Ed McKeever knows exactly what he has to do to defend his Olympic title after claiming double bronze at the Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow.
McKeever is the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s K1 200m after storming to gold at London 2012 but has suffered a disrupted 2014 due to illness.
However he still managed to return from last month’s European Championships with silver in the K1 200m before winning double bronze at the worlds in Russia.
McKeever began the final day of the World Championships by taking bronze in the K1 200m after clocking 34.270 seconds – 0.3 shy of Canadian winner Mark De Jonge.
He then teamed up with Olympic bronze medallists Liam Heath and Jon Schofield, who were fourth in the K2 200m final, and Kristian Reeves to claim another bronze.
That came in the K1 200m relay while Jess Walker and Angela Hannah were fifth in their K2 200m final and Lani Belcher and Rachel Cawthorn eighth in the K2 500m.
There are now less than two years to go until the Rio 2016 Olympics and McKeever, while content with his worlds return, insists he has plenty of work to do.
“I’m happy enough with the outcomes [this season],” said McKeever. “Obviously it’s always nice to win but you don’t win every time.
“It was quite tight, I’m pleased enough with third and I’ve got a lot more to do over the next couple of years.
“The relay always has a bit of a lottery element about it with the waves but we are happy that we came away with a medal.
“It’s good for the team because we all train hard together. I’ll have a couple of week off then I’ll work at getting stronger and faster.”
© Sportsbeat 2014