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| Casper Nielsen is not particularly surprised with his k1 200m win at Bagsværd Regatta. Photo: Jens Thybo. |
It was Gladsaxe’s
Casper Nielsen who pulled home the victory in the men’s k1 200m at this
weekends Bagsværd Regatta 2012.
- I’m not
particularly surprised, Casper Nielsen comments about his victory. I know how
my k1 level is when I’m in my current shape. But yes, the main focus and
training hours have been on the k2, so you might have expected that it wouldn’t
go as well as it did, he says.
But having said
that, the victory does not seem to make much difference, he comments.
Last week, the
Olympic nominations for the Danish k1 200m spot were published, and Kasper
Bleibach was selected, as he has already fulfilled the predetermined selection
criteria.
Actually, the
London Olympics will also be the premiere of the 200m event, and Jimmy Bøjesen
secured this spot for Denmark at last year’s World Championships in Hungary.
In the following,
Sports Manager Mikkel Von Seelen, explains the selection procedure determining
who will qualify for the Olympic Games.
- Naturally, the
nomination criteria have been prepared in a way that gives everyone clarity in
due time of the grounds on which the athletes are selected, says Sports
Manager, Mikkel von Seelen.
It very normal in
many Olympic sports that the athletes have to secure the spot for their country
one year prior to the games. During the Olympic year, it will then be
determined who will fill out the national spot.
In connection with
the Olympic Games, it is common procedure in many sports that the athlete
who secures the spot for his or her country, not necessarily will be the Danish
Olympic representative, the Sports Manager says.
- If we didn’t operate
with national spots and subsequently national criteria in kayaking, it would
mean that the selection of Olympic athletes would in fact take place in May
2011, since we can only enroll one paddler for the World Championships who can hereby
secure the spot.
To lock the names
of the Danish Olympic representatives 16 months before the Games would be
incompatible with the idea of presenting the strongest possible team, and I
think most people can see this, says Mikkel von Seelen.
- When a national
spot has to be distributed, the paddlers must race about it. This is relatively
simple in k1, as you can race directly against each other. On the basis of the
above criteria, it will be determined which competitions are relevant to the
Olympic Nomination, and these have been public for six months, says Sports
Manager, Mikkel von Seelen.
- Since Kasper
Bleibach is the fastest Dane at the three competitions, he gets the spot. Last
year, we had an exact similar situation regarding who should do the 200m event
at the World Championships, and at that time, Jimmy Bøjesen was the fastest at
the World Cups and hence, got the spot at the World Championships, says the
Sports Manager.
- The reason why
the Danish Canoe Association has predetermined which competitions are relevant
in connection with Olympic nomination is of course to give the athletes the
opportunity to focus on exactly those competitions. Thus, other competitions
are not included in this connection. It is of great importance that athletes,
now and in the future, are able to trust the predetermined Olympic nomination
criteria, says Mikkel von Seelen.
It is impossible
for DKF to prevent that one might ask the hypothetical question after the
Olympics: would it have been better if another athlete were selected? And we
will never know the answer to this question, he says.
However, we have
tried to make the selection as transparent as possible so that everyone knows what
they are up against, and also to maximize the chances of presenting the best possible
team. We are very well aware of how much the Olympic Games mean to the
athletes, and we are handling the nomination with the required respect, says
Mikkel von Seelen.
Fundamentally, the
main problem with Olympic kayak selections is that there are simply too few spots,
says the Sports Manager.
In sprint, 264
spots are distributed over women’s kayak, men’s kayak and men’s canoe. Withdraw
from this a handful of spots for the hosting nation. 80 spots go to k4, and
that leaves about 180 spots for the rest of the sprinting canoe and kayak events.
This number is so low, that world-class athletes, who would qualify in most
other sports, are being wrecked, he explains.
From a
sports-oriented perspective, it would be great and most fair if we could enroll
two or three athletes or boats in every event, like it is done in swimming or
athletics.
The way things are
now, some boats with obvious medal potential even from the strongest nations are
forced to stay home from the Olympic Games, says the Sports Manager.
Translation: Birgit Pontoppidan
