IAS Graduate David Smith is relishing added responsibility after being thrown into a leadership role with the Australian K4 men’s team. Smith has been “promoted” to the front of the kayak – or the “stroke” position – after the sudden and controversial exit of former team member Tate Smith. The latter was unceremoniously dumped from the group after testing positive to performance enhancing substances last year. After sitting in the No. 2 seat during the gold medal-winning London Olympic race, David Smith had dabbled with acting as the stroke before, but had failed to lock himself into the position until recently. He passed one of his first big tests on the weekend when he steered the Australian team to first place in the first World Cup event of the season. Smith – alongside teammates Jacob Clear, Murray Stewart and Jordan Wood – powered to victory in the K4 1000-metres event across the Portuguese course. It gives Australia an enviable lead heading into the remaining two World Cup events, raced in Germany and Amsterdam respectively, in the next fortnight. Smith’s father Martin watched the win from a live stream at home in Australia and was impressed with the performance. “They were a crew that liked to lead from the start,” Martin Smith said. “That’s what they did at the Games [in 2012] and in previous events. “This race, they weren’t slow out of the blocks, but they weren’t one of the quicker ones. They were probably fourth or fifth at the 500 mark, and they finished home very strong. “They had good temp at the end compared to the other teams. They finished very strongly which is a good sign for them.” The victory was led by Smith as his first big outing as the team’s stroke. His father says Smith has taken the extra responsibility on board. “He has a lot more responsibility now that he’s in the front seat, which Dave is more than happy to take on,” Martin said. “He’s a seasoned campaigner now in paddle boats. “Traditionally the stroke is known as the captain of the boat, without actually being nominated. “They have a fair amount of say in the race plan,” Martin said. The K4 team will head to Duisburg in Germany to race in the World Cup 2 event this week, then off to Amsterdam to race just days later. After the World Cup, they will begin preparations for the World Championships, which is the first qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games. Smith hopes to lead the Australian team into their Rio campaign in 12 months’ time. First Published in the
