Tokyo 2020: Lucien Delfour, Dan Watkins join Jess Fox in Olympic team
The funny reason this athlete left his home in France to live and train in Penrith in Sydney’s west.
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It’s as good a reason as any to leave the country of your birth and become an Australian – a hatred of the cold.
But that’s why the latest athlete named onto the team for the Tokyo Olympics left France in 2008 to start a new life in Penrith.
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Lucien Delfour has joined Jessica Fox on the list of paddlers heading to Tokyo after strong results at recent selection regattas in the K1.
Delfour’s first taste of the Australian lifestyle and climate was back in 2008 when he came to Penrith for the Youth Olympics.
“It blew my mind and I feel in love with the county,” Delfour said.
“Everyone was just so much friendlier than in Europe.
“I have alway been into kayaking and I thought it would be best for my career.
“I also hated the cold weather back in Europe.”
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Now 31, Delfour has made his home at Penrith close to the whitewater stadium where he first raced and now trains.
The decision to leave the country of his birth and make a new life in Australia on Friday saw him named in his second Australian Olympic team.
Delfour finished 17th at the Rio Olympics and is looking for redemption in Tokyo.
“The 17th, I wasn’t happy, it was pretty horrible,” he said.
“I missed a gate and a second run and it put me out of the final.”
The selection of Delfour and Dan Watkins completes the canoe slalom selection with multiple World Champion and dual Olympic medallist Fox form Leonay the first member of the Australian Olympic team named last year.