swansong is in serious doubt

after the Court of Arbitration for

Sport upheld an appeal by Sydney

paddler Luke Michael.

Robinson appears to have most to

lose from the CAS decision to set

aside the Australian Canoeing selection

panel's initial six-man flatwater

kayak squad, which excluded

Michael.

Veteran Robinson, who won gold

at Barcelona in 1992, blasted the

selection process as a ''soap opera''

as the successful appeal significantly

hampered preparations for the

Beijing Olympics.

The CAS tribunal found Michael

was denied the same discretionary

powers that were applied to

Robinson when both had their selection

campaigns derailed by injury

and illness.

A new group of selectors will now

be chosen by the AC board to

nominate the Olympic team after

Michael, ranked No6 on selection

points, was twice overlooked by the

original selection panel.

The CAS decision incensed

Robinson, 35, who aims to lead

Australia's K4 1000m team to gold in

his fifth and final Games campaign.

He feared more appeals would

follow and the team would not be

finalised until too close to the start of

the Olympics on August8.

The bulk of the team, now including

Michael, is set to head to

Hungary in the next week for the

opening World Cup regatta from

June 5-7.

''When does it stop? That's what I

honestly don't know,'' Robinson

said.

''If Michael isn't selected in the

team by the new panel, is he just

going to go back and start the whole

appeal process again?

''And if someone else who had

been selected, isn't selected again,

what are they going to do?

''It's just like a bloody soap opera

and a massive problem.''

Robinson warned of the nightmare

scenario a month ago when Michael

won an initial appeal to an independent

tribunal and called for the then-

omitted kayaker to cop the selectors'

decision on the chin.

He now believed the only man safe

from the axe was Oceania K1 champion

and Games medal contender

Ken Wallace who is currently

preparing in Europe.

Michael's upheld CAS appeal came

after he was successful and then

unsuccessful with two previous

appeals after his form in the two

selection regattas was affected by

serious injury.

The 23-year-old, who underwent

surgery for an infected hand, argued

he was denied the same discretion

the selectors showed to the ill

Robinson (throat infection) during

the selection trials. AAP