Kiwi ingenuity powering Aussie paddlers towards Olympic glory

If Paddle Australia clean up at next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, they might tip their hats to a small Nelson-based company.

Engineers Kim Hedley and Mathew Pottinger, who co-founded One Giant Leap, are preparing to ship 30 of their second-generation power meters from their Port Nelson workshop to Australia’s national kayaking team, just in time for Olympic training to begin in earnest.

Built inside a paddle shaft, the meters measure the force and velocity generated by a paddle stroke.

‘‘Until these came along, they couldn’t actually measure what they were doing,’’ Pottinger said. ‘‘You were working hard, but you didn’t know how hard you were working.’’

Knowing their strengths and limitations meant athletes knew how much effort to expend during a race, he said, as well as having a better understanding of how to replicate a gold medal-winning performance.

‘‘If you know the maximum power you can hold for a given time, come race day you will go from A to B as quick as possible if you hold that power throughout the race.’’

Hedley and Pottinger got their start 10 years ago at the University of Canterbury, when the New Zealand kayaking team asked them to develop a way to measure athletes’ power output.

Their design worked so well that the duo continued working with the team, and launched One Giant Leap.

In 2013, they headed to an international kayaking competition in Hungary to promote their product, where they forged their relationship with the Australian team.

‘‘It was a culture shock arriving in Eastern Europe, especially where every man and his dog knows more about kayaking than you do,’’ Hedley said.

Their first-generation technology is used by a handful of New Zealand athletes, including the canoe slalom and sprint teams, and power meters have been picked up by athletes across Europe, and in South Africa and Singapore.

In the next few years, the duo hope to expand their reach and branch out into other sports.

Despite his engineering acumen and knowing ‘‘heaps’’ about kayaking, Pottinger said he was still at the learn-to-swim stage.

Hedley has competed in kayaking competitions in the past, and spends plenty of time on the water during the meters’ development. But he knows his limits.

‘‘Compared to the people we supply these to, I’m basically a bum,’’ he said.

BRADEN FASTIER/STUFF Mathew Pottinger and Kim Hedley launched One Giant Leap at university. Ten years later, their second-generation power meters are on their way to help Australian kayakers train for the Tokyo Olympics.

GETTY IMAGES Nelson company One Giant Leap’s power meters measure the force and velocity generated by a paddle stroke.