DEJECTED Ed McKeever admits that he is still struggling to put his finger on the reasons why his bid to defend his Olympic canoe sprint title was left dead in the water.

Last week, the Bradford on Avon kayak star failed in his final roll of the dice to earn a spot at this summer’s games, finishing fifth with a time of 35.585 seconds in the K1 200m final at a European Canoe Sprint Olympic Qualifier in Duisberg, Germany – the 32-year-old required a top-two finish to qualify for Rio 2016.

Four years ago, McKeever became the toast of British canoeing as the only home competitor to win an individual gold medal at London 2012 but will be left kicking his heels during this August’s spectacle in Brazil.

The Bradford on Avon canoe club member cannot allow himself too much time to wallow in the misery of missing out on Rio as he competes in a World Cup event in Racice, Czech Republic, this weekend, which gets under way today, before also heading to Moscow for the European Championships next month, where he has won four medals, including gold in 2010 in Trasona, Spain.

Past that, McKeever is yet to decide what his long-term future holds.

“I don’t really know what’s going to happen. I’m just going to take every event as it comes and see what happens,” said the Wiltshire paddler, who had previously missed out on securing qualification at last year’s World Championships and British selection trials at Nottingham before his Duisberg disappointment.

“It was very frustrating last week. It just wasn’t my race and that’s it.

“I felt like I’d prepared properly and to be honest, I’m just not quite sure why it didn’t work out for me, but I can’t dwell on it too much because it is what it is.

“I’ve got the World Cup and the Europeans too, and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Last Wednesday, McKeever finished third in his heat (36.493) and improved his pace in his semi-final as he crossed the line second in 35.231.

But the Wiltshire ace was unable to peak in the final a day later as he finished well behind Spain’s Saul Craviotto (34.615).