PHOTOGRAPHY JUSTIN JOLLY & ROBERT TREHARNE JONES
Olympic qualification is looming. At the 2015 world championships in Aiguebelette athletes will be focused on booking their country’s spot for Rio 2016 in their event. Miss out, and you’ll be pinning all your hopes on a tiny number of qualification places left next year. The nervous edge this gives the pre-Olympic season is already beginning to bite.This summer’s racing has been full of variety, from Germany and China dominating the medals at the first world cup in Bled, to the appearance of Britain and Russia at the European championships, to the debut of the Kiwis and north American crews in the second (Varese) and third (Lucerne) world cups. New Zealand won six gold medals at the 2014 worlds: after four in Italy and six in Switzerland they are already looking on target to match that. They also have a goal of qualifying for all 14 Olympic classes: that’s a harder ask, but one they are possibly the bestplaced country to achieve.