People

Canoe Slalom Legend – part one

By CSNMarch 10, 2010

When I came to Penrith I was thinking: “Will I meet David Ford on his ordinary training camp in Australia again?” The man from Canada who took a lot of podium results in canoe slalom. The man who can be seen every year in the Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Finally I’ve met him here. With maple leaf painted on his boat and helmet and with the car from the same rental company as usually.

Do you count how many times have you been to Penrith for a training camp?
I have been here every year since 1999, when we had a the first pre Olympic race here, I guess it was in September or October 1999 and than probably an average of two months a year here. I have almost spent two years here in the last 10 years. So a long time.

You can feel here like at home. You started to come here in your most successful period which was between 1999 – 2005. Were you successful, because you were training here during the spring?
I think it doesn’t hurt. What made me good during that period was the time I spent at home with Scott Shipley and Richard Weis training in Chilliwack. When you are training with guys like that, that good every day it raises your level. And I think when Penrith became a better training opportunity in the winter it just meant that when the spring came you are a bit sharper, so the results came faster in the year. The confidence is such a big thing in our sport. If you build your confidence here in February and keep it moving to the season it is lot easier than starting fresh in April coming from Canada to Europe. It’s very difficult.

I was the only guy who made every final.

Why do you think these years were the most successful for you?
That’s a hard thing, isn’t it? Knowing why you have success sometimes and why you struggle sometimes. I really could say I’ve worked just as hard now as I did then. It’s just for some reason during that period maybe it was the format of the rules and the boats and everything just met my skill set for that period. And rivers we were racing on maybe suited me a little better. It’s strange in slalom sometimes why you are good one week and bad the next week and that’s part of what makes it so exiting and easy to keep training for a long time, because there is always a new level you can get to.

Maybe these years were the last ones when 4 meters long kayaks were used and you had lots of experience paddling on kayak this length?
I was a very fit and strong paddler which sort of suited the 4 meter boat. It wasn’t as easy to be dynamic like it is now. I think now it is little bit easier to cheat the line, to find the shortest route and than just deal with the poles by spinning the boat, back then you had to be a little bit more crafty with the way you used your boat and a little bit maybe fitter and stronger because the lines were longer. That suited me because I’m probably a better athlete than I am a paddler. And so that’s what I worked on since the rules changed and boats got shorter is being more dynamic which is kind of what’s working for me this year little bit better, I can take the shorter line on the upstreams a little bit better again.

You were successful at the beginning of the shorter boat period and after six years experience you feel good again.
Yeah. It’s strange when we first went to shorts boat in 2005 I made every final. I was the only guy who made every final. So to have that kind of success early and than struggle for a couple of years is a bit strange, but I feel good again now and I like the boat we are in.

You were waiting for 15 years for your first big result. Your first international experience began in 1984. You took couple of top 3 places at World cups, but you were really patient. Finally you are World Champion, World cup winner, finished 4th and 6th on the Olympic Games. That’s really nice summary and you are still paddling. Not only patience is important. Many athletes finished their carrier because of injury. How do you protect yourselves? Do you work with good physiotherapist?
I think I’ve been really lucky with genetics. My parents gave me a good body to work with. Also for six years my girlfriend was a physiotherapist, so I had access to very good physiotherapy but also learning the good posture and how to use your body for training and also like I said I’m a better athlete than I’m a paddler. I’ve always been a student of what’s a good way to train, not just the good way to paddle. That’s created a long career, because I have taken care of my body very carefully over the years. I have a very systematic approach to physical training. When I’m on the river training hard, I’m prepared for that. I think that’s important for a long carrier.

Do you have the same training every year or you change your program according your body conditions?
For me it is important to look at the year as a whole. If the Olympics is the goal or the World championships are a goal, you work backwards from there and when you finish the season it’s important to take a look at your physical state and that’s what I do every year. I do testing and stuff to figure out where my fitness is, where my strength is. Do I have any injuries or deficiencies and than I spend a couple of months in the fall rebuilding my body.

It sounds very sophisticated.
I think we were lucky before the Olympics in 2000. It changed a lot for us in Canada, we got a lot more sport science support and we got taught a lot more about being a good athlete and how to do that kind of periodization. I was lucky to learn some very key skills in that period which allowed me to make my career longer. And I think that’s why I liked to continue to paddle as a student of sport as well as paddling. I like to learn what the physiologists are saying, what the strength coaches are saying as well as what the technical coaches are saying and what the best paddlers are doing, so I learned those things every year a little bit, little bit, little bit so it’s never the same. If it was the same every year I would have retired a long time ago.

Next second part
Canoe Slalom Legend – part two

David Watson Ford (born March 23, 1967 Edmonton)

Living in Chilliwack (British Columbia, Canada). David Ford has been a national team member of Canoe slalom team since 1984 at the age of 17. First Canadian to win a world cup competition in 1992. In 1999 he eclipsed that mark by becoming the first non European to win the World Championships. He’s been to five Olympic Games.

World Champion 1999
2nd World cup 2002
2nd World championships 2003
World cup winner 2003
4th place Olympics Games 2004
6th place Olympics Games 2008