Paris 2024 silver medallist Adam Burgess is finally taking the risk and rolling the dice in pursuit of gold.
Haunted by a fourth-place finish on the waters of Japan at Tokyo 2020, the 32-year-old put his heart and canoe on the line as he soared to a stunning C1 silver three years later in France.
It was a moment that he credits to his 2024 game plan of 'Project Send It', with a risky strategy paying off in remarkable ways.
Burgess returns to those waters this week as part of a strong Paddle UK team set to light up Vaires-sur-Marne once more at the 2025 European Canoe Slalom Championships.
And with his risk-taking mentality spurring him on, Burgess is ready to step onto the podium once more in Paris.
"This is my favourite course to paddle on and I was saying that before I won my Olympic medal there," he said.
"It's a much bigger start line than Paris 2024 was and to beat the French in Paris specifically is a big challenge.
"I came fourth at the 2024 championships last year behind three Slovenians and so I'm determined for that not to happen this time.
"Hopefully I can upset the French party and go toe-to-toe with these athletes again."
The risk factor Burgess believes was his key to Olympic stardom stems from a double-edged sword of consistency.
A stalwart of making finals on the international stage, the paddler from Stoke-on-Trent regularly fell short of a podium in the early stages of his career.
Something needed to change and it all came down to going that one step further in the final.
"I learnt a lot from my Tokyo experience and the years after," he said.
"I became comfortable at getting into a final but then never took that next step up which required a bit more risk to make the podium.
"Last year I really set out to change that narrative and that is what made that difference at the Olympic Games.
"It's that willingness to sit on the start line of that final and roll the dice."
Burgess can now happily call himself an Olympic medallist and admitted that he is enjoying the movie premiere invitations and sporting event tickets that seemingly come along with it.
But the paddler knows that he can only take so long soaking up the atmosphere outside of the water before he's itching to get back in the boat.
And he has already begun to make a mark on his 2025 season.
"I'll admit, I've been getting a bit restless these last few weeks," he said.
"As soon as you start the taper and feel good in every session in the water, you just want to be on that start line.
"I've raced a couple of times this year already, I won the Oceania Championships out in Australia in January and then the world ranking race in Slovenia where I finished fourth with a penalty.
"Then, a bit of domestic racing. I was preselected for Europeans off the back of my Olympic medal but I wanted to recreate that race environment and prove that I was preselected for a reason."
Burgess will line up against reigning Olympic champion Nicolas Gestin of France and bronze medallist Matej Beňuš of Slovakia in Paris, ready to battle it out for another C1 crown.
It's a field of athletes that has only grown in strength and depth in recent years, with Tokyo 2020 champion Benjamin Savšek falling to 11th in the final last summer.
But even with added pressure of being an Olympic medallist and increased competition, Burgess is confident that his risk taking can propel him back onto the podium in Paris.
"There's a bit of expectation going in with silver from last year," he said.
"But on that start line I will just be focussing on my breath and be ready to go for it.
"I think we're entering the best years of my career now. I understand the sport better than ever and we're really starting to understand what makes performance for me."
Sportsbeat 2025