Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 18/01) - Australian Knut Holmann won two gold medals for kayaking in Sydney last year, but he's never been on a real kayak trip. Until now.

Olympic kayaking champion Knut Holmann proudly displays the pike he caught Tuesday in Yellowknife Bay. - Jennifer McPhee/NNSL photo

Holmann and another former Olympic kayaker, Svein Egil Solvang, are about to embark on a month-long, 900-kilometre excursion along the Thelon River.

The pair arrived in Yellowknife from Norway on Monday and begin their adventure later this week.

Solvang did a similar kayak trip in 1992 and also lived on Baffin Island for seven months while researching the creation of Nunavut for his masters thesis in anthropology. After returning to Norway, he convinced Holmann to return to the North with him.

Eight years later, after retiring from professional athletics, they've finally found the time.

"As an athlete, I reached all my goals," said Holmann. "I wanted to do something else with my life. But here I am, still paddling."

The Norwegians spent their first evening in town fishing in Yellowknife Bay with Solvang's friend, Greg Robertson, owner of Bluefish Services.

Catching enough fish to fry proved difficult for Holmann at first. He let one massive pike slip away. But he redeemed himself in the second round, bringing in four large pike.

Roberston then cooked up an elaborate fish fry, complete with crepes suzette for desert.

"They wanted me to go on the trip," said Robertson. "But I don't think I could keep up with these guys."

However, you won't see Holmann and Solvang racing down the Thelon at breakneck speed. They plan to relax and enjoy their trip.

"I think it will just be nice to be out there in the wilderness by ourselves, pretending that we are explorers or pioneers," said Holmann.

And although finishing a 1,000-metre kayak race in 325 seconds is radically different from paddling through the Barren Lands, Holmann admits their upcoming adventure presents a unique set of challenges.

"The thing I fear the most is the bugs," said the tall, blond Arnold Swartzenegger-esque athlete.