Aged Ambition for Australia’s C2 Combo

Ask Rio-bound Australian sprint canoeist Martin Marinov what his expectation are for himself and C2 1000 partner, Ferenc Szekszardi, at this year’s Olympics and you get a surprisingly frank answer.

“Without preparation I don’t expect great results, but I expect good media attention,” the 48-year-old four-time Olympian admits.

Yes, four times at an Olympics. As an athlete. Throw in a couple more that he has been to as a coach. It’s a pretty impressive track record, one that in his wildest dreams he wasn’t expecting to add to, certainly as a competitor.

It’s a great story, which justifies his confidence in the media interest.

“It came like a storm,” he said.

“It was unexpected and happened in quite a short time. I’ve got mixed feelings – I’m happy to stick new records in the books, but I haven’t been training properly for more than 10 years.”

The decision to have a crack at this year’s Olympics came late – very late, in fact, and with plenty of much younger competitors in top physical condition lining up on the start line, Marinov and 36-year-old Hungarian-born Szekszardi, didn’t really give themselves a chance.

But off the back off just a couple of months of preparation, Marinov and Szekszardi upstaged their younger rivals.

Marinov actually coached Szekszardi back in 2007, but before this year’s Olympic trials they had only ever paddled together in a race situation once.

Marinov also qualified to contest the C1 event in Rio, but as he will be coaching a Chinese athlete in the same event decided it would not be appropriate to contest the same event.

Marinov began his Olympic career paddling for his native Bulgaria at the 2008 Seoul Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.

He followed up with another bronze four years later in Barcelona, and then competed for one last time for Bulgaria in Atlanta in 1996.

He moved to Australia shortly after, sat out the 2000 Olympics and then competed for his adopted country in Athens in 2004.

He was Australian sprint canoe head coach at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, before moving to China to take on a coaching role there.

Now he’s back as a competitor again.

“It’s no less exciting, being my fifth Olympics,” he said.

“But it has never been a big thing for me, just the next step in my career.

“It would have been something if I didn’t make it.”

Having barely been in a boat together before this year, Marinov and Szekszardi are about to undergo a pretty intense training period.

Marinov has already conceded it’s unlikely to be enough to cause an upset, but given his incredible journey so far, who would be willing to bet it couldn’t happen?

-AusCanoe