Emotional Carter digs deep for spot at Olympics
A shaking and stressed out Tristan Carter has paddled his way into favouritism to snare a spot on the Australia canoe slalom team heading to Paris 2024 alongside Jess Fox and another paddler also in line for an Olympic debut.
On a weekend of drama, close racing, fierce rivalries, plenty of tears – and the rare sight of canoe slalom GOAT Fox being beaten – Australia’s best pitted themselves against a world class field at the Penrith whitewater regatta centre in Sydney’s west.
An emotional Carter, who relocated from his home in
Melbourne to Penrith in a bid to represent Australia at an Olympic Games, has seen his dedication likely pay off after his C1 win at the Australian Open.
But the 25-year-old, originally from Heidelberg, went into the race stressed out and extremely nervous after a disappointing result in a major regatta a week ago where he rolled his canoe.
“Yeah, I cried, a lot. I can be prone to emotion. But this is literally a childhood dream, something you work on for years,” said Carter, whose win is expected to secure him a trip to Paris.
“That was 101 seconds of four years of work. That takes a lot of emotion.
“But I do feel better for crying.
“I am an emotional person and I have put everything into this.
“It was a really stressful week and when I got to the start I was just shaking so much. But it worked out.’’
Carter narrowly missed selection to Dan Watkins for the Tokyo Olympics.
Likely to be joining him on the Paris team is Tim Anderson who finished fifth in the K1 at the Australian Open won by two-time Olympian Lucien Delfour, after his comeback from a disappointing result just a week ago. Anderson, who later won the Kayak Cross event in another big performance, dominated earlier significant results and is expected to get the nod ahead of Delfour.
Delfour’s best chance of competing in a third Olympics would rely on him qualifying Australia a spot in the new kayak cross event in Prague in June – the same event Noemie Fox will contest in her campaign to join sister Jess at the Paris Olympics.
Fox suffered a rare defeat at the Penrith event, just a day after winning the C1 at the Australian Open.
Having already been named on the Olympic team, Fox was using the regatta for training and finished second to Dutchwoman Martina Wegman, with sister Noemie third on the white water course.
“I raced pretty well in the final and I had two touches which meant I just got beaten by Martina,” Fox said.
“It happens. She raced really well and it’s awesome to be on the podium with Noemie.’’
Noemie showed she is right on track to be beside her sister at an Olympics for the first time with her bronze medal against a field of world champions and Olympians in the Kayak Cross event which will debut in Paris.