The composition of the Australian slalom team to be nominated for the Australian Olympic team is expected to be decided this weekend at the 2012 Oceania Canoe Slalom Championships at the Penrith Whitewater Stadium.

With a high class field comprising 21 individual Olympic and World Champions, racing is expected to test the Australian Olympic hopefuls.

Australia has already qualified 3 athlete quotas for the 2012 London Games. The women’s K1 and men’s C2 boats have already gained an Olympic berth as a result of their 2011 World Championship results.

The K1 Men and C1 Men spots will be up for grabs at the Slalom Oceania Championships from the 24-26th February in Penrith. The highest placed eligible Oceania athlete following the finals at the Championships will earn the remaining NOC quota.

Australia can qualify a maximum of 5 athlete quotas for the London Games. The main rivals in the Men’s K1 and C1 events will be athletes from New Zealand. Front runners in the race for Australian Olympic places are:

Women’s K1: (Quota): Jessica Fox (NSW). She took 2nd place at the Australian Open two weeks ago and was the best placed Australian, ahead of Kate Lawrence (NSW), Sarah Grant (VIC) and Rosalyn Lawrence (NSW). 

Men’s K1: Victorian Warwick Draper edged into the reckoning for the Olympic qualification with his 12th place in the semifinal. His was the best finish by an eligible Australian paddler at the Australian Open. Australia’s Lucien Delfour (NSW) finished in a respectable sixth place in the star studded field to solidify his claim on a place in the Australian team to compete in the World Cup circuit in Europe in a few months. But as he is not an Australian citizen he cannot compete at the Olympic Games. Draper will face tough challenges from Will Forsythe (NSW) and Sam Lyons (NSW) on the weekend.

Men’s C2: (Quota): Australia’s pair of Robin Jeffery (WA) and Kynan Maley (WA) finished 6th in the Australian Open to draw first blood in the battle for qualification, and have taken a giant stride towards being nominated for the Olympic team.

Men’s C1:  Gold Coast born Matthew Gabb leads the race in the Men’s C1 with the best ranking in the semifinal at the Australian Open. His main rivals will be Christian Fabris (VIC), Ian Borrows (NSW) and Kynan Maley (WA).

Racing in Friday’s heats will be hotter than normal, as the races will count towards the Australians’ rankings for nomination.

Among the glittering assembly of World and Olympic medallists will be the incomparable Hochschorner twins, Pavol and Peter, who will be gunning for their fourth consecutive gold medal in the Men’s C2 in London. The Slovakian brothers also have five world championships to their name.

Slovakia’s Elena Kaliska and the Czech Republic’s Stepanka Hilgertova will also featured in the Women’s K1. Between them they have won the last four Olympic gold medals, with Kaliska taking the last two.

Alexander Grimm (GER), winner of the Men’s K1 in Beijing, Slovakia’s Michal Martikan, winner of the C1 in Atlanta and Beijing, and his rival Tony Estanguet of France, winner of Sydney and Athens, will also be on show.

The ‘Path to London’

Australia has already qualified 3 athlete quotas for the 2012 London Games.The women’s K1 and men’s C2 boats have already gained an Olympic berth as a result of their 2011 World Championship results. The K1 Men and C1 Men spots will be up for grabs at the Slalom Oceania Championships from the 24-26th February in Penrith. The highest placed eligible Oceania athlete following the FINALS at the Championships will earn the remaining NOC quota. Australia can qualify a maximum of 5 athlete quotas for the London Games. For the purpose of selecting which athletes will be nominated to the AOC to fill these quotas, Australian Canoeing will conduct Nomination Trials in each Olympic event.
Canoe Slalom athletes will be nominated based on the following events:
Nomination Trial 1 - Australian Open, 10-12 February 2012, Penrith NSW
Nomination Trial 2 - Oceania Open, 24 February 2012, Penrith NSW
Nomination Trial 3 - Oceania Open, 25- 26 February 2012, Penrith NSW