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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday July 29, 2006 - 19 Talking paddles with Oakville's kayak king By Herb Garbutt the World Cups, a 3:25 which hadn't been done in the 1,000s since 1996. It was one of those barriers and I was the dam van Koeverden has first to break it in eight years and that Olympic gold but there's one was really weird for me. I didn't know shiny medal that has eluded what to think. My coach was just laughing at me saying 'Where are you going him in his paddling career. The 24-year-old Oakville native will to stop? Are you going to go under be looking to win his first world-cham- 3:20?' (3:19) helps me with my attitude pionship gold when the 2006 competi- that there's no top speed in a kayak. My tion begins Aug. 17 in Szeged, Hungary. cell phone says 3:19 on it. Every time I The reigning Olympic champion in the open it, it says 3:19. It's not the time but K-1 500-metre race won his first world it's the time I'd like to aspire to do in a championship medal when he claimed a kayak because it's five seconds faster silver in the K-1 1,000m. Last August at than anybody's ever gone, including the worlds, he climbed the podium myself. I don't like to think about limits. Why won't you part with your tape twice, with another silver in the 1,000m measure? and a bronze in the 500m. AVK: When I was in Norway, I needThis year van Koeverden has demonstrated that he is poised to take a step ed a tape measure because I forgot mine at home. I was setting up up. "One time banana my boat, so I went to the In two World Cup hardware store and paid events, the Burloak flambé, which is a for the tape measure and Canoe Club athlete won rum and banana everything's really expenthree golds and one silver. flavoured dessert, sive in Norway so you try In his one silver-medal popped into my to spend very, very little performance, van head. And I don't -- you definitely don't go Koeverden actually broke clothes shopping. But I the 1,000m world record even like it." needed the tape measure with a time of 3:24.591. because I needed to be Unfortunately, so did New Adam van Koeverden, within a couple of cenZealand's Ben Fouhy, asked about the timetres of where I was who edged him by less strangest thought he's sitting (in the kayak). So I than a tenth of a second ever had during a race left the store and I'm tryat the finish line. Coincidentally, this year's World Cup ing to think to myself--made the conresults are identical to van Koeverden's version in my head, and I just spent $42 finishes in 2004, the year he won gold Canadian on a tape measure. And it's the (crappiest) little thing ever. Still, I keep and bronze at the Athens Olympics. Earlier this year, van Koeverden it because it's the most expensive thing spoke to the Oakville Kiwanis Club I own. (Looking across the table at a note about his career and the Olympics. Afterwards, he took some time to dis- pad) Cliff jumping? Where did you get cuss some other things, like why his cliff jumping? I was looking at your bio (on the tape measure is a prized possession and why you're not likely to see a sprint Canadian Canoe Association website). AVK: Yeah, I do like cliff jumping. kayaking video game any time soon Do you get much of a chance to do (questions in bold italics). cliff jumping? AVK: Yeah, in the summer, if I see a When do kayakers peak? AVK:I was 22 at the Olympics. Most cliff or a big bridge. It's another rush. kayakers peak around the age of 26 or It's just something that I used to be 27. That's not to say that's the standard, afraid of. I'm a big proponent of getting that everybody peaks at 26 or 27. over your fears and I used to be terrified Hockey players are supposed to peak of heights so I went skydiving and around the same age, 28 to 30 years old, jumped off a bunch of cliffs. What's the highest thing you've but there's lots of exceptions to that rule. I hope I haven't peaked yet. I hope jumped off? AVK: Out of a plane. Or the roof of a I have a few more years in me and I'm still competing well at this point. I'm restaurant on a cliff in Jamaica. That training for the 2008 Olympics which was pretty high. What's the strangest thought are in Beijing, and after that Olympics I'll decide if I want to go another four you've had during a race? AVK: Kayaking is very rhythmical years until the Olympics in London in 2012. I hope to kayak as long as I can get and cyclical and repetitive. It's stroke faster and still compete in Canada as after stroke after stroke. Sometimes one of the best in the world. It's what I when you're doing that a word gets love to do. People always ask me, stuck in your head and one time banana 'Doesn't it get boring? Doesn't it get flambé, which is a rum and banana monotonous?' My answer is always the flavoured dessert, popped into my head. same. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't And I don't even like it. But all the way love it. I wouldn't be doing this if it was- through the race it was `banana flambé, n't exactly what I wanted to be doing banana flambé, banana flambé.' every morning when I got out of bed. Thankfully, it wasn't a very important It's a pretty easy decision that way. If you race. You play guitar. love your job, it's not hard to go to every AVK: Yeah, I play guitar to get my day. mind off other things. What does 3:19 mean to you? What do you like to play? AVK: I did a fantastic time at one of OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO WORLD CLASS: Olympic kayaking champion Adam van Koeverden, pictured at the Burloak Canoe Club. AVK: I used to learn things, like if I heard a good song on the radio, but I don't get to play very often. And I left my guitar in Algonquin Park at a friend's place so I really haven't been playing. But I like a lot of good rock n' roll. There's a lot of crap on the radio. The new Strokes album is good. I like a lot of punk rock, the stuff I liked when I was a kid. I never really grew out of it. But I'll listen to anything that gets me really pumped up. How did you get involved in kayaking? AVK: I started kayaking in 1995, not because I wanted to go to the Olympic Games or the world championships or even race for Canada. I just thought it would be a fun way to spend my time after school. My mom actually got me involved because she was worried that 13-year-old kids are going to get into trouble after school. The canoe club was a great place to find role models to make goals and those are very important things in a person's life. What impact has Larry Cain had on your career? AVK: Larry Cain was a huge influence on me when I was growing up. When I was 16 we used to run with him every Friday afternoon. I tried my hardest to keep up with him but he'd usually lose me after about half an hour. At the end of the practice I got a pat on the back from an Olympic champion and some words of advice and some encouragement. That definitely helped me a lot, not only in thinking that I could do it one day because there was a guy from my home town who already had, but just in terms of letting me know I was doing a good job, which is really, really helpful. That kind of encouragement goes a long way in your performance. How do you get kids involved in kayaking? AVK: Any kid can find something to do. Just use your time wisely. If you have time after school, find something to do. The whole world is not all about TV or Playstation or X-Box. What if they made a kayaking video game? AVK: It would probably be pretty boring. It's very repetitive. It would be a lot more fun to go out, get a paddle in your hands and do it.