BULLSBROOK resident Ben Pope is on track to be the top ranked kayaker in Australia.
The 24-year-old is currently ranked fourth in the country and is hoping to represent Australia in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in canoe slalom.
Pope first started kayaking at 11 years old and he immediately fell in love with the sport.
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READ NOWAt 15 he started competing in canoe slalom, where kayakers navigate through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible.
He has competed in the Under 23 World Championships for the past three years and will compete in the World Cup later this month while working towards a spot at the World Championships in Rio in September.
Pope said the sport combined his passion for the water and the outdoors.
“I like kayaking because I get to be on the water,” he said.
“I have always loved the water. I also get to be outdoors in nature and am able to travel. What I like about canoe slalom is it’s instinctive and you have to react with the water.
“I really love the sport and representing Australia is a dream and the Olympics would be the pinnacle.”
Pope is fundraising with the support of Australian Sports Foundation and needs donations to help him get to the Olympics.
Click here if you would like to sponsor or donate to Pope’s goal of getting to the Olympics.