Kayaking: Illness impacts on Fouhy's world champs hopes

WELLINGTON - New Zealand's Ben Fouhy is unsure how much a mystery illness will impact on his performance at the world sprint kayak championships in Hungary starting on Friday (NZT).

Olympic K1 1000m silver medal medallist and former world champion Fouhy recovered from his month-long virus about a week out from the year's premier regatta at Szeged.

The illness, thought to have been contracted through a cold, has severely restricted his training, putting a dark cloud over his prospects.

His form had been excellent prior to his July malaise, setting a world best time over 1000m in Poland in May.

Four-times Olympic gold medallist and team coach Ian Ferguson, who joined the team at their Czech Republic training camp a week ago, had been following Fouhy's recovery closely.

"Ben, who has not been feeling 100 per cent for quite a while, has finally come right," Ferguson told the Sportzhub website.

"He did two really fast time trials this morning without even trying hard."

Fouhy had been based in England concentrating all his efforts on the K1 race, the event that he won at his first world championship in the United States in 2003.

Ferguson said the rest of the nine-strong New Zealand team had trained well ahead of the four-day world championships although K2 500m exponent Mike Walker had spent a period of time resting a sore back and bout of the 'flu.

Walker is pairing with Steve Ferguson while New Zealand women are competing at a world championships for the first time since 2003 in the form of K2 500m pair Katie Pocock - a nine-time national champion - and the inexperienced Erin Taylor.

The men's K4 crew comprises Marty McDowell, Troy Burbidge, Travis Mitchell and Shaun O'Connor.


New Zealand team:

Men
K1 1000m: Ben Fouhy.

K2 500m, 1000m: Steve Ferguson, Mike Walker.

K4 500m, K4 1000m: Travis Mitchell, Shaun O'Connor, Marty McDowell, Troy Burbidge.

Women
K2 500m, 1000m: Katie Pocock, Erin Taylor.

- NZPA