Five canoeists get Olympic nod
Britain's bid for a sixth successive Olympic canoe slalom medal has been given a ringing endorsement by performance director John Anderson after five athletes were officially confirmed for London 2012.
David Florence, who won C1 silver at the Beijing Games in 2008, heads up the list of five with Richard Hounslow, Lizzie Neave, Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie joining him after impressing at the selection event.
Florence will compete in the C1 again as well as the C2 with Hounslow, who in turn is chosen for the K1, the pair set to become the first slalom canoeists to compete for multiple medals at a single Games.
And because both Florence and Hounslow qualified individually international rules allow Britain to field a second C2 team, with Stott and Baillie handed the honour after finishing as runners-up at the trials.
Lizzie Neave is the only female on the five-strong team, qualifying for the K1, and takes the number of athletes officially selected to Team GB for London 2012 to 66 across five sports.
Britain have a rich history in canoe slalom at the Olympics claiming five medals in the last five Games, however gold hasn’t been forthcoming with the tally standing at four silvers and one bronze.
However Anderson, GB Canoeing performance director and Team GB canoeing team leader, is adamant that might change at the Lee Valley White Water Centre this summer.
“I am delighted that our canoe slalom team has been officially announced as part of Team GB and that we have been able to select a full team of five athletes across all four classes,” said Anderson.
“I believe this is probably the strongest Olympic team we have been able to field for some time, with all of the athletes capable of challenging for the podium. Having two C2 boats selected will also give us a significant advantage.”
Britain took a three-strong team – Florence, Fiona Pennie and Campbell Walsh – to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 but canoe slalom head coach Jurg Gotz insists there is still a long way to go before dreams of medals can be realised.
“Having five athletes selected covering all of the four classes is a great achievement and a significant improvement on Beijing,” said Gotz.
“However we know that this is only the first part of the process and over the next three months we must step up even further and rise to the challenge, if we are to realise our full potential at London 2012.”
