Bondi twins set their sights on London 2012

By Morgan Calton
Asked to name an event at the Olympics, not many would answer ‘kayaking’ but Bondi born and bred twins Luke and Jake Michael are on a mission to change that. 

Since age three, the brothers have called Bondi Beach home. They joined the North Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club as its youngest members, two years younger than anyone else. Since then, they have worked their way through the ranks at the club and now compete around the country.

But their love of the ocean has not stopped them from trying out other sports.  In 2004, they helped the Sydney Roosters lift the Jersey Flegg Cup but despite this success, neither was offered a contract with the Chooks.

This is when Kayaking came into their lives. At first, they saw it as a way of keeping fit while they were without a club, but it soon became clear they had found their niche.

Now 24, they compete in events around the world. Jake just returned from World Cup 3 in Germany where he competed in the K4 1000 (four-man kayak over 1000 metres) placing fifth, ahead of teams set to compete in Beijing; Luke has had a much publicised dispute with Olympic selectors who denied him a place on the team so they could accommodate 1992 gold medallist Clint Robinson.

Luke had grabbed the final spot on the team despite spending a week in hospital undergoing surgery on a severe wrist injury. After discharging himself, he competed with the aid of painkilling injections to clinch his place.

Robinson, who had missed qualifying competitions because of a throat infection, was later given the nod instead of Luke. Asked how he felt about the decision, Luke said: ‘I don’t begrudge Clint his place, but I do feel the selection process was severely flawed.’

But now the twins have future competitions in their sights. Training is underway for the Australian Kayaking Championships in March 2009 under the watchful eye of coach Jim Walker, a former Olympic kayaker.

The National Surf Lifesaving Championships in Perth will follow a week later, and in August they will compete at the World Kayaking Championships in Canada.

Ultimately, their aim is to compete as a pair in the K2 at the London 2012 games, and to open up the sport to a wider audience in Australia ‘ a tall order on both counts, but something these Bondi boys feel they are more than capable of pulling off.