After giving up on solo canoeing following the Tokyo Games, German paddler Sebastian Brendel was back to his imperious best at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Wednesday, winning his heat to qualify for another Olympic semifinal.
A gold-medal winner in the canoe single (C1) 1000-metre sprint at London 2012 and Rio 2016, Brendel gave up racing on his own after a bronze medal in Tokyo to race in a two-man boat, but he returned to the discipline ahead of the Paris Games, and it proved to be a wise move.
"I changed the C2, it was more fun for me at this point, but after the change of C2 to 500 metres, I came back to my love to go (in the) C1000 again, and I'm very happy with this," Brendel told Reuters.
A world champion 13 times, the 36-year-old said he still had something to offer at the Paris Games, and that a podium finish would not be out of the question if everything goes according to plan.
"Everything is possible. I had a good start, now it's important and hope to have a good semifinal, and then (in) the final, everything can happen," he said.
Brendel has taken a break form his day job as a police officer in Germany to prepare for the Games, and despite plenty of young challengers in the field and a long career behind him, the competitive fire still burns brightly.
"I love to compete, I love to train, and I still love to do it, even when it's not easy every time, but I'm love to train, compete and show what my highest level is," he said.
Many fans had assumed that Tokyo would be the final chapter in his storied career, but when asked if Paris would be his last Games, Brendel left the door open.
"I'm not sure," he said with a booming laugh, before going off to begin preparations for his next race.