Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie have been named for their Olympic debuts, with Brown revealing he's motivated by a household of fellow Olympians. Video / NZ Herald
Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie are heading to their first Olympic Games, but the Kiwi canoe sprint paddlers are no strangers to the Olympic lifestyle.
Brown and Imrie were announced to represent New Zealand in the men's K2 1000m boat from Lake Karapiro on Wednesday, after a breakthrough 2019 internationalcampaign.
Although describing the feeling of selection as "unreal", for Brown, the significance of the news didn't set in straight away, as his housemates are Olympic track cyclists Regan Gough and Jordan Kerby.
"In our house, we have three boys going to the Olympics," Brown said.
"It's a real privilege to live with those guys because they've got experience coming out of their pockets.
"[But] it's a bit of a strange one, because going to the Olympics seems the thing to do in the household so you have to sort of give yourself a slap on the face and remind yourself that this is actually quite special. Not everyone gets to do this."
Max Brown. Photo / Getty
Imrie also comes from an Olympic household, with his older sister Kayla set to make her second Olympics appearance after her debut at Rio as part of the women's K4 boat.
After shedding a few tears and a heartfelt hug with his sister, Imrie said her support had been unmatched.
"It's pretty cool that I could learn from my sister and share the special moment," Imrie said. "It was very special to give her a hug and let a little bit of my emotions out, just with how hard it's been to get to the Olympics and how much work I've put in.
"She's an open book to me, so I can ask her any questions I'd like and learn because she's been through all the experiences, the highs and lows, and she's just helped me every bit of the way."
Kurtis Imrie and sister Kayla Imrie. Photo / Getty
Both Brown and Imrie share decade-long competitive kayaking careers in which they've spent time racing both as a team, but also against one another.
Openly the more race-hungry of the pair, Imrie's Olympic dream had always been at the back of his mind. But Brown said it's been a more recent goal for him.
"If I look back, 10 years ago it felt like a distant dream that seemed like it could be possible, but I thought I was being a bit unrealistic about where I was at.
"My dream never started with the Olympics. I did kayaking for fun. My friends were doing it on weekends and we used to go down to the clubs, do a bit of paddling, then go home and eat some pies and ice cream. So it wasn't professional at all.
"But I think I had a natural ability to go out and work harder than a lot of other people and I didn't have the talent but I learnt to work and kayaking gave me opportunities to go overseas and race, and all of a sudden I figured out the Olympics was something that I could chase."
Max Brown and Kurtis Imrie after being officially selected for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo / Getty
The duo will spend the next two-and-a-half months based at Lake Karapiro in preparation for the Games before departing for Tokyo.
Their build-up includes next month's Canoe Sprint Nationals.
"It'll be good to race against each other, as well as with each other, for some racing," Imrie said.
"[But] then building into the Games we've just got training here and then we'll go over to Japan a little bit earlier, get a couple of weeks in, then it's showtime."
The Tokyo Olympics men's K2 1000m will get underway on August 4.
