Olympics-Canoeing-Kayak cross here to stay, says Hendrick

By Philip O'Connor

PARIS (Reuters) - Proficiency in the chaotic form of canoeing known as kayak cross could well be essential to athletes wanting to take part in the more traditional forms of paddling at future Olympics, Irish canoeist Noel Hendrick told Reuters.

The 26-year-old was speaking after being knocked out in the last 32 on Sunday, missing out on the latter stages after which the first Olympic medals in the discipline will be presented.

"I think they're still figuring out what it's gonna look like and they're still gonna figure out how the cross is going to look in the future, but I have no doubt it will probably become a bigger part in the program," Hendrick said.

The Irishman said all the slalom canoers who qualified for the Paris Olympics automatically qualified for the kayak cross, a frenetic form of racing in which three or four paddlers at a time are dropped into the water before charging through the white-water course, with the top two in each heat going through.

The canoeists vie to get through the downstream and upstream gates, with an "Eskimo roll" - a move which requires them to spin through 360 degrees, submerging their heads in the water - thrown in for good measure.

Slots for athletes in the Olympics are at a premium, and Hendrick said he could foresee a situation whereby slalom canoeists would need to be proficient in kayak cross in order to be selected for the Games, and that he might be at a slight disadvantage because of his small stature.

"I'd say if you want to be competitive in the cross, you got to start specific training, and you had to start doing that two years ago," Hendrick said.

"I do feel like I'm in a bit of a disadvantage, but there's also there's a lot of light paddlers who are performing well, and good technique makes up for a lot of disadvantages."

World rankings and specialisation were no guarantee of success in Paris, with German cross racer Stefan Hengst, who did not take part in the traditional canoe and kayak slaloms, finishing fourth in his heat on Sunday to end his medal chances.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)