Casey Eichfeld is buzzing to be back at the Olympic Games after revealing that depression caused by the loss of his dog left him questioning his future in the sport.
The American paddler is competing at his fourth Olympics, but admits he had doubts whether he would ever return to the biggest stage in the sport.
Three years ago, Eichfeld suffered the blow of missing out on Olympic selection to Zachary Lokken for Tokyo 2020.
It came at a difficult period for Eichfeld and his wife following the death of their golden retriever, River.
“It was hard to let her go,” said Eichfeld.
“We didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked.
“My wife worked at a veterinary hospital and she came into the hospital. We fell in love with her and we couldn’t say no, so we took her home.
“We had two or three years with her before we found out about the lymphoma and then she gave us a whole year (on chemotherapy).
“It was hard to do that process.
“I was in charge of taking her to her appointments every month or so and at some point the fear settled in and she knew where we were going and it was really hard to do.”
Eichfeld said his birth of his daughter, Emilia, and the support of a sports psychologist helped him stay in the sport.
“Admittedly I was not as present in training as I needed to be,” said Eichfeld on the loss of his dog.
“I was opting to spend time with my wife and try to enjoy our time together and keep each other happy.
“I was starting to become aware of the depression that I felt as well and found the sports psychologist that I needed to get me through that process.
“The absence and loss of drive was a really hard thing for me to battle as I was not sure whether it was something I wanted to do any more.
“My little girl coming along spurred me the other way and I wanted to show her what you can do with your life when you show determination and show up. That’s the biggest thing - if you show up a lot of things will fall into place.”
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On the importance of his psychologist, Eichfeld added: “It’s been massive.
“We don’t even talk about sports so much. We talk about life and things that are going on.
“It is such a huge help to have that sounding board that is impartial – somebody that is not going to be upset with you or yell at you and not get that excited for you because they want to be that devil’s advocate for you.
“If it is bad, it is not the end of the world and if it is great then it helps you stay level.”
Eichfeld and his wife are also expecting a second child at the end of October.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity after the little one is here to just travel the world as a family and getting to experience it together,” said the 34-year-old.
“I have been on the road for the better part of 20 years so I have seen a lot of the places and now I will get to share it with my family and see it through their eyes.”
Eichfeld said it was an “unbelievable feeling” to be returning to the Olympics as he competes in the men’s canoe in Paris.
“When you miss an Olympics, you worry about whether you are going to make it back here again,” added Eichfeld.
“I have been to three of these before and easily this is the least nervous that I have felt.
“It’s really nice because a lot of times my nerves kick in about 24 hours in advance so I am miserable for the whole day.
“Past experiences are really helpful.
“A big thing for me is the family.
“I think that when racing no longer became the absolute be-all and end-all of my life it makes it a little bit more fun to be out there.
“I’m enjoying it and having my family here is epic.”
