Hereford Kayak Club's Paul Burgoyne remains upbeat despite missing out on selection for the Great Britain team for the World Championships later this year.
The former Whitecross High School pupil had hoped to secure a qualifying place at the final selection regatta of the season at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham.
However, Burgoyne finished fourth in the 'A' semi-final of his favoured K1 1000m event and immediately realised that his World Championship dreams had faded.
Burgoyne did, however, finish second in the 'B' final less than an hour later and he then competed in the K4 1000m event, in which his crew finished second.
The following day, the Hereford paddler achieved a second-placed finish in the K4, coming just 0.4 seconds behind the winning crew.
Despite a below-par regatta, Burgoyne has been selected to race in the K1 1000m at the Pre-Olympic Regatta in Athens, Greece and to attend a training camp this week with the Great Britain World Championship team in Budapest.
Burgoyne said: "Things are certainly on track for Beijing 2008 and plans are already being made for next year's European Championships. I may have missed out on selection for September's World Championships in Atlanta but the national team is full of experience and older paddlers, and I am looking forward to filling their places in the near future."
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