CANOE/KAYAK: Dedication to the Olympic dream can mean chasing that extra edge, be it another ten minutes in the gym or hour on the water for our canoe kayak paddlers. 

For Lucien Delfour, Jess Fox and Ian Borrows that dedication extends to hitting the water for an afternoon training session after landing in Rio in the early hours of the morning the same day. 

Canoe/kayak Team Leader Richard Fox (father of Jess) said it was a long but worthwhile day.

“From landing in Rio at 4:55am from Frankfurt to the last stroke on water at 5pm, it was a long day for our canoe slalom trio but a rich and rewarding start to their Olympic experience and well worth the bus trip,” Fox said.

The group had a checklist to get through on their first day on the ground.

“We had to get our boats and bags, we’re one or two short but we have spares. We then checked out our new adidas gear, we’re still un-packing and spoilt for choice,” he said.

 The Australian athletes plus the support staff then headed out to the venue, Whitewater Stadium at Deodoro.

“We got a bus to the venue in 30 minutes and then with time to kill we mixed with the crowd in the athlete lounge and checked out the course and everyone's gear. Ours looks pretty good we think. Finally, we got to paddle and get back in the groove. It's why we're here.”

The first day of the canoe/kayak slalom competition is on Sunday 7 August (day 2).