Naomi Flood Set to Take the Ultimate Stage

“It’s next level, it’s beyond what you can fathom, it’s anything and everything possible, it’s the big stage.” - Naomi Flood Kayaker and 776BC athlete Naomi Flood is officially a dual Olympian after her pending nomination was confirmed this week by the Australian Olympic Committee.

Flood joins the 12-member Australian Sprint Kayaking Team after beating former crew mate, and friend, Jo Brigden-Jones at the Duisburg World Cup to secure the only remaining female place in the team. “I had solid preparation into World Cup knowing that it could go either one of two ways, so I put an immense focus on World Cup 1 being my Olympics and left nothing to chance”, Flood said. Flood acknowledges the experience of racing Brigden-Jones as “awkward for both of us…but unfortunately that’s how this selection fell.” The 2009 Ironwoman Series winner took to kayaking at the age of 23 and represented Australia only three years later at the 2012 London Games in the k-2 500m event with teammate Lyndsie Fogarty. Flood describes making the team for London as “a dream come true” and making the team for Rio “mind blowing”. “From such a young age it was my dream to make an Olympic team and being so new to kayaking it was made possible . Now 4 years later going to race K1 at my second Olympics, is just so crazy and absolutely awesome.” Back on the Gold Coast for a short visit before flying to Spain for an intensive 5 weeks of training, Flood is just trying to take it all in. “Time fly’s by, that’s the most significant memory of London, is that it goes past in a blur.”