Kayaking Developments in New Zealand
Kayaking has had a rich history in New Zealand, especially during the Los Angeles and Seoul Olympics, at which Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald secured their places as New Zealand’s most medaled Olympians.
Despite such successes, kayaking has remained a comparatively low profile sport in New Zealand, making do with less funding, resources and attention than the more successful sports such as rowing.
However, the Beijing Olympics demonstrated a renaissance in Kiwi kayaking, and although no medals were won, Ben and three other New Zealanders were finalists, including Erin Taylor, the first woman to represent New Zealand in kayaking at Olympic level.
As a result of these increased successes, kayaking has earned greater importance in SPARC’s high performance programme, meaning increased funding and resources in the hands of Canoe Racing New Zealand, the body responsible for supporting and developing our most prodigious paddling talent.
For the first time, CRNZ now employ a full time High Performance Manager, Wayne Maher, responsible for providing Ben and others with access to the best resources in equipment, nutrition and medical services – a development that frees Ben up to concentrate more singularly, and confidently, on training.
This significant improvement means that the coming years will provide the best training conditions in Ben’s career to date.
Read more about this topic: Ben Fouhy
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