GARY MAWER'S current ascendancy in flatwater racing, whatever the distance, will come under close examination this weekend, when the world marathon silver medallist competes in Holme Pierrepoint, Nottingham, to secure an early place in the Irish sprint team.
The two days racing will, in effect, be the final selection trials for a 30 strong Irish contingent, with Mawer due to race six of the short course regatta events, including the four man kayaks, over 500 and 100 metres.
The K4 already figures predominantly in Canoe Union plans for the next Olympic campaign and Mawer's place in this weekend's boat, strengthens a Salmon Leap line up that many view as being the future core of the sprint team before Sydney. Junior paddlers Peter Egan and Brendan Maloney are favourites to make the World K2 finals later this year, while younger brother, John Mawer, is now making inroads into the senior rankings.
For the moment Mawer is focused on this year's, international, schedule which begins in Mechelen, Belgium, next month and includes a summer of marathon racing in the States. "The main plan is to race RI over 1,000 metres and the K2 with my brother. We haven't decided what distance but we'll see what works, the best this weekend.
"This weekend's K4 will need three or four years work to get it together. At the moment it's more of an experimental boat and I think the priority will be to set it, up for Conor Maloney and one of the Maycocks in time for the World championships," Mawer said.
The Olympic future of the canoe slalom has in the meantime been thrown a lifeline from Sydney's suburbs with a finding offer to meet half of the £3 million costs to build a new artificial slalom course. Local councillors in the city's western district of Penrith added their weight and chequebook behind efforts to reinstate the event after failing in their own bid as the site of the Olympic velodrome. The International Canoe Federation are expected to forward the finalised proposal on to Sydney's organising committee within the next month.
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