CANOEIST Anna-Louise Glendenning gained promotion to the national Premier Division with a barnstorming first place performance.

After narrowly missing out on second place and promotion in Nottingham last week, Glendenning travelled to Chapel Falls in Wales for a second attempt.

The Hexham Canoe Club member thought she might miss the race because it clashed with a trip to Italy to represent Great Britain this weekend.

However, she squeezed the trip to Wales in to her schedule, and borrowed a boat, paddle and kit which enabled her to resume her promotion push.

Despite her experience and standing in the sport, Glendenning had not competed on the Welsh course for several years and was attempting to paddle an unfamiliar boat. But an almost faultless first run saw her move into first place.

Going in to the second run, and with first place to maintain, she produced another impressive performance.

Despite being the last to compete, she completed the course in 123 seconds, only gaining a single two-second penalty, resulting in an overall time of 125 seconds, eight seconds clear of the rest of the field. Glendenning hopes to repeat her winning performance when she appears in her first international race in Italy this weekend.