Ken Wallace ready to right the wrong of London and win kayak gold in Rio
FROM the elation of winning gold in Beijing to the heartbreak of finishing fourth in London, Ken Wallace has experienced it all. Now he’s ready to return to the top of the podium in Rio.
KEN Wallace is one Olympian who has stood where only few people in the world of sport have stood before.
Not only has the kayak sprint champion climbed high to drape a Beijing 2008 gold and bronze medal around his neck, he has also felt crushed and deflated by failing to finish on the podium.
The latter was four years ago, when in the K2 1000m, alongside David Smith in London, the pair finished within a boat length of winning a medal, to finish fourth in the Olympic final.
“I went from a gold and a bronze (medal) to a fourth in London and for me I was gutted because I knew that we could win a medal,’’ Wallace said.
“It was devastating.’’
But from pain came motivation.
Rather than quit and say goodbye to the sport he knew little of only a few years prior to his life-changing medals in China, Wallace, 32, has matured, developed both in and out of the water and formed a mateship, to arrive in Rio in the best form of his career.
“Since 2013, I’ve had the most successful three years I’ve ever had,” Wallace said. “I’ve never come away with anything less than a gold and a silver at a world championships ever since then.
“Last year’s worlds it was two golds and a silver. I had the most successful world cup season I ever had last year.
“I don’t know what it is. It might be age, having a couple of kids and perspective that what we’re doing is a sport ... it’s a privilege that we do it.”
In Rio, Wallace has teamed-up with former surf ski champion from Sydney’s Avoca Beach, Lachie Tame.
The powerful duo are genuine medal contenders.
If they are able to deliver the form they displayed in the crucial months leading-up to this year’s Games, they will return home with nothing less.
“I’m stoked to paddle with him. He’s a like a little kid who just enjoys himself,’’ Wallace said.
Wallace’s greatest moments have been as an individual; Olympic gold in the K1 1000m and bronze in the K1 500m.
But in Rio, Wallace is the experienced leader sitting not only in he and Tame’s kayak, but also in Australia’s new “Awesome Foursome” — the K4 1000m.
At the Games, Wallace, Tame, Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear will join forces on the flatwaters of Rio’s Lagoa Stadium, just 1km away from Copacabana Beach.
They will do so as genuine gold medal contenders.
“The team that we’ve got is a real mix between young and old,’’ Wallace said. “The young guys, they don’t give us an inch. They’re biting at our heels the whole time.
“There’s always a little bit of ego and it makes it a bit different.
“That’s not to say we can’t come away with two medals at least. Between youth and experience, I think we’re on the right path.’’
Originally published as Ken Wallace ready to right the wrong of London and win kayak gold in Rio
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