Jessica Groeneveld would like nothing more than to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England.
And if her 2010 results were any indicator, she’s on the right track.
The 21-year-old Innisfail native made a significant jump in the women’s K1 whitewater slalom world rankings this year despite being in only her third season with the national kayak team and just her second on the international scene.
Groeneveld started the season off with a 17th-place finish in the Australian Open, then turned in a solid World Cup season, with her best finish a 28th in Spain.
“I had my ups and downs, but overall it was good for myself and the team. We had a good series.”
Groeneveld finished the year off in style, finishing 19th in the world championships in Slovenia, a significant improvement over her 43rd-place finish in 2009.
“I couldn’t be happier, it’s a huge step up,” said Groeneveld, who went into the championships in a great frame of mind.
“Knowing what to expect is huge,” she said. “Last year, it was a bit overwhelming — it’s by far the biggest race of the year and the energy surrounding it is bigger than any other race. This year, I was able to stay more focused and had an open mind . . . things didn’t bother me.”
The weatherman didn’t help conditions at the championships, and that would have affected a less experienced paddler.
“The training conditions weren’t ideal. There was a lot of rain and the water level kept changing every day,” she explained. “Even during the race, it was changing. They tried to control it, but Mother Nature had the last word.
“But going in focused helped a ton. Before the race, I walked the course with my coach and we set up a plan on what strokes and what lines to take and I stuck with it, no questions asked.”
Groeneveld knew she had the potential to break into the top 20.
“Even at the starting gate I was positive and told myself ‘Just go have this race for you and have fun.’ It was great, a blast.”
Groeneveld returned home after the world championships in a great frame of mind.
“When you end on such a high note, it’s great motivation to just keep training,” she said. “It’s a step in the right direction, in fact every year you gain that much more experience, which helps so much.”
Groeneveld took 10 days off to rest and recuperate after the world championships, then it was back to full-time training.
“We’ll train at Kananaskis as long as we can, then work on fitness and strength training, have some time off at Christmas, then go to Australia in January,” she said. “We stay there until March, then it’s back to competing.”
And next year will be the most important of her short career as she looks to make the Olympic team.
“We have to qualify a spot for Canada and that will be at the world championships in Slovakia or, if not there, at the Pan Am Games in Mexico,” she explained. “Hopefully we do that. If we get the spot then they’ll decide which Canadian girl will get that one spot. We’ll likely have two or three races during the season and we’ll receive points for each race. Whoever gets the most points will earn the berth.”
Groeneveld’s main challenger is Sarah Bourdens of Pembrooke, Ont., who placed 42nd in the world championships.
Canada will receive only one spot at the Olympics, the same as every other country.
“That’s tough, but really it’s tougher on a country like Germany. They have five women who could win gold,” she added.
Few Canadians know Groeneveld’s accomplishments this year — the sport still lives in relative obscurity.
“I wouldn’t say it’s disappointing, but we’d love more recognition in North America and that’s something I’d like to push for,” she said.
“I know as a team we talk about it a little, but the first thing we need to do is get the international results and then more people will be interested.
“We need to do everything we can to allow people to know the sport and that means getting competitions in the cities where we can get the fans out. It’s tough to get them out to Kananaskis just to watch us train.”
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com