31 Jan 2012

Canoe slalom paddlers named for London Olympics

6:52 pm on 31 January 2012

Two more athletes have been named in the New Zealand team to compete at the London Olympics.

They are Rotorua-based canoe slalom paddlers Mike Dawson and Luuka Jones.

Dawson will be the first New Zealander to compete the men's discipline since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

He finished 11th at last year's world champs in Slovakia.

Jones will be competing in her second Olympics after finishing 21st in Beijing.

She was 14th at last year's world champs.

The pair will head to Sydney to race and train on the Sydney Olympic Games course before moving onto to Europe for World Cup racing and time on the London Slalom course.

The New Zealand Olympic team now consists of 14 athletes including 12 sailors and the two canoe slalom paddlers.