Erin Taylor Paddling Strong

Erin Taylor Paddling Strong

7 September 2009, 12:14PM
Kelvin Goodchild

World travel, international star status, lucrative endorsements and potential pathways into careers in media, acting, fashion and other glamour occupations create a smorgasbord of tempting motivations for any young athlete dreaming of a career as a professional sportsman or sportswoman.

Of course there is the hard work, punishing training sessions, strict diets, early mornings, excessive pressure, tense competition, disheartening lows and a nightmarish buffet of other concerns to factor in when considering this particular line of work.

Whatever the perks or trials, Erin Taylor – Flat Water Kayaker, is embracing her personal dream of life as a professional athlete with the guts and style that her coaches Ian Ferguson and Paul McDonald demonstrated when they were winning their gold medals in the eighties.

Erin, nicknamed “smiley” - due to the ever present smile on her face - by coach Ferg, “killer” - in reference to her acutely competitive nature - by her Surf Life Saving mates and E.T. by fellow kayakers, was inspired in her early teens by watching Danyon Loader winning his two Olympic Gold medals in Atlanta in 1996.

Her career in kayaking has so far been a series of firsts. She is the first Kiwi woman Flat Water Kayaker to qualify for an ‘A’ Final of a world cup event, win a medal (bronze) at a world cup event and compete at the Olympics. Not bad for a girl who only took up the sport in 2005.

‘I feel pretty lucky that I get to do something that I enjoy every day of the week and very fortunate to have got to know many great people - the people I train with every day and the international paddlers I race against. Travelling around the world, seeing lots of amazing countries and experiencing diverse cultures is also a huge bonus,’ remarks the enthusiastic young woman.

Having been a competitive swimmer at school and a Surf Life Saver from her early teens to the present day, Erin, who receives a performance enhancement grant (PEG) from SPARC and is on a Prime Minister’s scholarship for her university study is well suited to the sport of Kayaking. She cites the enjoyment of the surf ski discipline as a factor in her initial interest in Kayaking and the lure of the Olympics as a convincing reason to ultimately decide to take it up seriously.

A summary of a typical week’s training for Erin Taylor produces a clear picture of the Oakley and Kea Property Management sponsored athlete’s ambition, dedication and ruthless pursuit of excellence.

“Smiley” trains twice a day, Monday to Saturday. Morning sessions are always spent paddling on Lake Pupuke for up to two hours. The Bachelor of Arts and Science student who is majoring in classical studies and nutrition usually wakes up around 6am and arrives at the lake just as it is becoming light enough to see! Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons are also paddling sessions on the lake, and Monday, Wednesday, Friday afternoon are gym and abs sessions with a run afterwards. Winter training is mixed up a bit more with a few long runs and some cycling. Sundays are always a rest day.

Competing at the Beijing Olympics is a career highlight for the 22 year old Red Beach Surf Life Saving club member.

‘I was absolutely stoked to qualify for the Games, not so much because I was the first Kiwi girl but more so with the fact that I had actually qualified. I was training with a squad of boys that had already qualified for it so I really wanted to get there too,’ she says proudly.

Rather than just going to Beijing to make up the numbers Erin was determined to perform well there. She made the semi-final and was only a half second away from snatching a place in the final.

‘Everyone racing at the Olympics knows that they’ve only got one shot every four years to perform in that arena. I felt that I raced to my potential and that was where I was at, at that point in my development. However, I still would have liked to have made the final.

‘Although I had raced all the girls previously, the biggest highlight for me was getting to line up and race against them when they were all aiming to be at their fastest. It was great to benchmark my performance and know where I need to get to by London, 2012.’

It might hold the rather unambiguous title of Flat Water Kayaking but this does not mean the sport is always raced in flat water and perfect conditions as Erin found out in her sudden death Oceania trial for an Olympic spot against Australian Alana Nicholls in May of last year when seaweed hindered her progress and the trial was famously rerun.

Also, in the third World Cup regatta of the 2008 season in Poznan, Poland, she had to race in what she describes as ‘fairly extreme weather conditions.’

‘It was so windy that the waves coming down the course were pretty big and a lot of competitors started falling out of their boats. My race actually got postponed until the next morning,’ she remembers.

Elite athletes are indeed human like the rest of us and Erin has her guilty food pleasures, chocolate being an obvious one. She is also partial to a good butter chicken pie and loves sushi which she endorses wholeheartedly because it ‘is not sinful.’

The former Carmel College student is unquestionably a unique talent and her natural sporting abilities have been complemented by a faith in the philosophy of fun which the easy going paddler is keen to pass on to children.

‘Although it is very cliché to be a full-time athlete you do really need to enjoy what you do, it should never become a chore.’

With Erin Taylor firing on all cylinders and Teneale Hatton and Lisa Carrington representing the country commendably in the K2 500 and K2 1000 at recent world cup events held in Poland and Hungary the future of New Zealand women’s Flat Water Kayaking looks to have a bright maybe even golden future.

Image by Sportzhub
 

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