PADDLER 88
PADDLER 88
I did it my way
Words & photos : Corran Addison I have never spoken of my time leading up to the 1992 Olympic Games . The blood , sweat and tears , to quote Churchill , I sacrificed were undoubtedly not as hard as those of some and were harder than others . But this story is mine .
I revered the games throughout my youth , idolising remarkable athletes such as Daley Thompson , Mary Loe Renton , Mark Spitz , and kayaking ’ s own Norbert Sattler . Whitewater kayaking had made but one appearance in the 70-year history of the modern Olympics , so it was not like I was holding out . And anyway , growing up in isolated , civil war-wracked South Africa , international sport was not an option .
Escaping the war-torn country , mainly to avoid military conscription , where I would be forced to fight against the freedom fighters I supported , I fled to Belgium with my mother and my brothers , where we settled into a sedentary conventional life of school and youth .
I am naturally active and adventure-seeking , and it wasn ’ t long before run-ins with the police , a few nights spent in lock up , drug and alcohol abuse as a teen , and hating school convinced me I needed to make some changes .
Three months before the year-end exams , I approached the school principal and asked to take my final exams ( O levels ) despite being a year behind . They agreed , and I crammed a year ’ s work into three months . I wrote the exams , passed , and got the hell out of Dodge .