THERE are few things more important in the world of canoe slalom than keeping an even keel. Mastering the mind is as crucial as taming the rapids in a sport where the most miniscule of mistakes can consign four years of work to the dustbin.
At the age of 33, as he heads to Rio for his third Olympics, chasing a couple of gold medals to add to his two previous silvers, David Florence appears utterly unflappable. But things weren't always this way. The Aberdonian, who spent a fair chunk of his childhood on the same Edinburgh street as Sir Chris Hoy, still shudders at the thought of his petulant reaction to an error early on his run in the Olympic trials for 2004 games in Athens. Ever since then, periodic and ongoing visits to a sports psychologist have kept him sailing serenely towards success.
"It’s a very frustrating sport," said Florence, who will compete in Rio in the individual C1 category in addition to reprising his London 2012 double act with Richard Hounslow in the C2 class. "If you came to any of our training sessions, you’d see someone getting very annoyed with themselves or giving up half-way through a run. It’s very challenging. A bit like golf, if you make the tiniest error, that’s it basically.
"We spend a lot of time working on attitude," added the 33-year-old, the son of George, a former Scottish canoeing champion. "I’m certainly not perfect but I’m better than I used to be in keeping focus and staying in the moment when I’m paddling rather than wondering what we’re up to next. I don’t let a mistake get to me otherwise it knocks you off.
"When I went for selection for the Athens Olympics, I really let myself down on that side of things. I’ve always been a very determined person and no-one would have faulted the time I put in or the work I put into my training or the effort I was willing to give. But with determination came frustration. I would get angry with myself pretty easily and give up on my runs and have to go back to the start.
“I’ve never broken a paddle. But when I blew the Olympic selection, I drifted down the course and was hitting gates out of the way when I was supposed to be on a run. For seven or eight years, I’d been desperately trying to get to the games. And I didn’t even come close due to a lack of mental strength so I could see it was something I had to work on. So I did."
Florence was famously unsuccessful in an application to become an astronaut but he has no shortage of victories on his CV. “Having done World Cup series, been world champion a few times, to get an Olympic gold would be absolutely incredible," he said. "I’ve not sat and daydreamed about what it would be like to stand on the podium. But I know I want an Olympic gold."
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