Chilled Hill happy to hover under the radar

Australia’s Cory Hill has a reputation on the ocean racing scene as a pretty laid-back character, an image that is well deserved. It’s become a bit of a secret weapon for the South Australian-born paddler, lulling unsuspecting opponents into believing he doesn’t really care, before delivering a well-timed sucker punch to blow his rivals out of the water. He’s the reigning ocean racing world champion, but despite this, very little has been said about his chances this weekend in the ICF Canoe Ocean Racing World Championships in Hong Kong. I can focus on the races that I do, and unfortunately I don’t get to every single race because I do work back home,” Hill said from Hong Kong this week. “I do take this very seriously, but it’s not a full-time thing for me. I think it is a good thing for me that you sort of do get forgotten at the races you don’t attend, and people start to wonder if I’m still around or still racing. “But I have no doubt in my mind that we are doing the work back home, and we are getting here to surprise people so they can remember me again.” So what form might that surprise take? No punter is ever going to show his full hand to early, but his opponents need to know Hill is feeling dangerously fit. “I’m feeling really good in fact, it’s been a good lead-up to the World Championships, I’ve put a lot of effort into it this year,” he said. “It feels like everything’s come together. I’m on a bit of a winning streak at the moment so I’d love to keep that going.” If his opponents are looking for a reason Hill can’t win, the man himself volunteers the information that he has never actually won in Hong Kong, despite several attempts. “In five or six times I’ve come across here thinking I had a chance and finished with a lot of fourths and seconds, which are the places you don’t really want to finish,” he said. “This year I can comfortably say I’ve come across here feeling really good, and I’ve put myself in the best possible position. “I think it’s...

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