that's simply a central part of competing in any sport at a high level. "I am currently supported by the I-CANOE shop in Lucan and the kayaking brand NRS," she says. New sponsors are always welcome.

Leah has travelled far since she first discovered the delights of kayaking. Now she wants to take things another step or two, starting with the World Championships in October.