Olympic kayak champion Ken Wallace can't defend his gold medal in London but believes he's in a great position to complete some "unfinished business" and win his pet event at the 2012 Games.
Olympic kayak champion Ken Wallace can't defend his gold medal in London but believes he's in a great position to complete some "unfinished business" and win his pet event at the 2012 Games.
Wallace emerged from the weekend's national flatwater titles in Adelaide with a dominant K1 500-1000m double to boost his confidence ahead of the European World Cup season.
The laidback Gold Coaster was Australia's major bolter at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he came from well behind twice to take bronze in the K1 1000 before a storming upset victory in the K1 500.
The individual 500m race has been dropped from London's program and replaced by the K2 200m, leaving Wallace with mixed feelings 16 months out from the London Games.
"It's one of those things," he told AAP. "But If they were ever going to take it away I'm glad they're going to take it away after Beijing because I'm still going to be the reigning Olympic champion when I'm 60 years old."
However, if one of his two events were to be scrapped, Wallace is relieved it's the 500.
The 1000m race has been his preferred distance since breaking through to place fourth at the 2006 world titles and he's renowned for his endurance, as shown by his K1 5000m world title triumph last year.
"The 1000 is unfinished business," the 28-year-old said. "I'm happy with the bronze in Beijing but it's the one event I really want to have a crack at and do well in London.
"The (nationals regatta) was the first step towards that. I'm happy with the way I'm going.
"Mentally as well for London, I know what it's all about now. Leading into Beijing I didn't really know what to expect."
Wallace is hoping to add the K2 200m to his Olympic program but he and partner Murray Stewart had an early setback by losing to defending champions Jesse Philips and Stephen Bird by a hundredth of a second.
Stewart, second to Wallace in the K1 1000, did show his class to win the men's K1 200m final, 0.1 seconds ahead of Joel Simpson with Wallace fourth.
Even before next week's second round of selection trials in Penrith, Wallace's Adelaide double ensured his place at this year's World Cup regattas, as well as the world championships in Hungary in August.
West Australian Alana Nicholls has the inside running to be Australia's women's hope after beating Hannah Davis to complete the K1 200-500 double on Sunday.
Jim Morton
AAP
