Rio-bound paddler Naomi Flood to sleep in altitude tent for Olympic preparation
NAOMI Flood will sleep in an altitude tent for the next three weeks in a bid to get every advantage she can leading into the Rio Olympics.
NAOMI Flood will sleep in an altitude tent for the next three weeks in a bid to get every advantage she can leading into the Rio Olympics.
The Gold Coast paddler, who won a race-off in Germany last month for the right to be the last athlete added to Australia’s sprint kayak team, will spend 10 hours a day in an altitude tent as part of an effort to be at her peak on the start line in Rio.
Flood yesterday assembled an altitude tent over her bed and will spend at least the next 19 days sleeping in the oxygen deprived environment in a bid to encourage her body to produce more red blood cells ahead of the Games.
It’s no picnic but it’s something Flood is prepared to do in an effort to be at her best at what she says will be her last Olympics.
“I guess people don’t know that those are the sort of sacrifices you make,’’ Flood said.
“It’s 19 days in this and you have to do 10 hours a day in it to get a benefit.
“There’s no way I’d sleep for 10 hours, so I’ve got to be in there for the seven to eight hours I’d sleep and then hanging out in the tent when I’m at home.’’
Flood said she felt a benefit from altitude cycles, including training – something members of the sprint kayak team completed on the Gold Coast ahead of the London Games.
“There’s (a chamber) at Bond Uni at the Titans’ old centre (of excellence) there, we used that in 2012.
“But sleeping in the tent is different. They say you sleep high, train low you’re sleeping at high altitude and training at low intensity and you still benefit.
“I personally feel like I benefit from it. Everyone’s different. Some people don’t feel like they do and then when they get their bloods done, there’s a massive increase in red blood cell count.
“You get to this stage, I think you look for one per centers anywhere you can and a few one per centers here and there add up and then all of a sudden you’ve got 5 per cent.’’
Flood will continue training on the Gold Coast until the end of the month when she heads to Spain to link with training partner New Zealand Olympic gold medallist Lisa Carrington before meeting up with the Australian team.
Other members of the Australian team have continued their preparations in Europe, racing at the third World Cup meet in Portugal over the weekend.
Gold Coaster Ken Wallace has continued his charge towards another Olympic medal with outstanding results.
Wallace and teammate Lachlan Tame, who has based himself on the Gold Coast to hone his partnership with the Beijing gold medallist, finished second in the K2 1000m at the sprint canoe World Cup at Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal.
The two-time world championship silver medallists powered home over the final 250m to finish just 0.16sec behind Portugal’s Emanuel Silva and Joao Ribeiro and underline their status as one of the medal favourites for Rio.
Wallace is likely to compete in both the K2 and K4 boats in Rio.
And while the final crews are yet to be decided, Riley Fitzsimmons and Jordan Wood put in their bid for permanent places in the K4 boat after finishing third behind Wallace and Tame in the K2 final.
Fitzsimmons and Wood, the current world under-23 champions, led for much of the race before being swamped by the Portuguese winners and Wallace and Tame.
The young guns have raced the opening World Cup meets in the K4 with Wallace and London gold medallist Jacob Clear but Australian officials are yet to finalise their combinations for Rio.
After winning gold and silver in the opening World Cup regattas, the Australian K4 advanced directly to last night’s final at Montemor-o-Velho.
Originally published as Rio-bound paddler Naomi Flood to sleep in altitude tent for Olympic preparation
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