It’s been two weeks since I became the new Women’s Freestyle Kayaking World Champion. You’d think by now I’d be used to letting it roll off my tongue, but still it feels foreign.

Becoming the World Champion surprised me. Yes I had trained and yes I felt prepared and of course I went into the competition with the goal of winning but reaching the podium is always harder than it looks.

For anyone who followed the competition you’ll know that I almost blew it in the last round: three rides, one counts and reseeding after each round of rides. Sitting in 4^th and then 5^th I saw the title flash before my eyes. What had I been working for anyway? Not really the title, yet the chance to show the world what I’m capable of on a wave. I had done that in the previous rounds. Now was my final surf (for a long time), on one of my favourite waves, it was time to maximize on my surf. Just me and the wave.

You can call it the zone, you can call it whatever you want. I had a good ride, not my best ride ever, but a solid ride under the pressure of the competition. If you asked me a month ago what my weakness in competition was I would have honestly told you ‘my head game.’ With help, today I feel more confidence in my self and my competition abilities.

So, how do you become a World Champion anyway? In the words of one former world champion, ‘try harder’. You can always get by, but if you try harder you just might be surprised at what you’re capable of.