(Reuters) - The Paris Olympics will be free of the strict COVID-19 restrictions that overshadowed the Tokyo and Beijing Games but New Zealand canoe slalom trailblazer Luuka Jones might be forgiven for taking extra precautions with her health.

The 35-year-old's ambitions of reaching a fifth Olympics once seemed fanciful as she spent more than a year recovering after being diagnosed with long COVID in early-2022.

Never mind hurtling down a white-water course in pursuit of medals - there were periods when everyday tasks would induce a fatigue that would put Jones on her back for the rest of a day.

"I’d get really tired from just going out and mowing the lawn or going for a walk," she told Reuters in an interview.

"I'd have to go to bed afterwards because I was so tired and yeah, I basically had to go down to doing three activities a week."

It was not until last October that Jones felt fully free of COVID's grip, a month that coincided with her World Cup gold medal in kayak cross at the same Vaires-sur-Marne venue hosting the Olympic canoeing from July 27.

The win gave Jones belief she can be a major contender at Paris, eight years after taking her nation's first Olympic canoeing medal with silver in the K1 category at the Rio Games.