ED MCKEEVER is aiming to strut his stuff in Milan and secure double delight at next week’s Canoe Sprint World Championships.

The 31-year-old is heading into the 10th World Championships of his career and will firstly be looking to lay down a marker by topping the podium in Italy but also to secure an automatic berth at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio.

The London 2012 Olympic champion begins his quest to dethrone reigning world champion and world record-holder Mark de Jonge, from Canada, in the K1 200m next Friday, with the semi-finals and final taking place on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday August 23 respectively.

The Bradford on Avon kayak king says that he’s feeling that pre-competition buzz as he vies to be the in vogue man in Milan.

“I’m definitely excited for it. Usually, you’re racing once every month but there’s been a long build-up to these World Championships; something like eight or nine weeks after the European Games (in Azerbaijan, in June),” said McKeever.

“The worlds are always big and you want to try and set a marker by doing well. I want to go for the top of the podium but there’ll be some tough competition.

“Finishing in the top eight, which means getting in the final, also means that you qualify for Rio and won’t have to try and do it next year – that’s got to be the minimum aim.

“I’m feeling fit and strong and I’m looking to do well.”

Despite spending the best part of the last two weeks at a pre-tournament training camp in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, McKeever was set to return to the UK today before heading out to Italy next Wednesday.

The Great Britain ace added: “Some people will be flying straight over to Italy but I’ve spent enough time hanging around in hotel rooms in the past and you try to avoid it wherever possible.”

Meanwhile, fellow Bradford on Avon paddler Hannah Brown is set to tackle the third World Championships of her career in Milan.

The 25-year-old, who competed in the K2 200m and K2 500m disciplines in Duisberg, Germany in 2013 and individual and relay K1 200m events in Moscow in 2014, will be taking on the K2 200m alongside Worcester’s Emily Lewis, with the heats getting underway on Friday.