Kayaking: Extreme distraction for Dawson

Mike Dawson. Photo / Glenys Travers

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.

He's also coming off some decent slalom form, finishing third in his first race of the European season, an ICF ranking race in northern Slovakia and beaten only by 2004 Olympic gold medallist Benoit Peschier (France) and Czech star Jira Prskavec.

"It wasn't the best I've paddled but I was pretty consistent for the first race of the season, which is something to take away," Dawson said. "The K1 field was pretty strong with a lot of the top guys from around the world so it was great to mix it up with them."

The Teva Mountain Games field will also be strong, featuring fellow Kiwi and reigning extreme kayaking world champion Sam Sutton, fresh from a first descent of the Untouchables section of California's Fantasy Falls, along with another Rotorua paddler, Ryan Lucas.

US-based Kiwi Nikki Kelly, with a clutch of Teva titles bagged over the years, will also take part in the four-day festival.

Dawson, who became just the fourth New Zealander to qualify for the Olympic Games in canoe slalom, will rejoin the World Cup circuit next week with rounds in Cardiff and France, along with Luuka Jones who has also qualified for London.

"I've had a few months of really hard, solid training and this weekend should freshen me up nicely - although it's probably a good idea not to get too close to any rocks during my runs."

The Teva Mountain Games starts tomorrow (Thursday) night with the Steep Creek championships.