5:20pm Thursday 2nd September 2010
By Dave Peters
BARMAN Ed Cox is a kayak king at the fifth time of asking.
The 25-year-old who works at the Duke of Cambridge pub in Marlow was part of the Great Britain team that won 4x200m silver in the relay at the World Championships in Poland.
And standing on the podium was extra special for Cox, below.
He said: “It was my first World Championship medal after five World Championships.
“I was beginning to question whether it was ever going to happen for me.
“There are so many people that go to the World Championships and never get a medal and I was beginning to think I was going to fall into that category.”
Cox raced the final leg as the British boat tried to chase down reigning champions Spain for the gold medal in a thrilling race.
Cox said: “When I led out I couldn’t see that we were in a medal position.
“I gave it the race of my life and it was very close.”
Great Britain missed out on the gold medal by just 0.4 of a second but the disappointment didn’t last long for Cox.
He said: “It was massive to get silver. It was just a massive relief to finally have a World Championship medal.
“It made everything worth it. You sometimes question all those early starts but not now.”
Cox has been working as a barman as he trains with the GB team at Bisham Abbey.
And he was quick to take his medal into work.
He said: “I brought my medal in and gave my podium flowers to the landlady Tracy Hudson.”
A pub might not seem the best place for a wannabe London 2012 Olympian to work but Cox says he’s pretty good at turning down the offers of free pints during the season.
And with the Olympics now just around the corner the prize seems real.
He is hoping to qualify for the 200m individual flatwater event there because there is no relay.
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