Crossgates paddler Rachel Syme has been selected to compete for Great Britain in a prestigious European competition in September.

The 17-year-old, who is a member of Kirkcaldy Canoe Club, is one of five Scots who have been picked by British Canoeing to take part in the European Canoe Association (ECA) Juniors and Under-23 Canoe Sprint Championships in Bascov, Romania.

The event, which will take place from 17th-20th September, will see Rachel compete in the under-18 women’s K4 500 metre competition, which comprises of a four-person crew in a kayak.

Rachel, along with all bar one of the Scottish athletes selected, are part of the Scottish Canoeing Association (SCA) Performance Programme, based at Ratho, and SCA performance director Remi Gaspard said, “We certainly knew our athletes had the potential to be selected for these championships, and the good thing is that they all delivered when it mattered at the national championships.

“These selections prove the commitment and hard work of our athletes and the quality of work delivered on a daily basis with their coaches Kristina Medovcikova (National Sprint Coach) and Toshko Kalpakov (Performance Sprint Coach).

“For us the great thing is that of the 14 athletes on our performance programme, we expect 10 of them to compete in a GB vest this summer.” Rachel claimed a first place in the final of the under-18 girls K4 500m at the British Canoeing National Sprint Regatta, which incorporated British team selection trials, at the start of the month as well as a third place in the girls under-18 K2 500m event.

Her double success was part of a record Scottish medal haul of 32, half of which were gold.She was also a previous gold medal winner at the girls under-16 1000 metre K4 race at the British Sprint Kayak Championships in 2013, and was named as a runner-up in last year’s Kirkcaldy and Central Fife Sports Council’s awards,