KEY POINTS:
Erin Taylor has a cluster of nicknames.
Fellow kayakers call Taylor "ET", using her initials as the ultimate in name shorteners.
Surf lifesaving mates have named Taylor "Killer", for her ultra-competitive instincts, and "Guns", a reference to her barrell-like biceps.
But New Zealand's first female Olympic flatwater paddler is "Smiley" to her coach Ian Ferguson.
"She's the easiest person in the world to train, and that's saying something for a woman," says Ferg, the legendary canoeist whose long career brought four Olympic golds and included a trailblazing double act with Paul MacDonald.
"Women ... they always talk too much. Erin doesn't though. She does everything you ask of her and then she asks you for more," continues Ferguson.
"From the outset what struck me is just how hard she trains. But she's always smiling, never gets grumpy. I've never struck it with any athlete.
"There are a lot of sensitive souls out there and they can often be quite serious. But I've never had one single whinge out of her.
"She's red in the face and trying her hardest but she'll look up at you and smile.
"It makes everyone want to do more for her."
Taylor, from the North Shore, had plenty to be grumpy about when weed on the west Sydney course wrapped around her rudder in an Oceania Olympic-qualification showdown last month, initially scuppering any chance she would compete in Beijing.
Taylor was bitterly disappointed of course, but it was bounce-back business as usual as her positive take on life kicked into gear.
She quickly refocused on future campaigns under the similarly effervescent Ferguson, re-igniting the dream of chasing gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
But an Oceania rematch was ordered after a volley of appeals and on just six days' notice, Taylor returned to Penrith and blitzed Aussie Alana Nicholls in the K1 500m.
It was a sensational performance from the 20-year-old, who switched from surf lifesaving less than three years ago.
Taylor had triumphed over Nicholls despite interrupting her kayak training to represent New Zealand at the Bondi international surf lifesaving challenge late last year where she won surf ski events.
Taylor, who was educated at Carmel College, swam as a kid, desperately training to make top grade without the success she has found in surf lifesaving and kayaks.
One coach believed Taylor left crucial best performances in the training pool, but her sports career has been peppered with triumphs since she switched from fresh to salt water.
The family had a lifestyle beef farm near Dairy Flat but her dad Mike, the general manager of Wesfarmers, and mother Wendy, a primary school teacher, moved to Red Beach as Erin's surf lifesaving career took off.
Sport is a big part of Taylor family life.
"We're all up early cycling, swimming and running. If you're not up at 6am there's something wrong - we're very active," says Erin, who has an older brother Matt.
Watching the 2004 Athens Olympics sowed the seeds of an Olympic dream for the teenager, and it raced forward last year when she finished 16th at the world championships and five-time Olympian Ferguson took her under his wing.
Ferguson had initially hoped Taylor might make the Beijing Olympic final, but the demolition job on Nicholls has raised his sights.
"Erin and the Aussie had been kind of equal in the earlier race and she should never have been able to beat her like that. She improved by two seconds and cleaned up," said Ferguson.
"Her initial goal was the London Olympics and we hadn't targeted an Olympic gold this time.
"But having seen what she did in Australia, I think just making the final would be a soft goal for her now. She was totally spent when she came out of that race which is just how I expect a top international world class paddler to be - someone who expects to win."
Taylor, whose strength is a fast finish, has improved by three seconds since the world champs in Germany, which should sneak her into the Olympic final.
She predicts at least another second's worth of improvement this year and believes Olympic dark horse status and her pressure-cooker qualification experience will make her even more competitive in China.
Taylor has joked with friends that one of her missions in Beijing will be to autograph hunt famous competitors like Michael Phelps - she still struggles to comprehend her own status as an Olympian.
Yet behind the smile and jokes is a character of unrelenting determination who chases victory, whether it be on the water or playing charades and cards with teammates like Steven Ferguson.
This emotional investment in victory has often manifested itself moments before big swimming, surf lifesaving and kayak races when Taylor throws up - as discreetly as possible of course.
Wendy Taylor says: "She has always been a very happy child - she is no whinger or moaner and just gets on with it. I've never had to tear my hair out about what our kids are up to and they even get on really well with each other.
"Erin is loved by so many people in our wider circle of friends. She has the most amazing temperament and really, I think if she ever got cross, it would only be to tell someone to toughen up and get on with it.
"Sometimes she is too pedantic about getting things right. She calls herself a people pleaser - she just loves to do the right thing by everybody and never puts herself first.
"But she's very determined. She is a very realistic goal setter and she's already got her goals in mind for Beijing.
"It will be a wonderful experience for her but I can tell you that she isn't just going there for the experience."
