By Morgan Faulkner
Standing on a river bank in Slovakia, John Hastings anxiously waited to see if the 2006 qualifying match would bring good news. When he saw his name appear on the scoreboard, Hastings repeatedly yelled, “I made it!”
“[Earning a spot on Canada’s senior kayaking team] made my goal of going to the Olympics start to become more realistic,” the 23 year old says now.
Hastings, a fourth-year commerce student at Carleton University, started kayaking at his family cottage on Georgian Bay when he was six.
Since then, he has been a member of Canada’s junior team, the senior development team, and last May, he became one of three slalom kayakers on the senior national team.In slalom kayaking, athletes race, one at a time, down a 250-metre white-water course while manoeuvring through a series of gates. This normally takes 90 to 100 seconds. But, you add a two-second penalty for touching a gate and 50 seconds for missing one. The kayaker who runs the cleanest, fastest race wins.
A native of Aurora, Ont., Hastings moved to Ottawa in 2001 to train with the Ottawa River Runners under Michal Staniszewski, head coach of the Canadian Canoe and Kayak Team and silver medalist for slalom canoeing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Teammate and two-time Olympian James Cartwright says when he started training with Hastings five years ago, the young athlete lacked focus, maturity, and dedication. At that time, Cartwright says kayaking was a fun activity for Hastings, but he was not committed to raising his performance.
“I saw myself, in a way, of mentoring him and helping him understand what he needed to do to become successful,” he says.
Racing against each other during practices made Hastings see that he needed to improve in order to chase down his faster, more experienced teammate.
Over the last two years Cartwright says Hastings became more dedicated to training and improved his work ethic, skills, and fitness level.
On average, Hastings trains three hours a day, six times a week. About 60 per cent of his training takes place near LeBreton Flats, in a channel off the Ottawa River, where he focuses on techniques to master gates and building endurance and strength. He also runs and lifts weights.
Staniszewski says Hastings must still improve his technical skills before taking on the world’s top kayakers.
He is fast, but too often picks up penalties when manoeuvring through gates. Staniszewski says top athletes are seldom allowed mistakes, and Hastings sometimes finishes with about four seconds added to his time.
By polishing his techniques and gaining experience overseas, Hastings, who is ranked second in Canada and 22nd in the world, should move into the top 10 within a year, his coach says.
A top-15 finish by any member of Canada’s men’s kayaking team at the 2007 world championships will secure the country a spot in the 2008 Olympics.
Hastings says he would be very surprised if Canada did not qualify, but a team success does not guarantee him a trip to Beijing, China.
Only one male slalom kayaker will be chosen to represent Canada. Hastings and his teammates will compete against each other for the spot.
“John’s chances of going to the Olympics are good,” says Cartwright. “But he’s up against David Ford, one of the most successful kayakers in the world.”
However, at 39, the four-time Olympian is nearing the end of his career, which Cartwright says could work to Hastings’ advantage because he is continuing to improve.
Slalom kayakers are in the peak of their careers between 27 and 30 years of age. Therefore, if Hastings does not qualify for the Olympics in 2008, his coach says he should not stop trying. But Hastings has different plans.
“There’s just so much else in life to do and dedicating yourself to one sport is great, but there’s a lot of stuff out there for me,” he says. “This is my one chance and it’s all or nothing.”