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The Chronicle Herald
June 24, 2012   

Halifax’s Mark de Jonge knows how to make an entrance.

De Jonge claimed his spot on Canada’s Olympic paddling team for London by going faster than the world-record time Sunday morning in the K-1 200 at the final Olympic trials at Montreal’s Olympic Basin.

He set the record in 33.804, ahead of the existing world standard of 33.98. Conditions on the water were flat with a slight tailwind, according to Canoe/Kayak Canada officials.

“Apparently,” he said of the record, which is half a second faster than he’s ever been. “They don’t really keep world records in this sport because the conditions are pretty variable, but I think it’s the fastest time as far as I know.”

It’s the fastest time ever recorded by the International Canoe Federation at World Cups, world championships or continental qualifiers, but won’t replace the existing record because it was set at a national trials.

De Jonge joins Windsor’s Ryan Cochrane and Dartmouth’s Jason McCoombs on the Canadian team set to begin the Olympics on July 27. He brings to eight the number of Nova Scotians heading to this year’s Games.

The Dalhousie engineering graduate, who suspended his professional career last February to take one last run at the Olympics, won a nine-man race in the K-1 200 on Saturday to make him the clear front-runner for the Olympic spot on Sunday.

He had two chances to defeat Quebec’s Richard Dober Jr. in a head-to-head race and didn’t need the second one.

It’s a remarkable comeback story for the 28-year-old Maskwa paddler. He broke the middle finger on his left hand in a training accident in April and only returned to racing this weekend at the final Canadian trials.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet completely,” he said. “I’ve been in race mode so much that I need to get out and just enjoy myself. But it’s amazing and I’m really happy I was able to make it happen on the (race) day and I’m really looking forward to London and just being able to do the same thing there.”

He bettered Saturday’s time by more than two seconds and defeated Dober by half a boat length. Dober’s time was one of the fastest in the world this year in 34.369.

De Jonge missed making the Olympic roster in 2004 and 2008 and effectively left the sport for 30 months. He competed at the 2009 world championships, but admits he was out of shape.

Sensing he had walked away from a realistic Olympic dream, he returned with a vengeance in 2011, placing sixth in the world championships in Hungary to qualify a Canadian entry in the K-1 200 for Canada at the Games. He also was third at the Olympic test event in London.

He was considered the head-and-shoulders favourite to pilot the boat at the Olympics until the finger injury left that in jeopardy. He had to sit out for four weeks while many of his potential rivals powered up at World Cup events in Europe.

But he put aside a brace for his finger a few weeks ago and pushed his training as hard as he could, signalling he was ready for his last chance.

“I actually didn’t think it would take as long to recover,” he said. “I was a bit more optimistic than what it was. I figured ... it would be painful, but I would be able to do it, but I kept having to get X-rays and wait, wait, wait.

“It was frustrating, but I had a lot of people looking out for me and making sure I was doing the proper training off-water. Knowing there was a good plan in place helped me get through it.”

As for his recovery: “I think the time today says it all.”

He has always believed if he could get to London he could stand on the podium, perhaps even win the gold medal.

“I have believed it all along, but obviously it’s good to have some reassurance. I’ve always said my goal wasn’t just to make it to London, but to win a medal. It’s looking more like that might happen.”

There’s no rest for the weary. De Jonge will train near Quebec City for the final push into London and doesn’t expect to be back in Nova Scotia until after the Games.

“It’s a strong team for sure and all of us have been put to the test this season making sure the best person is going,” he said. “I think the (Canadian) federation is really confident the best guys are going and they are going to have some good results.”

(mmosher@herald.ca)