Florence brought back to earth in pursuit of gold

DAVID Florence defied the odds and a raging and foaming torrent to claim Olympic slalom canoe silver.

BACK TO BUSINESS: Olympic silver medallist David Florence is looking for gold at this weekend's European Championships in Nottingham (Getty Images)

The boy who once applied to be an astronaut had taken a giant leap of his own and was finally flying high.

Now - nine months on - and his feet are finally, pardon the pun, back on the ground with this weekend's European Championships in Nottingham bringing the 26-year old back to reality.

"After the Olympics life was certainly hectic," admitted Florence.

"I got loads of opportunities and I enjoyed every one of them - I even got the chance to meet the Queen three times in ten days!

"It was an amazing few days but thankfully it calmed down eventually. I soon realised that if I was serious about London 2012 and turning my silver into a gold, I'd need to get back to working.

"I had about two weeks off the water, then I knew it was time to start training again.

Twenty-five nations, including some of slalom canoeing's powerhouses, are competing at Holme Pierrepont, whose future as the national watersports centre remains in doubt following funding fears.

Great Britain is represented in all four classes this weekend and performance director John Anderson has claimed the event will fire the starting gun on the next Olympic cycle.

It's the first time a major championship has been staged in the UK for 14 years and Florence, who trains in Nottingham, is hoping familiarity breeds success.

"I've never raced at home in an event like this, so it's a big deal," added Florence.

"With 2012 on the horizon, this is a major thing for us. It's great to have a championship where you can stay at home and be surrounded by all the things you are familiar with.

"There is an advantage for us because we train here every day but in my experience the best paddlers will still win in the end."

Florence will compete with fellow Brits Mark Proctor and Dan Goddard in the C1 class while fellow Scot Campbell Walsh - who disappointed in Beijing - is the reigning champion in the K1, where he'll join team-mates Huw Swetnam and Richard Hounslow.

The Olympic silver medallist will join with Hounslow in the C2, alongside two other British crews - Tim Baillie and Etienne Scott and Dan Goddard and Colin Radmore.

Britain also has three women competing in the K1 class - Lizzie Neave, Louise Donington and Laura Blakeman.

But Anderson is playing down predictions of home domination - pointing out that Walsh will need to beat both the world and Olympic champion to retain the title he won last year.

"We have an excellent team and Great Britain is one of the top five canoeing nations in the world along with Germany, Slovakia, France and the Czech Republic," he said.

"Obviously a glut of medals would be very nice. However the team will be concentrating on their performances, we can't control what other nations do and how they race.

"The team have made solid preparations over the winter and spring months and will now be looking to focus on delivering a sound performance."