van Koeverden embraces favourite role
Oakville kayaker looks forward to defending his Olympic title in Beijing
Herb Garbutt
Published on
May 09, 2008
It was almost four years ago that Adam van Koeverden was walking through Pearson International Airport, on his way to his first Olympic Games.
Spotting a copy of Sports Illustrated previewing the Athens Games at a newsstand, curiosity got the best of the him. He picked it up and flipped through the pages until he reached the predictions for kayaking. He scanned the list of names, then placed the magazine back on the shelf and walked away.
He didn't buy the magazine or what it had to say.
Despite coming off a silver medal in the K-1 1000m at the previous year's world championships, van Koeverden was nowhere to be found in the medal predictions.
"What do they know about kayaking?" he remembers thinking. "They ignore it for four years and then at the last second send a reporter off on Google to tell everyone who is going to win."
It wasn't like van Koeverden was a sleeping bear being poked with a stick. He already had the drive that still sees him relentlessly pursuing his goals. But the snub by North America's leading sports publication meant there was one more doubter he could prove wrong.
As it turned out, the medal hopeful - at least in the eyes of those closer to home - became Canada's most successful Olympian in Athens, winning a bronze medal in the 1000m and following it up with a gold two days later in the 500m.
On the weekend, van Koeverden rubber stamped his return to the Olympics - it would have been unimaginable for the reigning world and Olympic champion to not be on the team - by winning both the 500m and 1000m at the Olympic Team Selection Trials at Lake Lanier, Georgia. The Burloak Canoe Club member didn't even need to compete to earn the spot. He could have skipped the trials and instead earned the berth by being the top Canadian on the World Cup circuit this summer.
But van Koeverden saw no reason delay confirming what was a certainty.
"It doesn't do anyone any favours," he said. "It's better for the process if everyone knows where they stand."
Where van Koeverden stands is one thing that everyone knows heading into the Beijing Games. Even a reporter searching the Internet to make a prediction this time around would have to totally miss the boat -- or kayak, as the case may be -- to not have van Koeverden as the favourite.
The one thing van Koeverden lacked heading into 2004, he now has in spades.
"He's more experienced racing at that level," said Scott Oldershaw, his long-time coach, first with Burloak and now with the national team. "He's a little more sure of himself."
Van Koeverden now has 16 career World Cup victories -- the last 10 coming in an impressive streak that has seen him sweep the 500m and 1,000m titles at the last five World Cup events -- and last summer added the one gold medal that had eluded him in his career by winning the 500m (in world record time) at the world championships.
"It sounds funny to expect to win every race," the 26-year-old said, "but if I race my best, I certainly expect to."
Others will also expect Canada's flag bearer at the last closing ceremonies to deliver again. The expectations of a nation don't bother van Koeverden, though.
"I'm not afraid of the pressure," he said.
He is well aware that winning is not a given, even when he's at his best. In his lone World Cup loss in the past two years -- in the 2006 season-opener -- van Koeverden actually broke the 1,000m world record time only to be edged by less than a tenth of a second by New Zealand's Ben Fouhy.
So if his World Cup streak ends before the Olympics, van Koeverden won't be panicking.
"I really can't expect to win every race. I can demand it of myself but it's pretty tough to say the only performance I can accept is six out of six (wins). I can only control myself. If someone shows up and beats me, more power to them."
But if you don't give him his due as the one to beat, well then, watch out.