Adam Burgess has sent out a warning call to his peers and those who saw his blistering pace at the Serge Olympic Park in La Seu to be wary.
“I think I'm coming into the best years of my career now. I'll still be here in my 40s, don't you worry,” he said.
In the men's canoe, the Great Britain paddler clocked 88.80 in the heats before another run of 88.79 in the final to win the silver medal.
The 32-year-old said after the race that it was a reflection of the hard yards he put in training.
While many tend to take it easy after the intensity of the Olympic Games, the Paris 2024 silver medallist says he has never felt more urge to be on the water, with his sights set on the 2025 International Canoe Federation Slalom World Championships in Penrith.
“I've been so excited and pumped to go this year. There's no loss of energy, and no loss of love for the sport off the back of the Olympic Games last summer,” Burgess said.
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“I'm still driven and motivated and I'm as in love with the sport as I was when I was a kid and I'm hoping this cycle will bring many more medals.
“I'll do everything this year, including the big one in Australia in October.”
Referring to Australia as a second home, Burgess is fully committed to the next Olympic cycle and is keen on finally getting an individual World Championships gold.
Joking about how Australia is the same as Britain but with more sunshine, great coffee and great beaches, it would mean more to him to do so Down Under.
The Penrith Whitewater Stadium, the historic venue built for the Games in Sydney in 2000, where he saw his idols train and win medals growing up, is another factor that makes it special.
“I won the Oceania Championships this year. I travelled back there a lot, and I have a good relationship with the Australian team.
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“It is as close to me as a home World Championships without the pressure of being a home World Championships, which I enjoy.
“I would love to be a world champion in this cycle. That is the main aim.”
A strategic break after the main competitions in 2024 until the end of the year and starting the season in Australia has rejuvenated Burgess.
“After that little bit of space from the sport, I was just itching to get back. I missed it. With two cycles very close together in Tokyo and Paris, the break was necessary,” Burgess said.
From not making the team for Rio 2016 to a painful 0.16 seconds that cost him a medal at the Games in Tokyo, Burgess has come a long way to win a medal in Paris.
With a new-found zest for the sport and starting the 2025 season on the podium, the British paddler is among those raring to go at stop number two in Pau.
Full coverage of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup can be viewed on the Planet Canoe YouTube channel.
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