NEWPORT BEACH : Hoping to Paddle for Gold in ’96

Katrina Egan lifted the 18-foot-long, 25-pound kayak atop her shoulder and, with paddle in hand, trekked barefoot to the dock and set the craft in the calm, smooth waters of Newport’s Back Bay.

Egan slipped inside the single-seat kayak, taking care not to tip it. Sitting tall, she glided across the water, making flat-water kayaking look easy.

Egan, 24, a resident of both the United States and New Zealand, has her sights set on becoming a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic flat-water kayak team.

“It would be the fulfillment of a dream. It’s something I’ve aspired to do, and it’d be fantastic to achieve that,” said Egan, a Newport Beach resident who trains twice daily at the Newport Aquatic Center.

She is one of eight women who regularly train at the center, all of whom are seeking to compete in the Olympic Games. Egan, who was born in this country, moved back here nine months ago from Napier, New Zealand, where she has lived most of her life, to concentrate on making the Olympic team.

Egan is a world-champion surf-ski competitor. In that sport, which is similar to kayaking, competitors paddle from atop watercraft that resemble large surfboards. But the former lifeguard, who took up surf-skiing at 14, gave it up for kayaking to pursue her Olympic dream because surf-skiing is not an Olympic sport.

“The opportunities for kayaking for women in New Zealand are not very good,” Egan said. Men still dominate the sport in her homeland, she said.

The challenge of kayaking is to keep one’s balance while paddling furiously, said Egan, who is working hard to lower her 500-meter race time to less than two minutes.

When Egan needed a sponsor to help keep her effort afloat while training full time and working part time as a physical therapist, she approached her employer, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center. Hospital officials agreed to absorb the cost of a new $3,000 kayak.

“We fully support and encourage Katrina in her quest to bring home an Olympic medal for the United States. We are proud of her efforts,” Richard E. Butler, the hospital’s administrator, said in a prepared statement.

Like other kayakers, Egan moved to Orange County to train at the Newport Aquatic Center, which is known for turning out world-class paddlers.

“We have the best facility for paddling,” Jimmy Terrell, the center’s director for canoe and kayak training, said. “This area offers the best training and climate.”

Lori Schick, 30, of Costa Mesa, who moved from New York four years ago to train here, is also hoping to make the Olympic team.

“I think I have a pretty good chance,” said Schick, an alternate on the women’s kayaking team in the 1992 Olympics.

“It’s been a goal of mine. . . . The ultimate in amateur competition is the Olympics,” said Schick, also a physical therapist at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital.

The two kayakers said it takes tremendous perseverance, dedication and motivation--not to mention a strong upper body and physical endurance--to pursue their medal aspirations.

“Every day you have to go out there and do your best,” Schick said. “After being an athlete for so many years, it’s part of your life. You wake up and go to the boathouse because (kayaking) makes you feel good and feel healthy.”