Dickson looking to make splash in Prague in bid to reach Paris
LIVINGSTON paddler Jonny Dickson chose canoeing over karate because he was not a huge fan of the aggression needed in the martial art.
There is something ironic therefore, that the 23-year-old is doing everything in his power to qualify for Paris 2024 in the most aggressive discipline in canoeing.
Dickson is in a three-way battle with Jake Brown and Ben Haylett to earn Team GB an extra spot in the kayak cross in the French capital this summer – the newest form of the sport making its Olympic debut.
Where canoeing is usually a case of racing against the clock, kayak cross is a different beast entirely. A combination of all white-water disciplines, it begins with a traditional time-trial before a second head-to-head stage. With contact permitted and excitement guaranteed, it is set to be one of the new attractions in Paris, with Dickson keen to show that he can find that aggression when required.
“I started canoeing when I was six. My dad got me started because he used to do it when he was a teenager until his early 20s,” said Dickson, who grew up in Linlithgow. “From there, I started going out and loved it.
“I played a little bit of football when I was younger and did a bit of karate. But canoeing was always the thing that I liked the most. I enjoyed karate but I never really got on board with the aggressive side of it, so I don’t think it was for me.”
So does that mean he does not have the required aggression for kayak cross?
He counters: “If you ask some people, they probably say I am [aggressive]! You do need a bit of aggression in kayak cross, controlled aggression though.”
Dickson is in only his second season of senior international competition, but after announcing himself to the world in 2023, there is legitimate reason to believe he has what it takes to make it to Paris.
Team GB have already announced four athletes for the Games: Rio gold medallist Joe Clarke, Tokyo silver medallist Mallory Franklin, six-time world champion Kim Woods and five-time world medallist Adam Burgess.
They are all among the 1000strong cohort of elite athletes on the UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing them to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.
Dickson is looking to join that illustrious group, with a quota spot up for grabs at the second World Cup event in Prague next month.
For Dickson, it is a venue where he has already enjoyed success, making his first World Cup final a year ago, finishing sixth in the K1 (kayak slalom).
After that breakthrough, Dickson’s star continued to rise, reaching the final at the World Championships on home waters in Lee Valley before finishing second in the World Cup final on the Olympic course in Paris.
“Last year was really good for me,” he said. “It was my first year in the senior team, I made four senior finals including the World Champs and was fourth overall in the World Cup, which I think is really good, I don’t think many people have done that in a debut season.
“Having that sort of pre-Olympic year experience will give me a lot of help in the future. This year we are trying to qualify a spot for the Olympics in kayak cross But at the next Olympics, having already lived that experience and knowing what it is expected will help me.
“I knew that I was capable, if I had good runs, of being competitive. But it’s all about doing it at the right time and in the right moment. It’s also about doing consistently.
“You can have one-off good results but I think the fact that I managed to finish fourth overall at the World Cup shows that I was consistently good all year. That is another factor that plays into those Olympic years and how they select. They are looking for consistent performers in slalom and kayak cross. It’s a good foundation to build on.”
Before Dickson gets to Prague, he has a busy schedule, which has involved a training camp in the Czech capital to get a feel for the venue, focusing on kayak cross, a race in Cardiff, and this week there are the European Championships in Slovenia.
The World Cup season begins in Augsburg at the end of this month before the big one in Prague, which will make or break Olympic dreams.
In his corner, Dickson has one of the best in the business in Campbell Walsh. The Glaswegian won Olympic silver in Athens in the K1 event in
I knew that I was capable, if I had good runs, of being competitive. But it’s all about doing it at the right time and in the right moment
2004 and hails from the CR Cate Canoe club in Alva, like Dickson.
“To have him around is like a full circle moment,” said Dickson, who first met Walsh when he was just starting out in canoeing. “From him going from being ‘the’ athlete as a kid to my coach is pretty cool.
“He’s definitely brought a different lens to the programme and a refresh. I always personally think adding people from out of the current system is good as they have new ideas and thoughts and question our ‘why’ a bit, which I think is really cool.”
Walsh’s success came a little early for Dickson to have watched live, although he has since caught up on those races on YouTube.
Like many aiming for Paris this summer, it was London 2012 that marked a first real memory of the Olympics for him. In London, Team GB came away with a gold and a silver medal in the canoe slalom, before Clarke took K1 slalom gold in Rio.
And by 2016, Dickson was already dreaming of matching the exploits of Walsh and Clarke.
“I remember watching London 2012 on the TV. I had it recorded and watched it all the time,” he said. “Then, I guess I was still only 11, but by the time Rio came around, I’d already seen that as something I wanted to do. The people who were competing at those Olympics were people who are still competing now. They are the people I was aspiring to be like. That was pretty cool.
“It’s really cool and inspiring [to be in a team with Joe]. It’s really good for all of us here because we know where the bar is set. He’s a double world champion in slalom and kayak cross. You know if you can be in and around competing with him, you’re not exactly in a bad spot. It’s a big advantage we have got, we’ve got such a good training facility but also such a high calibre of paddlers as well.”