New Zealand’s Olympic kayaker Mike Dawson has turned author to help fund his dream of competing at the Olympic Games for the second time. The 29-year-old recently released a 72-page cookbook entitled "Eat like the locals" with insights of his adventures and the recipes of his favourite cuisine from around the globe.    

Having qualified for the Olympics at the 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships Dawson is now looking to fund the extensive training he needs on the Rio Olympic course in a bid to better his 15th place finish in London.

The New Zealanders Olympic qualification was bitter-sweet, having qualified with a blistering time in the opening round that secured top spot for the semifinal he then faulted and missed the final.

His final position of 28th was enough to secure his berth in Rio, but fell below the marker set to secure full funding for the Games from the New Zealand's High Performance Sport programme.

With an estimated  shortfall of $40,000 to get the buildup he needs for Rio, Dawson decided to come up with something unique.

"I've spent so much time traveling during my career, paddling rivers in some pretty incredibly places and sampling the local food, that I decided a cookbook full of healthy recipes would be the way to go," said Dawson.

"Rather than be that guy with his hand out, I wanted to give people something they could use, something personal and interesting, so they could share my Olympic dreams with me."

The finished result has 22 recipes from across the globe, divided into mains, sides and desserts, along with anecdotes from his various kayaking adventures and training tips.

While he's still got a stable of loyal sponsors - including Mons Royale and Smith Optics - and plenty of support from High Performance Sport New Zealand, the extra $40,000 will go towards world cup travel and time on the Rio course.

"High Performance Sport have been amazing since the last Olympics and I really appreciate all they've done and continue to do," he said. "If I'm going to give myself the best chance in Rio, however, I'm going to need to emulate the European athletes and prepare in the most professional way possible."

Dawson has set up a website for people to buy the cookbook and make a donation, and needs to sell around 2000 copies to make it worthwhile.

He's made a habit of unorthodox funding throughout his slalom career, having survived for many seasons by winning prizemoney from various extreme races around the world.