Olympic-bound kayaker Mike Dawson has no intention of abandoning his extreme ambitions, despite being less than 60 days away from the biggest race of his life.
The 25-year-old Kiwi will take a break from his canoe slalom preparations in Europe this week to compete in the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado.
The prestigious extreme festival has been the scene of several past career highlights and the Tauranga paddler hopes his left-field approach will benefit him when he lines up on London's artificial Lee Valley whitewater course.
"Running falls and hitting creeks isn't the typical build-up to an Olympics and I don't think too many of my slalom rivals will be turning up this week," Dawson said. "The Teva Mountain Games is an incredible experience, though, and there's nothing like sitting at the top of a run with a couple of thousand people screaming and yelling. That's the sort of atmosphere and pressure that will be happening in London in July so, in that sense alone, it's worth coming here."
It's also worth it financially, as Dawson has helped fund his Olympic campaign in the last few years with prizemoney won in extreme races. Last year's Teva Mountain Games was especially lucrative, coming first-equal in the Steep Creek championship with Honza Lasko, placing second in the Down River sprint and winning the men's 8-Ball kayak.
