Kayaking: Eyes on lone wolf

Ben Fouhy. Photo / Getty Images

Ben Fouhy's new "lone wolf" canoeing campaign is under scrutiny this week - to see if it works.

Fouhy famously fell out with kayaking coach and New Zealand's record Olympian, Ian Ferguson, in March before quitting the sport - only to have a stay of execution negotiated by Sparc and Canoe Racing New Zealand. It allowed him to prepare for international events separately from the rest of the team.

Now the 12-strong Kiwi team, which includes Fouhy in its number if not at its core, lines up in Poznan, Poland, for the world championships starting on Thursday night (NZ time).

It is also a testing ground for the new arrangement - to see if it is viable for the 2012 London Olympics.

Fouhy stepped away from his boat for seven weeks but returned to the water by early May. He trained separately from the team for the entire season, based in San Diego and now Hazewinkel in Belgium. The other 11 athletes were based in Munich last week.

Fouhy and Ferguson are likely to meet again for the first time on Monday at the team hotel after being estranged following the March blow-up. Fouhy says he has not communicated with Ferguson in the meantime.

"No, I haven't. People known to me have been in those sorts of discussions [on how we do things]. Ian Ferguson has made it known how he feels about me and there's not much I can do about it.

"However, I've had regular contact with people in the team, such as emails, wishing me well. I'm counting on the fact that when I get there I can remain focused, without getting into any tricky situations. I think it is safe to say anyone else I've had difficulties with in the past will feel the same."

Present women's coach Paul MacDonald, who was Fouhy's mentor at the Beijing Olympics, will also be there. He fell out with the Athens K1 1000 silver medallist before his fourth-placed finish at the 2008 Games. Like Fouhy, he is wary of inciting further trouble.

"We have been directed by our CEO [Paula Kearns] not to talk to the media without permission. We have been specifically told not to comment on any athlete in the team, except those we are coaching. ... we will be held in breach of contract, especially if we talk about Ben."

Fouhy is now working with respected former team manager Grant Restall, an able mediator.

"I've been able to sleep better at night," Fouhy says. "Grant is now my main coach. He's a rock-solid, laidback guy who offers attention to detail.

"He's measured and organised. That's important as an athlete, you don't want to be burning nervous energy worrying about things, you want to contain it and let it go in races.

"It's no secret I was involved in a big media storm but it has resulted in me being able to sit down with some influential people who wanted to make a difference. I also got to give my side of the story, which I'd never done before [to a neutral party]."

"I'm grateful for the opportunity, I hate excuses, but doing this sport shouldn't be about excessive compromise [within a team environment]."

Restall says Fouhy has been free to train as he likes: "That's the way a number of the world's top K1 paddlers do it; [Olympic gold medallists] Adam van Koeverden [Canada], Ken Wallace [Australia] and Tim Brabants [Great Britain] run their own campaigns and join their teams at the world championships.

"In the team environment you can get trapped when you're being organised in with 20 other people. For instance, at Hazewinkel, sometimes the lake is busy but we are able to go off by ourselves to a local canal to work instead."

Fouhy will not be drawn on his prospects, other than aiming to make the final. He is preferring to keep a low profile so he can under-promise and over-deliver. The 30-year-old is still being troubled by tendonitis in one of his wrists and can train in the boat only once a day in the lead-up. The rest of the time is spent cross-training, especially running and cycling.

Fouhy does have pedigree on the Poznan water. He won World Cup races there in 2003 and 2006, setting a world-best time in the latter race.

The New Zealand team

Men: Steve Ferguson, Troy Burbidge (K2 1000m), Scott Bicknell (K1 200m), Mike Walker, Liam O'Loughlin, Fred Teear, Darryl Fitzgerald (K4 1000).

Women: Erin Taylor (K1 500m, K4 500m), Teneale Hatton, Lisa Carrington (K2 500m, K4 500m), Jaimee Lovett (K4 500m).