Olympics-Canoeing-Canadian kayaker Melanson realises long-held Olympic dream in Paris

By Philip O'Connor

PARIS (Reuters) - Canadian canoeist Riley Melanson has spent three years building up towards her Olympic dream, and she finally made her Paris debut at the Vaire-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Tuesday -- a debut that lasted less than 100 seconds.

The 25-year-old paddler from Halifax in Nova Scotia was one of four in the boat as Canada clocked a time of 1:37.87 in the second women's kayak heats, and though they came fifth of five, it was everything she expected it to be.

"It was absolutely thrilling, it was a dream come true and I was so scared lining up, but it was awesome," Melanson told Reuters.

"Honestly, I think once the horn goes, you just go into your habits and your muscle memory and there's no thinking, it's just paddling, but in the moments leading up, I try to take a minute to take a deep breath and take it all in and be in the moment."

Fifth place in her first race is not the end of her participation -- the Canadian crew will have one final chance in the semi-finals on Thursday, and a top-two finish there would see them squeeze into the final later the same day.

Should they exit there, 200 seconds of racing might feel like a small return for the years of effort Melanson and her teammates have put in, but she is still delighted to have got to the Games.

"I think it's easy to look at it in terms of the last three years just since the last Olympics in 2021, and they've just been such a long and hard and also really awesome last three years," she explained.

"You know, there's been ups and downs but it's mostly been ups, and I'm just really, really grateful for the journey that's led me here."

Canoe sprint racing is exactly that -- a frenetic race to the finish, and in pairs and fours racing keeping in sync with the other paddlers in the boat is crucial.

"We've honestly been spending about three years now trying to nail the rhythm and practising it every single day, so that when the horn goes off and everything goes out the window and you can't think because you're so nervous, that it just comes down to muscle memory and trust (of) your team," Melanson said.

The kayaker still believes that she and her crew can go all the way and fight for a medal in Paris.

"We're not making big gains right now but it's going to be the small things that they get us through to that final," she said.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)