Olympic champion Ken Wallace is in grave danger of missing selection in his pet event at the London Olympic Games after Manly paddler Murray Stewart emphatically claimed his mantle as Australia’s best kayaker.

The rising Stewart is in pole position to win the K1 1000m berth at this year’s Olympics after winning a dramatic and controversial first selection race in Penrith at the Oceania flatwater canoeing titles.

The 25-year-old dominated the 1000m final to win in three minutes 31.50 – a massive 4.89 seconds clear of Gold Coaster Jake Clear with Wallace finishing a disappointing fourth across the line.

Wallace, the K1 500m gold medallist and K1 1000 bronze medallist four years ago in Beijing, finished almost six seconds behind Stewart while veteran Clint Robinson was a distant seventh.

The drama didn’t finish there, with Wallace awarded third place after New Zealander Ben Fouhy was disqualified for failing to return to boat control after the race.

Wallace then protested the result due to the condition of the Sydney International Regatta Centre course, which has long been plagued by weed – but failed in his attempt.

Wallace must find a huge amount of improvement in the next fortnight to beat Stewart in the second selection round at the national titles – on the same course on March 17.

If the Gold Coast lifesaver wins, the battle will go to a decider.

Stewart had been seen as a key member of both the Australian K4 and K2 crews but has the wood over Wallace in the K1 this year, with Saturday’s win backing up his triumph at the NSW titles six weeks ago.

Wallace’s London campaign could instead be focused on the K2 or K4 boats, especially after he replaced an ill David Smith in the K4 crew to win the Oceania title on Friday afternoon.

Robinson’s K1 1000 effort (3:45.71), after he won his semi-final, virtually ends his dream of qualifying for a sixth Olympics, dating back to 1992 when he won Australia’s first kayaking gold.

Meantime, Perth’s Alana Nicholls took a massive stride forward to achieving her goal of racing both the K1 200 and K1 500 in London.

After qualifying the K1 200 boat on Friday, Nicholls scored a tight win over highly-credentialled New Zealander Lisa Carrington, with Manly’s Naomi Flood third, in the K1 500 on Saturday.

She’s in the box seat to win selection in both at the national titles.

“I don’t want to be racing just one or the other. I want to be able to race the 200 and the 500,” she said.

“I’ve been focusing equally on both. I think they complement each other.”