Reigning Olympic gold medalist Benjamin Savsek has told the latest episode of the Planet Canoe Path to Paris podcast that he would have retired from the sport if he did not win gold at the Tokyo Games.

Savsek, who won his second world title in men’s C1 at Lee Valley this year, is one of the favourites to win gold in Paris next year.

But 36-year-old Savsek told the podcast he felt Tokyo might be his last chance to win Olympic gold, and he was ready to retire if it didn’t happen.

In the podcast Savsek also talks about how difficult it is competing against a close friend for the one Olympic quota available for Slovenia. Savsek and Luka Bozic are currently the top two ranked canoe slalom paddlers in the world, but only one can go to Paris.

Savsek also talks about how he dealt with the fame that went with being a gold medalist in Slovenia, and what effects it had on his life.

The latest Planet Canoe podcast can be found here.