Aug 01, 2008 - 12:00 AM

by Brad Kelly

Adam van Koeverden is a kayaker, but it was more like a shooting gallery he stood in at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto last week, as the media fired question after question at the 26-year-old.

The Oakville resident had just been officially introduced to the media as the flag bearer for Canada when the Summer Olympics in Beijing open on Aug. 8. He fielded a few general questions from the floor as he sat at the head table along with Canadian Olympic Committee brass, and then after, stood virtually pinned against a wall for the media scrum.

He was well into the process when I concluded an interview with archer Crispin Duenas that lasted more than five minutes and made my way over. The digital voice recorder, weightless as it is, made my arm tight with fatigue as it extended to get quotes for just under 10 minutes. Interview complete, it was time to pack up and leave -- van Koeverden still standing in the same spot and accommodating the press.

The attention goes with the territory, and he understands that. Because of his profile in the country as a double medallist at the Olympics four years ago in Athens, and his continued domination on the World Cup circuit, he is sought after to share his thoughts and opinions on just about everything.

There aren't many times when he doesn't oblige, except to one reporter who asked for an interview in French. While he noted he knows enough to get by and carry on a conversation in French, he isn't comfortable going on the record as somebody bilingual.

If he has an opinion on a particular subject, he isn't afraid to share it. If he doesn't have one, he'll tell you that too.

"I don't have an opinion on everything, I don't think anybody does. I'm not afraid to say 'I really don't have an opinion on that. I've never given it too much thought,'" he said when I asked if being in demand for comments because of his high profile can be a distraction.

"Our canoe-kayak team is intelligent. We travel around and spend eight months of the year living in hotels and rented apartments around the world, so we get into a lot of good conversations," he said of the gamut of topics that range from training to politics to health to medicine because of the vast backgrounds of the team.

While he recognizes there is a responsibility that goes with the territory, he also made it clear that there is a time and place for everything. If someone becomes intrusive on his training, he'll tell them.

"There's a time and place for the media attention and the questions and when it comes time to train and focus on my races, I'll let you know."