Jordan Wood represents a dashing new generation in Australian kayaking, but his emergence as a medal prospect at the Rio Olympics has an indelible link to a triumphant and tragic family history in the sport.
The U23 world champion, who was an integral part of the team's achievement in securing seven places for the Games, begins his quest to ensure a place on the Olympic squad when he competes in the first of two selection trials, the Oceania Championships in Adelaide, starting on Friday.
His mother Anna, the women's team head coach, won bronze in Seoul in 1988 representing the Netherlands and Atlanta in 1996 for Australia. But Wood, 21, says his favourite event is the K-4 1000, the discipline in which his late father, Steve, won bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Steve Wood committed suicide in late 1995. He left behind Anna and Jordan, who was then aged 14 months.
"It's pretty cool that both my parents competed in the same sport at the Olympics, but I don't really have memories about it, more just stories I've heard," Wood says. "I've heard bits about what my father did. It's pretty tough, I guess. I never really found out much.
"It would be pretty exciting to be in Rio. But I'm probably more driven by what I can achieve than by what my family has done in the sport. I want to prove things to myself, show that I can do it on my own. If I do make it onto the team I just want to have the best race I can."
Anna Wood admires her son's resilience and passion. She says she is proud of the person he has become, regardless of the athletic achievements which appear set to emulate those of his parents.
"He was always dragged all over the world when I was still paddling but I never actually suggested he paddled," she says.
"He just jumped in a boat, paddled for a few years, got bored and did other sports and then came back to it. I outlaid to him what the rewards and costs were and he decided to give it a go.
"But, for me, a person is more than an athlete. Certainly Jordan, to me, is much more than a kayaker. I'm just proud that he's a good person. I'm just really happy and proud of the person he's become."
Asked about the way Jordan had coped with the harrowing loss of his father, Anna says: "It's pretty straightforward. I've never beaten around the bush with this – things happen and you have to cope with it. That's the only way to go about it with those sorts of things. It's factual, it's not going to be any different, move on.
"Life's always easy if everything goes your way. But I think the tricky part is trying to deal with those upsets that inevitably come your way. Life will throw you curve balls at some stage. It's about how you cope with it. They are the important things to teach children. It's what I did and I think it will carry over into Jordan's athletic career as well."
