New Zealand's top whitewater kayakers will have one eye on London as they head into this week's world championships in Slovakia.
A nine-strong Kiwi contingent is in the town of Bratislava for the canoe slalom titles, with Beijing Olympian Luuka Jones and top extreme paddler Mike Dawson among those with chances of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics.
Dawson has endured a long season but is confident he can finish among the top 16 nations in his specialist K1 boat and seal an Olympic berth.
"I'm feeling pretty good and the main thing is just to keep focused leading into the qualification rounds and not get intimidated by the other nations or competitors,'' Dawson said.
"There are something like 120 men chasing 40 spots in the semifinals and then only 10 make the final this weekend so it will be pretty fierce racing.''
Dawson is currently ranked 54th in the world but made the final at the world cup in Slovenia earlier this year, finishing 10th. He's joined in the men's K1 by fellow Bay of Plenty paddlers Aaron Osborne and Johann Roozenburg, with Roozenburg recovering from a dislocated shoulder earlier in the season.
Jones is ranked 50th in the K1 women's division but she, too, has semifinal finishes on the world cup series this year. She's joined by fellow Kiwis Nikki Whitehead Louise Jull, Brent Bastin, Ben Gibb and Shaun Higgins, who will be racing in the C1 canoe, with Gibb the highest ranked at 102nd.
More than 400 athletes from 50 countries will compete over the next week at the Water Sports Centre Cunovo, with Czech paddler Vavrinec Hradlik _ who trained with Dawson in New Zealand over summer _ one of the dark horses in the K1 division. His main rivals will be Slovenian Peter Kauzer and Italian Daniele Molmenti.
Slovakian Jana Dukatova, two-time Olympic champion Elena Kaliska and Spain's Maialen Chourraut should fight out the top placings in the women's K1.
