CULCHETH'S James Bebbington finished fifth at the European Freestyle Kayaking Championships on his senior debut for Great Britain.
Bebbington is still only 18 and has just made the step up from the junior ranks but he won the semi finals of the Nottingham competition before a creditable finish in the final.
Bebbington has now departed for a two-month World Cup series in the USA and Canada but will return to contest the British Freestyle Kayaking Championships in October.
He will then bid for selection for the GB team that will travel to Ottawa in Canada for the World Championships next year before a planned trip to Uganda this Christmas to perfect his skills on the River Nile.
Last year Bebbington finished seventh at the World Junior Championships in Australia as well as clinching victory in the British Championships at junior level.
Freestyle kayaking is described as a mixture of surfing and skateboarding.
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