91Èȱ¬

Armoy woman Hannah Craig finished a creditable 10th in the K1 canoe slalom final at the Olympics.

Craig went into the Olympics ranked 51st in the world but produced superb performances to qualify firstly for the semi-finals and then the final.

The 27-year-old clinched the 10th and last qualifying spot for the final in Thursday's semi-final.

An hour later, she took her place in the final but mistakes early in her run led to her finishing in 127.36 seconds.

Craig's time, which included six penalties, was over 21 seconds behind French winner Emilie Fer and she was disappointed with her performance.

"In the semi-final I paddled well but I'm not delighted with my final," she said.

"I didn't start very well and I just accumulated mistakes on the way down, but an Olympic final? I'll take it. I would have liked a little bit more but I'm really proud I made it there."

Fer took gold 0.61secs ahead of Australia's Jessica Fox, who is the daughter of Britain's former world champion Richard Fox.

Spain's Maialen Chourrant won the bronze medal.

Craig had two penalties in her earlier semi-final run as she clocked a time of 116.12.

That left her over eight seconds behind fastest qualifier Poland's Natalia Pacierpnik but it was a brave display by the Irish hopeful in her first Olympic Games.

"This course is magical, this is the best show case we can get for our sport and I hope everyone at home enjoyed it," added Craig.

Those who missed out on qualification for the final included Craig 10th in Canoe slalom final

Craig had qualified 14th for the semi-finals.