Kiwi rowing great Mahe Drysdale's considering a dramatic and unprecedented change in approach in order to give himself the best possible chance of defending his Olympic title in Toyko.
The 2012 and 2016 single sculls gold medallist has once again been beaten by rival Robbie Manson, this time at the elite trials on Lake Karapiro.
The defeat has prompted Drysdale to consider anything and everything to keep his Olympic dream alive.
While he could return to the men's quad as he did last year, there is another option – remaining in the single with a sole focus on training.
That would mean giving up international racing to give himself a shot of dislodging Manson from the seat in an Olympic year.
"If the single is going to be my focus, then you need to be in the single as much as you can," Drysdale told Newshub.
"They've got to pick who they think will be the fastest in August, and I'm still confident that could potentially be me."
The selectors have until Thursday to make their final decision on who will take the single sculls seat.
They'll take into account results like this and previous international results, but Drysdale hasn't beaten Manson since his return after the Rio Olympics. The decision appears clear cut.
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Newshub.
