On my way home now from my first International sprint race since the Beijing Olympics. I was competing in the 1000m and 5km K1 in Szeged, Hungary at the second of the three World Cup series regattas. I really enjoy racing in Hungary as they are so passionate about sprint kayaking and there is always a great atmosphere with lots of spectators. It was good to see many of my International friends again and to compete against them. I'm very happy with my progress so far since returning to the sport full time in February this year. Mentally I am 100% ready for racing, physically I am getting back there quickly. I was happy to finish 7th in the 1000m final and feel that as the year progresses I will continue to improve. The 5km was a lot of fun although I seemed to get caught up in every scuffle with people turning and stopping in front of me three times! I kept working hard, would get back to the front group and each time, something would happen and I would be held up again. Despite all of that, I enjoyed the race and used it as a good training session. 

Best news of the whole event was Ed McKeever winning the K1 200m in style, as did Jonnie Schofield and Liam Heath in the K2 200m. This is a new Olympic distance since they dropped the 500m so it is fantastic that we are already showing such good form. Well done boys!

Next week is the final World Cup event in Duisburg, Germany and I can't wait to race again. Here are some pictures from the Szeged World Cup.