Mike Dawson: delight at final berth

New Zealand whitewater kayaker Mike Dawson had a brilliant semifinal run to thank for his best result on the World Cup circuit in Slovenia this morning.
Dawson finished 10th in the first International Canoe Federation championship event of the season in Tacen, drawing a 50-second time penalty in the K1 final to fall out of medal contention.
But he'd already created a little bit of history, becoming the first New Zealand male to make it past the semifinals at a World Cup round.
"Unfortunately I knocked the last gate in the final with the wrong side of my head, so was credited with missing it," Dawson said, "but I focused on putting together my best down the course, instead of worrying about the final, and what the other athletes were doing. After touching gate 3 I pushed hard and produced a raw time good enough for second place, but with the penalty I was 10th.
"But I'm delighted with my performance and life tastes pretty good at the moment. It's certainly a big confidence booster with Olympic selections coming up."
The result is the 24-year-old's best at senior level, surpassing his 21st placing at the same venue four years ago, and comes just a week after starring in extreme races at the Teva Outdoor Games in Italy.
Dawson's semifinal run was the key, clocking the second-fastest run of the round with a 97.06 seconds effort. Only a single touch at one of the gates dropped him back to 10th position, still good enough to ease into the final 0.1 secs ahead of Italian world champion Daniele Molmenti.
Slovenians Peter Kauzer and Jure Meglic dominated the final to finish first and second respectively.
Dawson's priority remains September's world champs in Bratislava, which is the Olympic qualifier for slalom.
"This result shows that the transition from extreme kayaking to slalom has been smooth so far and the support crew I have around me in terms of training and coaching is working perfectly so far. Confidence is the key to all high-performance sport - this result is in the bank now and I just have to focus on building on this and preparing for Olympic selection."
Despite the 10th placing Dawson says he hasn't peaked yet after coming off a gruelling extreme campaign. "My main focus (in Slovenia) was sharpening my slalom skills after two weeks earning some money in the extreme circuit to fund my Olympic campaign."
New Zealand's Beijing Olympian Luuka Jones wasn't so lucky in the K1 women's event, finishing 31st after the heats and just missing a spot in the semifinal by a solitary place. Otaki's Louise Jull was in 45th position.
In the men's C1 canoe heats, Tauranga teenagers Shaun Travers and Brent Bastin were 43rd and 45th respectively. Most of the New Zealand team will now head to the next World Cup round in L'Argentiere, France, next weekend.