Subsequent Entry: Goodbye 2011 – A Review…
22nd January: It has been a really long season in 2011 for myself with a lot of highs and lows. When I decided to go the first time oversees to train with the top athletes of slalom in New Zealand and Australia, I had not expect what a long season it would be.
Over the whole season I trained more and harder than I have ever trained before and really enjoyed the time training with all the other athletes from different countries – however this was definitely one of the most important steps I did in my sporting career to achieve my goal to qualify for the Olympic Games. After I suffered twice a setback by my two dislocations of my left shoulder (2004/2008) my career as an athlete nearly seamed to come to an end, but I did not give up and collected all my energy and put it into the project “Olympic Games 2012″. In 2010 I moved from my hometown Hanau (GER), where I grew up the most time of my life, to Augsburg (GER) to have the best training conditions and from there on it all started.
…and then the 2011 season became finally my year with qualifying myself for the Olympic Games 2012 in London which also gave my association (The Rowing & Canoeing Association of Thailand) the first Olympic berth of kayaking ever.
After getting robbed of a medal at the Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou (CHN) I was really motivated to have a revenge and I decided to switch my whole training program with the help of Pierrick Gosselin (FRA), who is working for the International Canoe Federation (ICF) as an Developement Coach in Asia. Another country, another training system. The main focus was and is to change my paddling to be more smooth on the water, focusing and being more concentrated on the line through a whole run, working on the forward strokes and so on – just a French way of doing.
For the completely change I already started my season in January with a good friend of mine with my first 2 months overseas training camp in New Zealand and Australia including the two World Ranking Races. The training was brilliant paddling with all the top athletes from all around the world and as a the topping on the cake I finally made my first International Top40 Semifinals in the senior class placing 25th at the Oceanian Championships in Mangahao (NZL) and 21st at the Australian Open in Penrith (AUS), which brought me a lot of confidence for the upcoming season.
Back in Europe I got the offer of Pierrick to train and travel with him beside his ICF Development Tour during the summer to have him as a coach beside me for the World Cup season and the World Ranking race in Bourg St. Maurice (FRA) – and for sure I took the chance. After passing three times in a row into the Semifinal the first World Cup race in L’Argentière la Bessée (FRA) did not went as I hoped, because I set myself to much under pressure and thus I failed the Semifinal by half a second. During that time I was a bit upset and started asking myself if I would be able to handle all the pressure when I have to race for the Olympic Qualifier in September, but I a day after I already kept on training… The preparation for the upcoming World Championships and Olympic Qualifiers in Bratislava (SVK) were perfect. I got the feeling for the course and felt really confident.
The low came during the London Prepares Series in August when I got a kind of an allergic reaction to the water, but finally it was the start for the diagnosis mononucleosis. When I got the blood result one week after I was shocked and could not believe it. Would the dream of the Olympics been blown away like a balloon? I immediately stopped my training to recover myself as soon as possible to had a chance for a comeback at the Asian Olympic Qualifier. Luckily the sickness passed away quite fast that I was able to go for the World Championships during my birthday in September. I was paddling with a lot of courage, but I was not strong enough to make the Top40 Semifinal – the end of the story was that Japan and China made a spot at the Worlds placing under the Top15 nations. For myself it was the best situation I could get, because they were out for the race for the only one K1 Men Asian Olympic spot. That was more or less a penalty for myself and the chances to fail at this one race were high as well… but this was not a matter during that time. I had 3 months to prepare myself and get back on the track to be ready for the Asian Olympic Qualifier in Miyi (CHN).
Being back in the boat after the sickness was actually the best and I was pretty sure that the feeling for the water will come back soon. The strategy was clear – solid and clear runs and if I can get back on track I just had to reproduce my training skills to qualify myself and Thailand the first time for the Olympics in canoe slalom.
I knew that the races would not be easy in at the Asian Qualifiers, because after the whole basic situation changed and actually everyone of my federation expected it, but no one said it. I just tried to keep calm as much as possible and for the Heats and Semifinal it worked quite good. When I was close to my final run and just one run away of getting my ticket to the Olympics – the dream I was living for the last years – I got so nervous nearly no one could imagine. My heart rate raised and I could not think clearly and everyone who wanted to put myself at ease failed. The watch was counting down and I had no chance to escape and dropped myself into the wild water course and into my final run of the Asian Olympic Qualification for the last spot in the K1 Men discipline. Being that nervous I had a hectic start and immediately touched the 3rd gate of the course and from there on I was back in the game, focused and in race mode. When I came down and crossed the finish line I just saw myself in the lead on the scoreboard and I quickly realized that I qualified the spot. A wave of emotions swept over me, and it did not sink in until a few hours until a few hours later when I was talking to my family in Germany and Thailand. Finally it was a happy ending to a long, arduous year.
On this way thanks a lot to all my supporters who believed in me. Thank you so so much….
16th December – Heats: The course design for the heats today was set by Jean-Michel Prono (ICF Chairman of Slalom Racing Committee). A really smooth design, except two places which can be difficult if you are not in the right timing, but if you are able to let the boat glide everything should be fine. The strategy for the heats was clear set – smooth lines and no touches.
The closest of my direct competitors for the Olympic spot was around 8,5 seconds behind me. If I will be able to compete in the tomorrows Semifinal and Final Races like today I should not be worried. Keep you up to date and keep the fingers crossed for me 
.
