CANOEIST Hannah Brown will not be left reminiscing about 2016 for too long as she turns her focus to the future after overcoming a serious injury.

Bradford on Avon paddler Brown started the year with hopes of performing at her first Olympic Games but a freak injury to her knee sustained in the gym put paid to those hopes.

The 26-year-old however bounced back by claiming the Wildwater World Champion for the second time in her career in June.

However, just two weeks later and injury struck again, this time dislocating her shoulder in the Wildwater World Cup to curtail her season abruptly and leave her requiring surgery.

Six months after sustaining her injury, Brown is back in the gym and she can see the light at the end of the tunnel and is looking forward to putting a tough season behind her, but admits it has taught her some valuable lessons.

“It’s been a long road but it is good to be within touching distance of normality,” she said.

“It’s been a complete rollercoaster, looking back at the year and one of injury.

“Injury is part of the game at the same time, in an acceptance way, but it was tricky to have something that seems a bit silly looking back cost me so much.

“It was frustrating but something to learn from – the processes and how to deal with injury.

“It is motivating now but at the time, I was pretty down in the gutter.”

Brown now has her sights set on getting back to the pinnacle of her sport in the new year, with a European Championship on the horizon.

However, she admits she cannot rush things and will look to get back to basics as she gets back on the four-year cycle with Tokyo 2020 to aim for.

“It is a nice feeling to get back in the boat and it is refreshing as well because you have a clean slate from a technical point of view and you can work on all those little discrepancies that I maybe didn’t have the time to do before,” she added.

“Injury free is massive and establishing myself back and getting back on the racing scene and showing I can race at a standard and improve.”