David Florence has come a long way since an uncle first gave him a canoe to try on a family day out at the beach.

He admits he struggled to get the canoe to go in a straight line. But, from that moment in his early teens, Florence has more than mastered the art.

This year, he hopes his talents will take him to the Beijing Olympics and possibly even a medal.

Fellow Scot Campbell Walsh won a silver in the kayak event at the 2004 Games in Athens and Florence, who started out in kayak but moved to canoe slalom after a year, would love to follow in his wake.

Aberdonian Florence, 25, started the year in Australia as he hopes to build on his most successful season.

In 2007, he finished a highest-ever fifth at the World Championships in Brazil - just 0.79 seconds outside a medal place - and was also runner-up behind Germany's Nico Bettge in the World Cup race series after leading going into the final event.

Importantly, Florence also had the chance to try out the Olympic course in Beijing where he finished fourth.

Florence's performance in Brazil guaranteed a British place for Beijing but not necessarily his place.
He has still has to win selection for the Great Britain team and the process does not take place until April.

Then, he will compete over two weekends - in Nottingham and the Netherlands - and the results of his best two races will count for Olympic selection.

Florence's main rival is England's Stuart McIntosh, who has been to the last two Olympic Games and was a team-mate in the British side that won bronze in the team event at the World Championships in Prague two years ago.

"I'm currently ranked fifth in the world and Stuart is 15th," pointed out Florence from his Australian training base.   

"But I'm hoping to make it to Beijing this summer and I'll be pushing my hardest for a medal if I get there. At the Beijing Olympic test event in August last year, I had a poor first run, but managed to move up to fourth with a second run that was the fastest of the day. I made it through qualifying in third place with fairly solid runs and hoping to be able to go better in the finals.

"My semi-final run, however, was disastrous. With lots of major time losses and four seconds of penalties it was a terrible start.

"I only just sneaked into the eight-boat final in eighth position. My final run was a really good run, a massive improvement, going over 13 seconds better.

"I managed to hold the lead until the last three boats in the final, who all went ahead of me to put me fourth.

"My second run was over three seconds better than any other C1 run, so I was pleased to have at least put down one run I was very happy with."

Florence finished last in his first competitive event at canoe slalom 11 years go where he capsized and he had to swim to the finish.

But it has not put him off. He now trains full time with support from the UK sport podium programme and spends between four and six months abroad training or competing.

Out of competition, he is training 12 times a week and first started out on the union canal in central Edinburgh.

"I moved from Edinburgh at the age of 18 to live and train in Nottingham where the National Water Sports Centre is based," he explains.

"I was also doing a degree in Mathematical Physics at the University of Nottingham but now I'm a full-time athlete.

"Last season was my best to date as I finished in the top five at all but one of the major races and picked up two World Cup medals.

"I was just overtaken for first place in the final event by the German Bettge, who was racing on his home water in Augsburg."

Florence has laid the foundations for a successful assault on the Olympics in the months ahead and is a definite medal prospect.

RM
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Thanks to Rob Eyton-Jones and www.davidflorence.com for pictures