Olympic champion Joe Clarke has been a superb ambassador for canoeing but faces a challenge from young prospects, according to Etienne Stott.

Stott surged to C2 gold in London 2012 alongside Tim Baillie, one of four home Games medals that inspired Clarke on the road to K1 glory at Rio four years later.

With Ryan Westley, 25, securing silver at last weekend’s World Championships in Rio, Stott insists the Stone ace’s position at the top of the spot is far from secure.

“Joe is the reigning Olympic champion but we've got other good young athletes,” said Stott, speaking at a white-water rafting day run by Caesar’s Entertainment in aid of SportsAid.

“They're pushing him day in, day out.

“He’s dealt with the expectation of being a top junior and going from there to number one at senior level.

“He’s committed and has also got an eye for the bigger picture in the sport, the need to promote it outside the traditional boundaries.

“I’m sure he’ll carry on producing but all categories are delivering medals at the moment so it may be the pressure isn’t necessarily on Joe to deliver all the time.

“For the health of British canoeing it’s all about having the strength in depths across all categories.”

Clarke has enjoyed a successful season, proving he is back to his best by winning a first-ever gold and bronze in the World Cup series.

There is a genuine feel-good factor at GB’s Lee Valley White Water Centre base – where Caesar’s enjoyed a rip-roaring day of rafting.

Charity SportsAid, whose alumni include Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Sir Mo Farah, provide promising youngsters with funding and recognition early on in their careers.  

Among their backers are Caesars Entertainment, whose employees took SportsAid athletes under their wing at the Olympic venue.

Stott was on hand to provide guidance for teams tasked with building and racing rafts, before careering down the same Lee Valley course he claimed gold on in 2012.  

While the white-water venue brought back floods of memories for Stott, as with Clarke, he’s keen to highlight the importance of the sport looking to the future.

“Sport is all about looking forward - people know what happened to me and the story of Team GB," he added.

“For me sport is about recognising what has happened and taking the best bits of that, repurposing it for the good of the people doing it at the moment.

“They find their own way and that will always have echoes of the athletes that came before us, just as it did for me.”

Caesars Entertainment EMEA is helping young athletes at SportsAid by giving them recognition and financial support during the critical formative years of their careers. For more information, please visit www.caesars.co.uk