Maley and Jeffery Nominated for Olympic Selection
AIS-WAIS slalom canoeing athletes Kynan Maley and Robin Jeffery are in line to become the first Western Australian athletes officially selected onto the 2012 Australian Olympic team after being formally nominated by Canoeing Australia.
Maley and Jeffery were nominated in the men’s C2 boat after proving to be Australia’s dominant crew across the three qualifying events in Penrith, whilst Maley also earned individual nomination for the C1 boat after a high quality display on the weekend at the Oceania Championships.
The Australian Olympic Committee is expected to officially ratify the slalom canoeing team for the London Olympics consisting of Maley and Jeffery along with the NSW pair of Jessica Fox (K1) and Warwick Draper (K1) on Friday 2 March.
Maley and Jeffery set the 14th fastest time in the qualifying rounds of the Oceania Championships on Friday in a world class international field to secure their Olympic nomination, well ahead of their Australian rivals.
In the C1, Maley, who hails from North Fremantle but now lives in Sydney, was the best Aussie during the Oceania heats on Friday, and then finished ahead of his local rivals in the semi-final to meet the criteria for nomination.
The nomination for Maley is the culmination of a long battle to earn Olympic selection, after dramatically missing out in 2003, when Robin Bell was selected ahead of him.
If he competes in London he will be the first Australian male to compete in both the C1 and C2 at the same Games.
Maley was on a high after his performance.
“Yeah, it’s taking a long time to sink in. This is my fourth Olympic selection (campaign). Obviously I had Rob Bell (ahead of me) the first three times so it doesn’t feel very real yet,” he said.
“The other guys in the team, they put a lot of pressure on me.
“I lost the first race to Matt Gabb so I’m really happy to come back and hold it together. I managed to execute the plan, I wasn’t trying to make finals, I was just trying to do what was needed. I knew the time before I went down I had to beat.”
He said he broke down when he realised he was the fastest Australian in the semifinal.
“I think I was pretty much in tears. I’ve raced three times for this selection and everytime I’ve done some really good stuff but it was never quite enough,” he said.
“So I haven’t really even let myself imagine what it is like so I don’t really know what to think.”
Following competition, South African born Robin Jeffery, was pleased for his C2 teammate.
“He’s been the best Australian paddler for a long time and he thoroughly deserves it.
“I had my fingers crossed for Kynan since I’ve been doing C2 with him and we’re good mate, so I’m happy about that.”
The Slalom Canoe Olympic nominations were based on three trial events in Penrith during February. The Australian Open (Feb 10-12) doubled as the first nomination trial, whilst the Oceania Championship heats (Feb 24) were the second. The third and final nomination trial was the Oceania Championships (Feb 24-25).
-With Canoeing Australia