He's off to represent New Zealand at the junior world competition for C1 canoe slalom in Slovakia, but his sights, long-term, are set firmly on the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

And Jack Egan seems right on track. 'If I keep training and competing like this during the next three years, my dream might just become a reality.”

But his immediate focus is Slovakia. At 15 Jack will be one of the youngest members of the under-18 team heading off in July. He will compete against the world's top junior paddlers from Oceania, Europe, the United States and Russia.

'I'm really excited. The waters are faster and tougher and the drops steeper than here. It'll be a really good experience,” says Jack. The Bratislava course is one of the toughest in the world and the Year 11 student is training 10 to 12 hours a week under coach Pierre Labarelle to prepare.

This year Jack's been focused on developing race experience and is likely to stop off in Pau in France to train prior to the junior world races in Bratislava.

In preparation, Jacks competed at a number of K1 paddling and C1 paddling events including the Mangahao Open and Oceania.

At the Australian Open in Penrith Jack finished top New Zealand under-18 paddler in the C1 race and fifth overall. After completing the New Zealand Secondary Schools Canoe Slalom competition this April, he'll take part in the New Zealand Nationals competition.