Mike Dawson was born in Tauranga in 1986. He loved kayaking from his first time, enjoying the feeling of the water and the freedom. He quickly decided that he wanted to be a professional kayaker. He was inspired by New Zealand kayaker Jared Meehan, from his hometown, as well as other athletes such as Thomas Schmidt from Germany.

Mike leapt into all different types of kayaking, and throughout his career he continued exploring and achieving in a variety of disciplines such as freeriding (travelling white water rivers and doing tricks), creeking (going down low-volume white water rivers) and extreme racing (paddling down difficult natural white water rivers, including waterfalls and dangerous rapids), as well as slalom racing.

However, canoe slalom was always one of his main focuses, and he began his journey towards the Olympic Games at just 13 when he began racing slalom. Mike made his first canoe slalom national team when he was 15.

Mike DawsonNew Zealand Olympic Ambassador

Discipline:

Canoe/Kayak SlalomSpecialist event:

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Olympian number:

1136

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Men’s Kayak (K1)

Quick factsFavourite food: Wood-fired pizza

Favourite movie: Batman

Favourite music: Anything that’s upbeat and fires you up for the day ahead, like Jamiroquai and Blue Skies

Childhood hero: Danyon Loader

Current favourite athlete: Kelly Slater

Most rewarding moment in sport: Walking into the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Games

Talents other than sport: I can’t sing or dance, but I enjoy photography.

Biggest injury: Compressed spine (L3 & L4) in 2010, broken back 2012

Biggest sacrifice: No sacrifice – I love what I do

Job outside sport: Just sport – photography and writing

Mike spent the next few years travelling between Europe and New Zealand, racing slalom in both hemispheres while staying in school. He also began to train professionally in extreme kayak racing. He first came to national attention in 2004, when he won the annual Wairoa Extreme Race at the age of 17. In that same year, he won the New Zealand Junior Slalom Championships, finished in the top 10 at the Junior World Championships and won Gold at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

After this, Mike managed to squeeze in a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from Massey University while continuing to train and compete in slalom, freeriding and extreme racing, as well as participating in other recreational kayaking activities. He was the New Zealand national champion in slalom seven times between 2004 and 2011, the European champion in extreme racing in 2011, and the freeride world champion in 2010 and 2011.

Mike had his sights set on competing in slalom at the Olympic Games. He just missed out on a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This made him determined to try even harder, and in 2011 he managed to secure a spot for the London 2012 Olympic Games, becoming the fourth New Zealander ever to compete in Olympic canoe slalom.

Mike had something at the London Olympic Games that many athletes don’t – both his parents! His dad was part of his support team, and his mum Kay Dawson was one of the many officials in the canoe slalom event judging his performance. The International Olympic Committee ruled that because there are so many judges in canoe slalom (three on each of the 25 gates), there was no chance of favouritism. They were right – in his first heat Mike’s mum gave him a penalty.

Mike made it through to the semifinals, despite the penalty. Unfortunately, a hard run at the semifinals wasn’t enough to get him through to the finals, and Mike finished 15th overall. He is continuing his training in slalom and other sports to try again at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

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Careerhighlights2012 London Olympic Games

(Fifteenth)

2012 Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championships (Third)

2011 European Extreme Kayak Champion

2011 Canoe Slalom World Championships (Sixteenth)

2011 International Canoe Federation World Cup (Finalist)

2010 & 2011 Freeride World Champion

2009, 2011, & 2012 Teva Mountain Games Champion

2009 & 2011 Sickline Extreme KayakWorld Championships (Second)

2004–2011 New Zealand National Champion seven times

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www.olympic.org.nznzolympics

@nzolympicsNZ Olympic Team

Follow the NZ Olympic Team here:

LinksMike Dawson’s Olympic Museum profile: http://imuseum.olympic.org.nz/museum/athlete/profile/25508

Mike Dawson’s website:http://www.mikedawson.co.nz

Mike has also set up his own film production company to try to promote canoe slalom. He is working with another world champion, Ciarán Heurteau-Mc Ardle of Ireland, to create short films demonstrating the sport and lifestyle around slalom, as well as profiling some individual athletes. He hopes this will help more New Zealanders succeed in the sport.

While Mike has achieved success in multiple sports, gaining world titles and competition prizes, he maintains that for him, kayaking and slalom are about doing what he loves.

“My biggest goal is to do what I love and enjoy it, and see where that takes me,” he says. “If I get paid it’s a bonus, but I would still be doing it cash or no cash!” (www.mikedawson.co.nz/media.htm).

Mike was made a New Zealand Olympic Ambassador in 2012.

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There are two disciplines within canoe/kayak: slalom and sprint. Canoes and kayaks are both used in each discipline.

Canoeing and kayaking sprint were demonstration sports at the 1924 Olympic Games, and they have been competition sports at the Olympic Games since 1936. Canoeing and kayaking slalom were first introduced at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. They did not appear again until the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

Canoe/KayakOfficial Olympic Sport G

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A canoe is a lightweight boat, pointed at both ends. One or two athletes kneel in the canoe, propelling it with single-bladed paddles.

A kayak is a narrow, lightweight boat, pointed at both ends. One, two or four athletes sit in the kayak and propel it with double-ended paddles.

Canoe sprint boats are long and streamlined for speed, while canoe slalom boats are much shorter and lighter and more manoeuvrable in rapids.

The boats

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Olympic events

Men WomenCanoe Slalom Canoe Sprint Canoe Slalom Canoe Sprint

•Canoe single (C1)•Canoe double (C2)•Kayak (K1)

•Kayak single (K1) 1000m•Kayak single (K1) 200m•Kayak double (K2) 1000m•Kayak double (K2) 200m•Kayak four (K4) 1000m•Canoe single (C1) 1000m•Canoe single (C1) 200m•Canoe double (C2) 1000m

•Kayak (K1) •Kayak single (K1) 500m•Kayak single (K1) 200m•Kayak double (K2) 500m•Kayak four (K4) 500m

Canoe slalom consists of time trials that take place on a white-water course with up to 25 gates. Each paddler or pair does a timed run through the course, going through the gates upstream or downstream (depending on the colour of the gate). If they touch a gate, they get 2 seconds added to their time. If they miss a gate completely, they get 50 seconds added to their time. The athletes with the fastest times proceed to the next stage ofthecompetition,orifitisthefinals,theywin.

Canoe sprint competitions are races that take place in lanes on still water, similar to rowing and swimming races. Up to eight boats all start at the same time, andthefirsttocrossthefinishlineisthewinner.Thecompetitionsstartwithheats,andthefastestfinishersineachraceprogressthroughthestagestothefinals.

The basics

• In the Olympic Games, each country can only enter one boat per event.•Paddlers can be penalised for incorrect starts in both canoe sprint and canoe slalom.

Important points