KEY POINTS:
Continuing our series on past Olympians, we talk to one of New Zealand's paddling heroes of Los Angeles in 1984, who won gold in the K4 1000m with Ian Ferguson, Paul MacDonald and Alan Thompson.
I first got into canoeing through ... surf lifesaving. It had similar
paddling skills and seemed like a good sport with plenty of opportunity for travel and racing, which surf didn't have at the time. Added to that was the lure of the Olympics.
The toughest thing about Olympic year was ... getting sick in Europe leading up to the Games. It was gut-wrenching feeling all that preparation slipping away, lying in a hotel bed in Germany. Fortunately the change of climate when we moved to the US coincided with a return to form and only strengthened the resolve to win.
When we arrived in Los Angeles my first impression was ... the unbelievable amount of security present. I thought I was part of a movie set as we made our way to the opening ceremony escorted by security of every form on land and in the sky. You don't get that in Gissie!
The first thing in my mind when we crossed the line in the K4 1000 final was ... absolute relief. We believed we were the best team there but delivering the required performance on the day was a real relief. I felt added pressure being the only guy in the boat who hadn't already won a gold.
The key to New Zealand's medal haul at Lake Casitas was ... the innovative training programmes based on the Arthur Lydiard principles and adapted by Alan Thompson (our K1 and K4 1000m gold medallist) in the early 80s. That combined with intense internal competition between the team members was the difference between our guys and the rest.
My funniest Olympic memory was ... at doping control after our race when a French paddler, after spending ages extracting a urine sample, spilt it and had to start over. We left him there drinking copious quantities of liquid.
My proudest moment of the Games was ... returning to a ticker-tape parade in Gisborne. The city shut down as we were escorted through town to a civic reception. Sharing that with family, friends and the community of my home town was something special.
My life now ... revolves around running my pharmacy business, keeping up with my four kids and all their activities and keeping myself fit by running, playing tennis and getting out for a surf with my kids or mates.
