Olympic champion Finn Butcher did, however, get a reminder of the fickleness of whitewater canoeing when he battled at the latest round of the world cup in Italy at the weekend.
About six weeks after he paddled to glory in kayak cross in Paris, Butcher missed out on the business end of the chaotic discipline at the Ivrea course.
Butcher finished third in his heat — only the top two finishers progress to the next round — behind Pedro Goncalves (Brazil) and Joe Clarke (Great Britain).
Another British paddler, Jonny Dickson, went on to win the final.
Earlier at the fourth world cup round, Butcher had initially looked in typically quick form in the traditional canoe slalom.
He sizzled through the water in the K1 semifinals but copped a nasty penalty score, 106sec, to plummet to 38th.
Polish paddler Mateusz Polaczyk, one of the seasoned men on the circuit at the age of 36, won the canoe slalom final.
It came 12 years after he won his first world cup medal.
Homegrown hero Giovanni De Gennaro, the Olympic champion in canoe slalom, missed a gate in the final to incur a 50sec penalty.
The world cup finals are in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain, this weekend.
